I was told about the Shinjuku (新宿) district when I first arrived in Tokyo, but didn’t have an opportunity to explores its streets until my last two days in Tokyo. The sprawling area is one of the 23 city wards of Tokyo and located in the central western part of Tokyo. It is commonly known as one of the city’s largest and most happening entertainment, business and shopping area.
Everything is pretty much a stone’s throw from Shinjuku Station, which btw, is the world’s busiest railway station, handling over two million passengers every day. It is served by about a dozen railway and subway lines, including the JR Yamanote Line and is also one of Tokyo’s major stops for long-distance highway buses and city buses. Whoah Nelly is right. I was lost on more than one occasion and I found myself there by foot on both occasions.
The city streets are sprawling with bustling crowds and everyone appears to be in a hurry, except for the random teenager you run across who might be off in a corner texting his girlfriend for the fifteenth time in the last five minutes.
Billboards are massive and colorful, making London’s Picadilly Circus and New York’s Times Square look and feel small in comparison.
While I didn’t really see homeless people elsewhere in the city, I’m sure they exist in other neighborhoods. Here in Shinjuku, it wasn’t hard to spot one curled up on the side of the road taking a nap.
There are also numerous festivals in this area. I happen to be there during the Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri Festival, which seemed to go on for hours with a parade procession that included plenty of drums and dancing.
West of the station is Shinjuku’s skyscraper district, home to many of Tokyo’s tallest buildings, including several premier hotels and the twin towers of the Metropolitan Government Office, whose observation decks are open to the public for free.
Northeast of the station lies Kabukicho, Japan’s largest and wildest red light district, while department stores, subterranean malls and electronic shops surround Shinjuku Station on all four sides, including the recently redeveloped Southern Terrace.
There are plenty of sushi restaurants and noodle bars and the great thing about this area is that the food is great but not expensive and there are countless choices on every street. There are also a lot of bars and cafes as well and it offers a serious nightlife scene.
Below are a few videos I shot while I was there, the first one just wandering through the streets of Shinjuku, and the next two are of the Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri Festival in July. Enjoy!
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Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
