japan-shop.com
Japan Guide Homepage
Travel
Living
A-Z
Forum
Jobs
Friends
Shopping
Essentials
-
Sightseeing
-
Hotels
-
Transportation
-
Shopping
-
Questions
Sign in for a personalized experience. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now.
Korean
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
 

Search this site

Hotel Reservations

(check-in)

Online Hostel Bookings
Hostels and inexpensive ryokan from $10 per night!
Car Rentals
Compact cars from around 4,000 Yen/day!

Related Pages
Travel
Sightseeing
Tokyo

Shinjuku Shop Directory
Shinjuku Gyoen

Shinjuku
Shibuya
Harajuku
Asakusa
Ikebukuro
Akihabara
Odaiba
Roppongi
Ginza
Marunouchi
Nihonbashi
Tokyo Dome City
Shiodome
Yebisu Garden Place
Ameyoko
Kappabashi

Tokyo: Orientation
JR Yamanote Line
JR Chuo Line
JR Saikyo Line
JR Shonan Shinjuku Line

Related Questions
Rotenburo on high building in...
 0 reactions, last updated 13 hours ago
Lead photo on the shinjuku...
 1 reaction, last updated 42 days ago
Narita to Intercontinental Keio...
 1 reaction, last updated 48 days ago
4 days of lodging in shinjuku...
 2 reactions, last updated 51 days ago
How to navigte shinjuku st. to...
 21 reactions, last updated 97 days ago
Recommend dept. stores in central...
 1 reaction, last updated 121 days ago
Hotels in Shinjuku
 7 reactions, last updated 139 days ago
Staying in Asakusa
 1 reaction, last updated 13 hours ago
Yoyogi Park
 4 reactions, last updated 35 hours ago
Walking directions to Kyushu...
 3 reactions, last updated 4 days ago

Japan Sightseeing Guide
Hokkaido
Sapporo
Otaru
Hakodate
Furano
Abashiri
Noboribetsu
Niseko
Lake Toya
Daisetsuzan
Shiretoko
Rishiri Rebun
Akan

Tohoku
Sendai
Matsushima
Hiraizumi
Akita
Kakunodate
Nyuto Onsen
Aomori
Hirosaki
Lake Towada
Shimokita Hanto
Dewa Sanzan
Aizu

Kanto
Tokyo
Yokohama
Kamakura
Nikko
Kinugawa
Hakone
Kawagoe
Kusatsu
Ikaho
Minakami
Narita

Chubu
Nagoya
Inuyama
Mt.Fuji
Fujigoko
Izu Peninsula
Nagano
Matsumoto
Kamikochi
Kiso Valley
Hakuba
Yudanaka
Sado Island
Takayama
Shirakawa-go
Gujo
Gero Onsen
Kanazawa

Kansai
Kyoto
Osaka
Nara
Kobe
Himeji
Kinosaki
Mount Koya
Kumano
Yoshino
Amanohashidate
Hikone
Iga Ueno
Ise Shima

Chugoku
Hiroshima
Miyajima
Onomichi
Okayama
Kurashiki
Matsue
Iwami Ginzan
Iwakuni
Yamaguchi
Hagi

Shikoku
Takamatsu
Kotohira
Naoshima
Matsuyama
Uchiko
Kochi
Tokushima
Naruto

Kyushu
Fukuoka
Dazaifu
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Mount Aso
Minamata
Beppu
Miyazaki
Takachiho
Kagoshima
Kirishima
Yakushima

Okinawa
Honto
Miyako
Yaeyama

Survey
How would you rate your experiences staying at Japanese hotels/ryokan?
Very good
Good
Neither good nor bad
Bad
Very bad
Never stayed at one
see results
Other Surveys:
Next trip to Japan
Improvements to Tourism
Financial Crisis
Ski Destination
Preferred way to stay at a ryokan
Purpose of visit
Most popular region
Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter
Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

japan-guide.com forum
? Any questions? Ask them on the question forum!

Sponsored Listings
Tour Packages
Guided and individual tour plans.
Japan - Order FREE Brochure!
About vacation plans and specialty travel.
Car Rental
The cheapest rates in Japan!

 
most visited sights
# 1   of 49 sights
in Tokyo
 
Home - Travel - Sightseeing Guide - Tokyo
Shinjuku
 
basic information

Shinjuku is one of the 23 wards of Tokyo, but the name commonly refers just to the large entertainment, business and shopping area around Shinjuku Station.

