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Viewing Tips - Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

I strongly recommend visiting the observation when it opens in the morning as this is the time when you will have the best opportunity of viewing Mount Fuji. At this time of day the sun will be behind you, the air will be colder and thus there will be less dust and smog in the air to block your view of Mount Fuji and the other mountains in the range.

If you wish to photograph Tokyo from this vantage point then the following tips may help you.

1. Reduce internal reflection from the glass by covering the space between the lenses and the window glass with something like a jacket to block out the light getting on the window glass.
2. Place the lenses as close to the window as possible without touching and allowing for lenses movement for zooming and focusing.
3. In the day, use a relatively short depth of field to keep any image on the window out of focus, but allow enough for any close buildings to be in focus. This can be achieved by increasing the shutter speed on most compact cameras.
4. For night time, ideally you would use a tripod or something to rest the camera on as the exposure will need to long. TURN OFF the flash. Observe point two. If available use a high ISO setting or night time/starlight setting on a compact camera.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku

Structure - Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

The building consists of a complex of three structures each taking up a city block. The tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 45 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor. The building also has three levels below ground. The design of the building (which was supposed to looks like a computer chip), by architect Kenzo Tange (and associates), has many symbolic touches, most notably the aforementioned split which re-creates the look of a Gothic cathedral.

Finished in 1991 at the expense of 157 billion yen (about $US 1 billion) of public money, a popular nickname for Tocho is "Tax Tower."

The other two buildings in the complex are eight-story Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building (including one underground floor) and Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building No.2, which has 37 stories including three below ground.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building In fiction

As one of the distinguishing landmarks of Tokyo, the building often features in anime

In Digimon Tamers, the building houses the headquarters of the secretive government organisation, Hypnos. In X/1999, the basement of the building is headquarters for the Chi No Ryu and houses the giant computer "Beast".In the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig episode Excavation, Togusa discovers a nefarious excavation under the building in submerged pre-war Tokyo.

That was it!...Those were just some of the highlights in Tokyo. Isn't that cool?...I think so!...Enjoy!...c:,)