Monday, July 30, 2007

The Marunouchi Building


Marunouchi continues to accelerate its evolution as "the most interactive city in the world." The Marunouchi Building, a local landmark that reemerged in 2002, has also played a part. If the period from the Maru Building's redevelopment to today was "a period for spreading diversity," the completion of the Shin-Marunouchi Building hints at a coming "period of coexisting diversity" in which various, diverse elements interact, stimulate, and deepen each other. Located in front of the Tokyo Station, the Shin-Marunouchi Building, along with the Marunouchi Building, will be the visual and functional "face of Marunouchi." With the birth of the new Shin-Marunouchi Building, Marunouchi has taken another giant step toward becoming "the most interactive city in the world."

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Gucci @ Ginza

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Tokyo Tourism Guide




Hakone Navi


Hakone, part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, is a popular sightseeing area where visitors can enjoy natural beauty, colorful flowers blooming throughout the year and scenic views including Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi and Owakudani. Hakone is also famous for its hot springs. Even more unusual is the fact that there are 17 different hot springs here in a relatively small area. For a long time, Hakonefs hot springs have been a favorite spot for relaxing, and there are numerous day spas in addition to hotels and inns offering overnight accommodation for the enjoyment of visitors.

Hakone in known in history as a checkpoint on the old Tokaido Road, which linked the eastern and western parts of Japan. There are many buildings of historic interest to visit here, as well as sites connected to traditional culture.

Hakone is also a showcase for art. Art-related attractions include Japanfs first open-air museum, the Hakone Open-Air Museum, as well as the Venetian Glass Museum, the Museum of Saint-Exupéry and the Little Prince in Hakone, the Pola Museum of Art, the Lalique Museum, Hakone, the Narukawa Art Museum and others boasting first-rate collections.

Nature lovers will enjoy the numerous parks and botanical gardens of Hakone, including Hakone Gora Park and Onshi-Hakone Park, which feature displays of seasonal flowers. Itfs a great sightseeing spot, with attractions to enjoy throughout the year.

Hakone is easy to reach from Tokyo, and a well-developed transportation network in the Hakone area ensures pleasant, comfortable travel. In particular, the Hakone Tozan Train and the Hakone Tozan Bus make frequent runs and are a convenient way for visitors to get around to the various attractions in the area. Magnificent panoramas can be enjoyed from the Hakone Tozan Train as it winds up steep grades, the Hakone Tozan Cable Car, the Hakone Ropeway running suspended from heights ranging from 700 to 1,000 meters above ground and the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, which offers spectacular views of Mount Fuji from Lake Ashi. Part of the enjoyment of sightseeing in Hakone is trying out the various modes of transportation available.

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Meiji Jingu


The original Meiji Jingu [Wikipedia] was burnt down in air raids during the Second World War. The present shrine buildings date from November 1958. They consist of the Main Shrine, built in the Nagerezukuri style, together with Noritoden (where the words of praise the Emperor and Empress are recited), Naihaiden (the Inner Shrine), Gehaiden (the Outer Shrine), Shinko (the Treasure House), Shinsenjo (the Consecrated Kitchen for the preparation of the food offerings) and some office buildings. The materials are mainly plain Japanese cypress with copper plates for the roofs.

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Tsukiji fish market


The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, commonly known as Tsukiji fish market (Japanese: 築地市場, Tsukiji shijō) is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind.

The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors (few Japanese casually visit the market), especially for visitors who have arrived from Narita International Airport; the best times to visit are between 5:00AM and 9:00AM.

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Mojiko Retro


In 1889 (Meiji 22), a port of Moji (called "Mojiko") was opened its door to the foreign trade through the advanced industrial innovation of Kitakyushu area on that time period. ?Mojiko made its prosperity from those success?of the distribution business as an international port. The highest time of development, more than 200 foreign ships?arrived into Mojiko?in a month, and more than 600 thousands passengers stopped by there. A lot of national and international trading companies built their office in Mojiko, and its downtown was very busy with visitors all around the world. Even after declining of the distribution business in Mojiko area, most of buildings have been remains the same till today. After 100 years its prosperity, now Mojiko area has been revived with the intermixed of exotic buildings of old age and attractive new amusement spots. Incidentally, the name "Mojiko Retro" comes from combining Mojiko ("a port of Moji") and Retro (an abbreviation of "retrospective" in English).

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Tokyo Midtown


Tokyo Midtown is a composite urban district with a new style. It comprises a package of six buildings set amongst lush greenery. This town features a variety of facilities such as stores, restaurants, offices, hotels and museums, surrounded by greenery. These resonate with each other to provide your urban life with a superior quality of everyday living. Art is alive in every corner of the town to welcome the visitors, as it is also a key factor in the proliferation of Japanese designs around the world.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Shinjuku Red Cloth