Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (モード学園コクーンタワー) is Shinjuku‘s most distinctive skyscraper. Unlike Shinjuku’s other skyscrapers, it isn’t a hotel, business, or government office. It is the home of several education centers.
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Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (モード学園コクーンタワー) is Shinjuku‘s most distinctive skyscraper. Unlike Shinjuku’s other skyscrapers, it isn’t a hotel, business, or government office. It is the home of several education centers.
I foolishly thought I could avoid the heat in July by waking up early and taking a walk. I suppose it was a bit cooler before 7 a.m. than it was at 1 p.m., but the heat and humidity were still crazy. I decided to investigate the Waseda University campus with no one there (for a change) but myself and a few security guards. I was greeted at the gate by an “おはようございます先生,” something I will miss in the states.
I took today’s picture of Shinjuku from Building 11 before the sun got high enough overhead to wash everything out.
The streets on the west side of the Shinjuku Station come alive at night with office-less businesses. One is pictured above, a portable ramen shop (屋台). I was taking Ryan, on this evening, to catch a night bus. I was expecting there to be an office for the bus company at the address given, but there wasn’t. Instead, there were just some people on the street who check you in and then tell you which bus to get on.
Today’s photo is another angle from the Park Hyatt Tokyo. This time the camera is pointed towards Shinjuku and central Tokyo.
On a hot and humid night earlier this month we headed to the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku. We had lunch there once before, but this was our first time taking in the night view from the top. This hotel was the setting for Lost in Translation starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
We went to the New York Grill on the 52nd floor initially. When we found out there was a 2,200 yen (about $25) cover charge each, we opted for The Peak Lounge on the 41st floor instead.
The above photo was the view from our table. This is facing north. You can see Shinjuku Chuo Park in the center and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to the right.
We walked back to Shinjuku Station a little after 11 p.m. Part of the west side of the station was filled with homeless people sleeping side by side, many with boxes over their heads to keep out the light and noise. I’ve seen plenty of homeless people before, but this was most unusual. There were dozens of them lined up in neat rows with hundreds of waking people walking down the aisles between them that they had left for us to get back inside the train station.
I took this picture with my TZ10 and left the shutter open for 8 seconds.
Today’s picture is of the same place as the top picture in this prior blog entry, Shinjuku’s Kabukicho. The differences are the vantage point and time of day.