New Ways to Have Fun in Tokyo!String of massive new commercial centers opening in main areas of Japan's capital city2012.07.

Many large commercial centers with good transport access have recently sprung up in fashionable areas of Tokyo, generating huge public interest. This development is having a positive effect on the local area and the city in general. Let’s discover some new ways to have fun in the increasingly energetic city of Tokyo.

Shibuya Hikarie

A new landmark in Shibuya – home to the latest cultural trends!

Adults now have a place to relax and have fun in Shibuya, even though the area has become known as a fashion Mecca for young people. Shibuya Hikarie opened in April as a multistory complex with 4 underground floors and 3 floors above ground. This center is designed to be a “platform for transmission, a place of fresh value.”
Shibuya Hikarie is directly connected to Shibuya Station and has a large theater and gallery, as well as shopping floors and dining floors. The focal point for Shibuya Hikarie is the 1,972-seater Tokyu Theater Orb, which is one of the largest theaters in Japan. The comfortable seating area provides a thoroughly engrossing audiovisual experience.

 
Creative space “8/” has a plaza that features galleries, cafés with food from all around Japan, design shops and workspaces. This is a space where you can immerse your senses away from the noise of the city.
Shibuya remains a crossroads for the latest fashion to music, movies, and art subcultures, and Shibuya Hikarie will become known as the new symbol of the town!

 
DATA
Tel.: 03-5468-5892 (10:00-21:00)
Address: 2-21-1 Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Business hours: SinQs 10:00-21:00 / Café & Restaurant floor 11:00-23:00 *Varies according to shopping department (not open on January 1st)
Access: Shibuya Station is 25 minutes on JR Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station. Direct connection from Shibuya Station

 

Divercity Tokyo Plaza

Odaiba completes its transformation into an urban playhouse

Odaiba is a classic Tokyo tourist destination. It has a beach looking out onto Tokyo Bay, a large Ferris wheel, Japan's biggest convention center in Tokyo Big Sight, and a theme park. In April, Divercity Tokyo Plaza opened in Odaiba with the concept of being an “urban playhouse”. This commercial center is packed with amusements such as domestic and international fashion, bowling and karaoke, as well as a food court where you will find a row of famous Tokyo restaurants.
 
The 18-meter-high Gundam statue in the central Festival Plaza is an outstanding sight. The Gundam series is still popular today, more than 30 years since Mobile Suit Gundam was first broadcast on TV back in 1979. This replica Gundam statue, which can produce illuminations and projections onto walls, is so realistic it looks like it could start moving at any time. It is already an Odaiba landmark.

 
Gundam Front Tokyo is on the seventh floor of Divercity Tokyo Plaza. After paying to enter, you can experience the world of Gundam up-close (some areas are free to enter; others are paid areas with specified dates and times for entry). Naturally, fans from all over the world are keen to visit!
Odaiba is continuing to evolve as an entertainment area.

 

 
DATA
Tel.: 03-6380-7800 (10:00-21:00)
Address: 1-1-10 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Business hours: Shopping 10:00-21:00 / Food court 10:00-22:00 / Restaurants 11:00-23:00 *Varies depending on store (no regular holiday)
Access: Shinbashi Station is about 3 minutes on JR Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station, about 15 minutes to Daiba Station from Shinbashi Station by Yurikamome, and a 5-minute walk from Daiba Station

 

TOKYO Solamachi (TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN)

A meeting place of old and new cultures watched over by the record-breaking “TOKYO SKYTREE ®” tower

A town (TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN) has been developed around the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower, “TOKYO SKYTREE®”, which was opened in May. The area resembles a huge town lined with office buildings, an aquarium and planetarium, business facilities and more in a 400m zone to the east and west of the tower. The surrounding area has long been a lower-city meeting point for craftsmen. Here you will find lots of commercial businesses in one place (TOKYO Solamachi has a total of 312 shops), including countless unique shops with the concept of fusing the old with the new.

 
DATA
Tel. 0570-55-0102 (TOKYO Solamachi Call Center)
Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Business: 10:00-21:00 / Restaurant floor (6, 7, 30, 31F) 11:00-23:00 *Solamachi shopping district / St. Street, 9:00-21:00 until September 2nd (no regular holiday)
Access: About 30 minutes by shuttle bus from Tokyo Station

 
Tokyo: a fascinating city of continual change
There have been other outstanding changes throughout Tokyo.
For example, Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harujuku opened in the trendy young Harujuku area, offering an excellent view of the city while experiencing the peaceful shade of trees in the rooftop forest.
The Tokyo Station building is a nationally important cultural property and a central hub for Japan's railroad system. The opening of a shopping district and gourmet street inside and outside Tokyo Station this summer will coincide with the completion of repair work. Tokyo Station will be transformed from “a place of transit” into “a place to meet”.
Tokyo has a mix of cultures and a dizzying array of sights like nowhere else. Now is the time to personally experience the thrill of Tokyo.

 
An invitation to Tourist Information Center (TIC)
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) operates Tourist Information Center (TIC) in Tokyo's Marunouchi, the center of the city, to provide tourist information to all foreigners in Japan. Foreign-language maps and pamphlets are available at tourist offices throughout Japan. Come and visit us when you arrive in Tokyo! We are situated in the famous tourist areas around Tokyo Station and Yurakucho Station.

DATA
Tel.: 03-3201-3331 (10:00-21:00)
Address: 1st Floor, Shin Tokyo Building, 3-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Business hours: 09:00-17:00 (not open on January 1st)
Access: 1-2 minutes to Yurakucho Station on JR Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station, 5-minute walk from Yurakucho Station

 
Grand opening of Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu!
Opened in April of this year, Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu is a 171-store outlet mall where you can enjoy shopping and dining in a spacious resort-style atmosphere or observe Tokyo Skytree and Mount Fuji from The Ocean View Terrace. The high-speed bus from Tokyo Station gets you here in just 45 minutes, and you will find countless stores that are the first of their kind to appear in Japan.

 

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