Handling more than two million passengers each day, Shinjuku Station is Japan's busiest railway station, served by six railway companies and about a dozen railway and subway lines, including the JR Yamanote Line.

West of the station is Shinjuku' skyscraper district, home to many of Tokyo's tallest buildings, including several premier hotels and the Metropolitan Government Office, whose observation decks are open to the public for free.

Northeast of the station lies Kabukicho, Japan's largest and wildest red light district, while department stores, subterranean malls and electronic shops surround Shinjuku Station on all four sides, including the recently redeveloped south, where the pleasant Southern Terrace is located. Redevelopment there is still ongoing.

Points of Interest:

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (Tocho)
The 243 meter tall twin towers and surrounding buildings contain the offices and the assembly hall of the metropolitan government of Tokyo, as well as observatories on the 45th floor of each tower. The view from the southern tower is considered slightly more interesting.
Open daily 9:30 to 23:00 (south observatory until 17:30), except December 29-31, January 2-3 and occasional inspection days. Furthermore, the north observatory is closed on the 2nd and 4th Monday and the south observatory on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, except if a public holiday falls on the closure day, in which case the observatory is closed the following day. Admission is free.

Shinjuku Skyscraper District
Among the skyscrapers are the Tocho (see above) and some of Tokyo's leading hotels, including the Keio Plaza, Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Park Hyatt (featured in Lost in Translation). Several of the other skyscrapers have some shops on their ground floors and restaurants with great views of the city on their top floors.
The restaurants in the skyscrapers tend to be open from around 11:00 to 23:00. Some restaurants close for a few hours between lunch and dinner.

Kabukicho
Named after a kabuki theater, whose construction plans have never been realized, Japan's largest red light district features countless restaurants, bars, pachinko parlors, love hotels and a wide variety of red light establishments for both sexes and sexual orientations. Explore with caution and beware of exorbitant cover fees.
Kabuki-cho comes to life daily after 18:00, and especially so on Fridays and Saturdays.

Department Stores:

Odakyu
Odakyu Department Store consists of 16 floors, including a wonderful food department in the basement and restaurant floors. The department store belongs to the Odakyu Group, which also operates a suburban railway line from Shinjuku to Odawara (Odakyu is an abbreviation for "Odawara Express").
Open daily from 10:00 to 20:00; restaurants from 11:00 to 22:00.

Keio
Keio Department Store consists of 11 floors, including a food department in the basement and several restaurants on the restaurant floor. The department store belongs to the Keio Group, which also operates a suburban railway line from Shinjuku to western Tokyo.
Open daily from 10:00 to 20:00; restaurants from 11:00 to 22:00.

Lumine
Lumine is owned by JR East and located next and above Shinjuku Station's South and East Exits. Lumine is divided into "Lumine 1" west of and "Lumine 2" east of the South Exit and "Lumine Est" (formerly known as "My City") above the East Exit.
Open daily from 11:00 to 22:00; restaurants until 23:00.

Mylord
Mylord offers seven floors of shopping and three restaurant floors. The complex also includes "Mosaic Dori", a narrow pedestrian street between the Keio and Odakyu department stores. Mylord is affiliated with the Odakyu Group.
Open daily from 11:00 to 21:00; restaurants until 22:30.

Takashimaya
Opened in 1996, the Shinjuku branch of Takashimaya consists of 15 floors, including a food department in the basement and three restaurant floors. A Tokyu Hands branch and Kinokuniya book store with a large foreign language section are located in the same building complex, also known as "Times Square".
Open daily from 10:00 to 20:00; restaurants from 11:00 to 23:00.

Isetan
With a history of more than 100 years Isetan is a veteran among Shinjuku's department stores. The Shinjuku store is Isetan's flagship and consists of ten floors, including a food department in the basement and a restaurant floor.
Open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 (from 10:00 on weekends and holidays); Lumine Est from 10:30 to 21:30; restaurants from 11:00 to 23:00.

Flags
Located next to the South Exit of Shinjuku Station, Flags is a ten-floor shopping complex featuring a Tower Records music store, an Oshman's sports goods store, a Gap and various other shops, cafes and an Italian restaurant.
Open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 (Tower Records and restaurant until 23:00).

