Shinjuku Skyscrapers

Big Frank has been taking pictures of the skyscrapers in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. Here are three of his favorites.

This is the 200-metre high Sompo Japan Head Officet. The building was completed in 1976 and designer by Uchida Shozo.

To the left is the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, which opened in October 2008. It looks like a six-sided fountain pen wrapped in masking tape (or some say, a pickle or rocket). It houses retail spaces and three schools: the Mode Gakuen design school, HAL Tokyo (IT and digital contents) and Shuto Iko (medical treatments and care). Altogether it houses over 10,000 students!

This is the Shinjuku Mitsui Building. It is run by Mitsui Fudosan. It's the eighth tallest building in Tokyo, and was the tallest building in Tokyo and Japan, from September 1974 until March 1978. What draws your attention to it are the black channels running down its east and west sides. There is a sunken garden that surrounds its base with a very large plaza.

[All photos: Big Frank Dickinson]