Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
The world's tallest city hall hands you a 202-meter view over Tokyo for free.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Tokyo offline.
Kenzo Tange designed this 48-story Shinjuku tower to evoke both a Gothic cathedral and an integrated circuit — and then put free public observation decks at floor 45 in each of the two split towers. It held the Tokyo skyline height record until 2007, and in 2024 earned a Guinness record for the world's largest projection mapping display.
What to look for
- The tower splitting into two parallel sections at the 33rd floor — visible from street level before you ride up
- Cathedral-like facade details that Tange layered onto what is functionally a government office block
- The projection mapping surface on the exterior, certified by Guinness World Records in February 2024
Observation decks open 9:30–22:00, free entry — but the two towers operate on alternating days, so check which is open before heading up.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Tokyo, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Tokyo pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Tokyo
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon TowerA 50-story school curved like a cocoon — white aluminum and dark-blue glass, criss-crossed by diagonal white lines — that beat 150 rival proposals and won Skyscraper of the Year.
- Tokyo SkytreeAt 634 metres, the height isn't random — 6-3-4 spells "Musashi," the ancient name for this exact corner of Tokyo.
- Tokyo TowerA third of its steel came from US tanks scrapped after the Korean War — Japan's postwar recovery, painted orange and bolted into the sky.
- National Diet LibraryBorn in 1948 as a "citadel of popular sovereignty," Japan's national library holds 12 million volumes — and anyone can walk in.
- Akihabara (Electric Town)The black market that outgrew itself and became Japan's otaku capital.
- Tokyo National MuseumOne in ten of every artwork Japan has ever officially designated a National Treasure lives here.