Electronics Stores:

Yodobashi Camera
Yodobashi Camera is one of Japan's leading discount electronics retailers, and especially strong on camera equipment. Yodobashi's main store is located near the west exit of Shinjuku Station, while a smaller branch is located near the station's east exit.
Open daily from 9:30 to 22:00.

Bic Camera
Bic Camera is another of Japan's leading discount electronics retailers. Bic's main store is located in Ikebukuro, but it also operates two branches next to Shinjuku Station, one in the Odakyu Halc Building near the station's west exit and one east of the station near the Isetan department store.
Open daily from 10:00 to 21:00.

Sakuraya
Sakuraya is the third of Shinjuku's three big discount electronics stores (besides Yodobashi and Bic, see above). Sakuraya has as many as nine locations around Shinjuku Station, two on the west side and seven on the east side.
Open daily from 10:00 to 21:30.

Parks:

Shinjuku Gyoen
Shinjuku Gyoen is one of Tokyo's largest and most pleasant parks and best cherry blossom viewing spots. It was opened to the public in 1949, after it had served as a garden for the Imperial Family since 1903.
Open from 9:00 to 16:30. Closed on Mondays (Tuesday is Monday is a national holiday) from December 29 to January 3. There are no closure days during the cherry blossom season (late March to late April) and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (first half of November). Admission is 200 Yen.

Central Park
Kumano Shrine (Kumano Jinja) and the cardboard box houses of a sizable number of homeless people are located in this public park directly behind the Tokyo Metropolitan Government twin towers.
Always open, free admission.

Any advice or questions? Voice them in the forum!

how to get there

Shinjuku Station is Japan's busiest railway station, served by about a dozen railway lines, including the JR Yamanote Line.

From Tokyo Station

The frequently departing, orange trains on the JR Chuo Line (Rapid Service) take less than 15 minutes and cost 190 Yen from Tokyo Station to Shinjuku Station.

From Ueno Station

By JR Yamanote Line it takes 25 minutes and costs 190 Yen to get from Ueno to Shinjuku. A slightly faster alternative is taking the JR Yamanote or JR Keihin-Tohoku Line from Ueno to Kanda Station, and then the JR Chuo Line from Kanda to Shinjuku.

Orientation in Tokyo

news and reports

Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
April 10, 2009
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
April 6, 2009
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
April 2, 2009
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
March 31, 2009
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
March 29, 2009
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Report
March 26, 2009

travel community

Popularity of Shinjuku:
Users who have been to Tokyo: 2595
Users who have been to Shinjuku: 1788

1st of 49 most visited sights in Tokyo.
1st of 554 most visited sights nationwide.

Have you been to Shinjuku?

Ratings for Shinjuku:
japan-guide.com Rating:
  best of Japan  
User Rating (by 1036 users):
85/100
  recommended

User Feedback
We strive to keep japan-guide.com up-to-date and accurate, and are always looking for ways to improve the user experience. If you have any updates, suggestions, corrections or opinions, please let us know:

useful vocabulary

hotels & ryokan

In:
From:
For:
Website:

shop directory

Shinjuku Terrace City
We are a popular sightseeing attraction, spread out in front of Shinjuku station! The area from Shinjuku station's...
The Suit Company Shinjuku Station East
The Suit Company has been a trusted retailer for quality men and women dress apparel at affordable prices. Find...
SHINJUKU MARUI ONE
SHINJUKU MARUI ONE is the launch pad for Tokyo's cool fashion culture. A super-individualistic fashion building...
Marui - Shinjuku
Shinjuku is the home of 6 Marui stores! Shinjuku Marui consists of 6 buildings by the East Exit of Shinjuku...
Isetan - Shinjuku
We stock a gorgeous range of top-quality, stylish products from fashion and accessories to small goods and...
More shops...

tours and packages

Tokyo Tours
Various tours and travel packages for Tokyo and surroundings.

english links

Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Official English website.

japanese links

Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Official website.
Isetan
Official website.
Odakyu Shinjuku
Official website.
Keio Department Store
Official website.
Lumine Department Stores
Official website.
Mylord Shinjuku
Official website.
Takashimaya Shinjuku
Official website.
yodobashi.com
Official website.
Bic Camera
Official website.
Sakuraya
Official website.

 

 
May 30, 2008  
Copyright © 1996-2009 japan-guide.com All rights reserved
home - site map - privacy policy - terms of use - contact - L‚ɂ‚¢‚Ä - advertising

Asian-inspired
Plasma TV Stands