Roppongi
Shiodome
| Roppongi has long been known as a cosmopolitan playground, in
part because of the concentration of foreign embassies in the area. Facilities
like the Haiyuza
theater, a mecca for contemporary theatrical productions, and Suntory
Hall, a concert venue, have helped establish Roppongi as a place to go out
on the town. But this district is poised for transformation under one in a series
of large redevelopment efforts that has made cranes and other construction machinery
a fixture of the landscape in many parts of Tokyo. In Roppongi, the centerpiece
of the redevelopment is the construction of a huge office, cultural, and residential
complex called Roppongi
Hills. Its main tower, a 54-story building, will contain hotels, offices,
cultural facilities such as the Mori
Art Center (affiliated with New York's Museum of Modern Art) and movie theaters,
and various city government functions. The complex will also include residential
buildings and mixed-use buildings to be occupied by shops and schools.
In nearby Shiodome, east of Roppongi, the redevelopment is transforming the site of a defunct freight terminal into a residential and office complex. When it is finished in 2007, the complex will be a city in its own right, with an office population of 60,000 and a residential population of 6,000. The project is already partially complete, and the first major complex, Caretta Shiodome, opened on December 1, 2002. This complex contains the new offices of advertising giant Dentsu Inc., along with 58 shops and restaurants, including the "sky restaurants" on the forty-sixth and forty-seventh floors and the boutiques and restaurants on the basement levels. The complex also houses Advertising Museum Tokyo, the country's first museum focused on ads; and Dentsu Shiki Theatre Sea, a venue for the Shiki Theatre Company. |
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