B is for...

 

B is for....Buildings

Due to the unfortunate bombings of the Second World War, and to the descructive earthquake of 1923, Tokyo's architecture compromises mostly of modern structures. 

Please enjoy this collection of Clare's Top 10 Best Buildings in Tokyo!!

10. In at number ten is the landmark Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, which funnily enough is in, Roppongi, the foreigner capital of Tokyo. Roppongi Hills is a slick, 54-floored commercial building, boasting a tv station, museum, and a gazillion restaurants and shops.

9. An unknown (to me) building as viewed from Shimbashi Station. The building is almost paper-thin, and seemingly cuts the sky like a razor blade.

8. Number eight is the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku. This features a three-tiered roof, and was featured in the Lost in Translation movie (the one with Bill Murray).

7. Tokyo Big Sight in the Daiba area. I think I like it because it reminds me of the flying guard spaceship things in from the Tron movie ^^

6. My friends and I affectionately call it the "Castle Karaoke", which is part of probably the most successful Karaoke bar franchises in Tokyo, with the distinctive blue and red colours. This particular karaoke tower in Shinjuku has a Disney-like castle on the roof, and is very luxurious inside with chandeliers, fancy Itailian style posts and statues. The rooms themselves are adorned with psychadelic UV wall designs.

5. Fuji TV Studios in Daiba. It has a unique shape, and the sphere contains an obser- vation deck.

4. The Asahi Brewery in Asakusa. Asahi is Japan's leading beer company with over 40% of the market share. And believe me, beer is big business in Japan! The left-side tower is supposed to resemble a glass of beer with the frothy head at the top (can you see it??), and the lower-right sculpture is known as the 'Golden Flame'.

3. Asakusa Shrine and Sensoji Temple (the one with the giant red lantern) in Asakusa. The temple was first built in the 1st century, and the shrine survived the WWII bombings, making it an important building in Tokyo, and the site for many festivals.

2. The Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku is my landmark every time I'm lost in that part of the city. You'll be surprised to hear that it is not a commercial building, nor is it an office space, but in fact a fashion school!

1. And number one is... Tokyo Tower! Well, I confess it's not acutally a building, but rather, as the name suggests, a tower. But it is very dear to Tokyoites, and I can see it lit up at night from the roof of my apartment. Very importantly, it is taller than its twin, the Eiffel Tower, and is the second tallest structure in Japan (superceeded only last month by the under-construction Tokyo Sky Tree).
The red and white colours fit under the International Airspace colour scheme, where those colours give the tower the greatest contrast against the sky for aeroplanes to avoid it. Or so I hear.

In other news.. work and life are proceeding as usual ^^
Noteworthy forthcoming events are:
May 24th: Going for a level check before I start taking lessons as a not-so nearby Japanese school. I'm currently very motivated about studying Japanese!!!!!
June 15th: The new foreign teacher is joining Aeon
June 19th: Simon is leaving the school :(
June 27th: Conducting a British culture lesson for the local Scouts pack
June 27th: Cara and Laura from my school are coming to visit for 10 days!!