Among the many office buildings of Shinjuku, some have their points of interest and are certainly worth visiting. This happens to be the case with Shinjuku NS Building.
From the outside, the building is not particularly noticeable and at 133m high, it's still smaller than both buildings of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. When seen from a higher spot, you might actually notice a large roof that looks like a greenhouse. The roof is actually made of glass and it lets light down into the gigantic atrium. When you are on the first floor, you can actually look up and see the roof 30 floors above your head. It's very impressive.
Different exhibitions are held in the atrium, with large pieces of art or even Christmas trees. You will also be able to see a giant pendulum clock made by Seiko that was once listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest pendulum clock. It is 29m tall, 22.5m large and its pendulum swings every 30 seconds.
There are several cheaper restaurants on the first floor. However, you can also take the sky elevator to the 29th floor for a better experience. The sky elevator, located in one of the corners, is a glass elevator with a view of the building's interior as well as a visible steel beam structure painted in rainbow colors that change from green to yellow when going up.
Once you've reached the top, you'll find an interesting walkway over the atrium as well as a dozen higher end restaurants that have a lovely view over Shinjuku. There are also some windows that are outside of the restaurants, from where you can have a view.
Not necessarily the most exciting place in Shinjuku, for sure, but its architecture and design are still pretty impressive. If you happen to be in the area, why not spare a few minutes of your time enjoying the decent views?
