Shinjuku, Tokyo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shinjuku
新宿区
Location
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Tokyo
Physical characteristics
Area 18.23 km²
Population (as of 2005)
     Total 305,352
     Density 16,710/km²
Symbols
Shinjuku City Hall
Mayor Nakayama Hiroko
Official website: Shinjuku


Location of Shinjuku-ku in Tokyo.
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Location of Shinjuku-ku in Tokyo.

Shinjuku (新宿区 Shinjuku-ku?) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the busiest train station in the world (Shinjuku Station), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the Tokyo Metropolis. The area around Shinjuku Station is home to a large concentration of department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels have a large presence here.

As of 2005, the ward has an estimated population of 305,352 and a density of 16,710 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km².

Shinjuku has the highest numbers of registered foreign nationals of any community in Tokyo. As of October 1, 2005, 29,353 people with 107 nationalities were registered in Shinjuku. The top five nationalities are Korea (including North and South), China, France, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Shinjuku Skyscrapers viewed from Tokyo Tower.
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Shinjuku Skyscrapers viewed from Tokyo Tower.
A smog-blurred view over Shinjuku in the morning.
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A smog-blurred view over Shinjuku in the morning.

Tokyo wards around Shinjuku are: Chiyoda to the east; Bunkyo and Toshima to the north; Nakano to the west, and Shibuya and Minato to the south. In addition, Nerima is only a hundred meters away. The highest point in Shinjuku is Hakone Hill, 44.6m, in Toyama Park east of Takadanobaba and Shin-Okubo stations. The lowest point is 4.2m in the Iidabashi area.

Areas of Shinjuku include:

[edit] History

Billboards in Shinjuku
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Billboards in Shinjuku

In 1634, during the Edo period, as the outer moat of the Edo Castle was built, a number of temples and shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station (shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the Shinjuku Gyoen.

Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation. Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many skyscrapers.

The Tokyo air raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. [1] The pre-war form of Shinjuku, and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war because the roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these formed the heart of the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho was a grand reconstruction plan put into action (Ichikawa, 2003).

The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.

In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum stands on the site vacated by the government.)

[edit] Government and politics

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
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Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Like the other wards of Tokyo, Shinjuku has a status equivalent to a city. As of 2005, the mayor is Ms. Hiroko Nakayama. The kugikai (ward council) consists of 38 elected members affiliated with the Liberal Democratic, New Clean Government, Democratic, Communist and other political parties, as well as independents. Its kuyakusho (ward headquarters) is at 1-4-1 Kabukicho.

[edit] Elections

[edit] Transportation

View of Koshukaido at night
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View of Koshukaido at night

Shinjuku is a major urban transit hub: JR Shinjuku Station sees an estimated 3 million passengers pass through each day, making it the busiest station in the world. It houses interchanges to three subway lines and two privately owned commuter lines, as well as the JR lines.

[edit] Rail

[edit] Highways

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Schools

Public elementary and junior high schools in Shinjuku are operated by the Shinjuku Ward Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

[edit] Sight Seeing

  • Shinjuku-gyoen (the Shinjuku Imperial Gardens)

This is the most popular sightseeing spot in Shinjuku. Shinjuku may have a reputation as ‘an urban area,’ but it is certainly not without a garden. Shinjuku-gyoen is an oasis within skyscrapers, and one can enjoy its beauty throughout the four seasons. Its 100th anniversary of founding is in 2006.

This is a big park neighboring the skyscrapers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. This park is essential for businessmen to have a break during their busy weekdays, and for children to play at weekends.

  • Tokyo Tocho (The Tokyo Metropolitan Government)

Since 1991, Tokyo Tocho has been a symbol of Shinjuku. It has an observation room on the 45th floor, which is 202 meters high. From here, one can see the Diet Building and Tokyo Tower, and weather permitting, Mount Fuji.

  • Kyu Ogasawara tei (The Ogasawara House)

This is a Spanish style house built for Earl Ogasawara in 1927. This European style building is now used as a restaurant run by a private enterprise.

  • Waseda daigaku ‘Okuma kodo’ (Waseda university 'Okuma auditoriums')

This is a symbol of the Waseda university and a landmark for people around the university.

  • Meiji Jingu Shoutoku kinen kaigakan (The Shotoku anniversary museum in the Outer Gardens of Meiji Shrine)

This is the most outstanding and magnificent building in the Outer Gardens of Meiji Shrine. A straight long avenue beginning at the front of the museum becomes golden with the leaves colour in autumn. The Outer Gardens of Meiji Shrine were selected as one of 100 most beautiful places in Tokyo.

[edit] People

[edit] Shinjuku in popular culture

  • Shinjuku is the setting of many popular manga and anime series, and also features prominently in several movies.
  • Shinjuku-kei is also a name given to a particular style of Japanese pop music such as the singer Shina Ringo

[edit] Sister cities

Shinjuku has sister-city arrangements with Lefkada in Greece; Tiergarten (now Berlin-Mitte) in Berlin, Germany; and Dongcheng District, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

[edit] References

  • Shinjuku Ward Office, History of Shinjuku
  • Hiroo Ichikawa "Reconstructing Tokyo: The Attempt to Transform a Metropolis" in C. Hein, J.M. Diefendorf, and I. Yorifusa (Eds.) (2003). Building Urban Japan after 1945. New York: Palgrave.

[edit] External links

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Shadow picture of Tokyo region Tokyo Metropolis
Wards: Adachi | Arakawa | Bunkyō | Chiyoda | Chūō | Edogawa | Itabashi | Katsushika | Kita | Kōtō | Meguro | Minato | Nakano | Nerima | Ōta | Setagaya | Shibuya | Shinagawa | Shinjuku | Suginami | Sumida | Toshima | Taitō
Cities: Akiruno | Akishima | Chōfu | Fuchū | Fussa | Hachiōji | Hamura | Higashikurume | Higashimurayama | Higashiyamato | Hino | Inagi | Kiyose | Kodaira | Koganei | Kokubunji | Komae | Kunitachi | Machida | Mitaka | Musashimurayama | Musashino | Nishi-Tōkyō | Ōme | Tachikawa | Tama
Districts and Subprefectures: Nishitama District | Hachijō Subprefecture | Miyake Subprefecture | Ogasawara Subprefecture | Ōshima Subprefecture
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