Shinjuku is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world (Shinjuku Station), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.
Surrounding Shinjuku Station are department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels are located here.
As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 312,418 and a density of 17,140 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km².
Shinjuku has the highest numbers of registered foreign nationals of any community in Tokyo. As of October 1, 2005, 29,353 people with 107 nationalities were registered in Shinjuku.
Surrounding Shinjuku are six other wards: Chiyoda to the east; Bunkyo and Toshima to the north; Nakano to the west, and Shibuya and Minato to the south. In addition, Nerima is only a hundred meters away. The highest point in Shinjuku is Hakone Hill, 44.6 m, in Toyama Park east of Takadanobaba and Shin-Okubo stations. The lowest point is 4.2 m in the Iidabashi area.
Places in Shinjuku include
* Ichigaya: A commercial area in eastern Shinjuku, site of the Ministry of Defense.* Golden Gai: An area of tiny shanty-style bars and clubs. Musicians, artists, actors and directors gather here, and the ramshackle walls of the bars are literally plastered with movie posters.* Kabukichō: A district well-known for bars, restaurants and red-light district with street prostitutes, brothels, and other sexual commerce. Located northeast of Shinjuku Station.* Nishi-shinjuku: Tokyo's largest skyscraper district. Several of the tallest buildings in Tokyo are located in this area, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, KDDI Building and Park Tower. Located west of Shinjuku Station.* Ōkubo: Tokyo's best-known Korean district.* Shinanomachi: On the southern edge of Shinjuku, close to the National (Olympic) Stadium, and Meiji-Jingu Stadium (where the Yakult Swallows baseball team plays).* Shinjuku Gyoen is a large park, 58.3 hectares, 3.5 km in circumference, blending Japanese traditional, English Landscape and French Formal style gardens.* Shinjuku ni-chōme: Tokyo's best-known gay district.* Waseda: Surrounding Waseda University, one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan. Nearby Takadanobaba is a major student residential and nightlife area.
In 1634, during the Edo period, as the outer moat of the Edo Castle was built, a number of temples and shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station (shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the Shinjuku Gyoen.
Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation. Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many skyscrapers.
The Tokyo air raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. The pre-war form of Shinjuku, and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war because the roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these formed the heart of the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho was a grand reconstruction plan put into action. (Ichikawa, 2003)
The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.
In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum stands on the site vacated by the government.)
Like the other wards of Tokyo, Shinjuku has a status equivalent to a city. As of 2005, the mayor is Hiroko Nakayama. The kugikai (ward council) consists of 38 elected members. The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito Party currently forms government. Democratic Party of Japan, Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party are also represented together with 4 independents. Its kuyakusho (ward headquarters) is at 1-4-1 Kabukicho.
Shinjuku is also the location of the metropolitan government of Tokyo. The governor's office, the assembly, and with all political offices are located at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Shinjuku is a major urban transit hub. JR Shinjuku Station sees an estimated 3.52 million passengers pass through each day, making it the busiest station in the world. It houses interchanges to three subway lines and two privately owned commuter lines, as well as the JR lines. |
