Shinjuku is a neighborhood which holds a lot of memories for me.

I'm a DJ in Tokyo.

Today I'm exploring Nishi-Shinjuku, with all its many skyscrapers.

This is a business area that's packed with commuters each morning.

The area began taking shape around 50 years ago.

It was built over a former water treatment plant west of Shinjuku Station.

This was all restaurants, with geisha entertainers.

Geisha?!

Beyond the water plant was an entertainment district with geisha and ponds.

Visitors would enjoy themselves and ride boats there.

The area has many other links to water.

The Kanda River. This used to be the main water

aqueduct for the Edo period for all of this area.

How did an area so centered on water

end up home to all these skyscrapers?

Turns out, there was a very natural progression

built on the centuries-long relationship with water.

This time on "Dive in Tokyo,"

we explore the skyscrapers of Nishi-Shinjuku.

Hello, people. My name is George Cockle,

and today I'm going to be introducing this town called Nishi-Shinjuku.

This town Shinjuku though, has been very close to my heart.

When I was in my 20s,

I worked as a bartender on the east side of Shinjuku Station.

I walked the entertainment district of Kabukicho at night,

and past the department stores during the day.

But today we're going to talk about Nishi-Shinjuku.

We're talking about skyscrapers. Here they are.

The skyscrapers of Nishi Shinjuku.

Nishi-Shinjuku refers to the area that lies west of Shinjuku Station.

The high-rise buildings are clustered near the center.

There are more than 40 skyscrapers which are over a hundred meters tall.

Let's start by exploring this series of towers.

Well, there's an interesting building up there. Look at that.

It's so new. It's 21st-century, definitely.

Really edgy. It says "now."

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower was completed in 2008.

It's an educational facility designed to look like a cocoon.

But, you know, for me, Nishi-Shinjuku are these '70s buildings over here.

Look at them. That's what I think of.

These buildings were completed five decades ago.

They must have been cutting-edge then, but now they're a bit retro.

Nishi-Shinjuku was where to look for Tokyo skyscrapers in the '70s and '80s.

It came to symbolize Japan's economic prosperity.

Many different buildings went up over the years.

This is one of the best-known.

Holy... You know, when they first built this place, there was like

new changes in Tokyo.

This is going to be the future of Tokyo.

If you check out this building, the whole place is like this now.

But when they first built this, this was the only one,

and it looked great!

At the time, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

was the tallest in Japan.

It was completed in 1990 and stands 243 meters tall.

Both towers have an observation deck.

The decks have always been free to access.

It's still a popular spot for tourists.

(As of October 2023, the north observation deck is temporarily closed)

In 1994, the Shinjuku Park Tower was built nearby.

Floors 39 to 52 are occupied by a famous five-star hotel.

All right, we're here. 52!

Well, look at that.

Look at all the skyscrapers out there.

Ah, that's that building we were just at.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

On the 52nd floor, at the top of the hotel,

is a bar which was made famous by a Hollywood movie.

With New York-inspired decor, it's a popular spot for guests and tourists.

The view at night certainly has a touch of Manhattan magic.

So what's the history of the neighborhood?

I've come to Shinjuku Central Park, west of the high-rises.

Wow, it's a beautiful park.

Lots of greenery. I heard they built it

about the same time as all these other buildings. Good job.

I go further west in search of a centuries-old historical spot.

Wow. Oh, look at this!

What a beautiful building, man.

This is Juniso Kumano Shrine,

founded around the 13th century.

It's long been the religious heart of Shinjuku.

All right, here's the history of the place.

Wow, lots of water around there before.

And, look, they've got a big pond. Look at that.

This print shows the area around the Juniso Kumano Shrine in the 19th century.

It was popular as a day trip from the city center.

People came to admire the beautiful waters and scenery.

There was also a large waterfall which fed into the pond.

Water was a common sight in Nishi-Shinjuku.

An old map reveals two large ponds by the shrine.

So the ponds must have been over there off that ledge there.

That's where the waterfall must have been too.

Well, let's go check it out.

Well, according to those maps and that drawing,

the waterfall must have been here,

and the ponds must have been over here somewhere.

Probably over there somewhere.

So why don't we take a look for it. Let's try.

It seems this huge road is where the ponds once lay.

I head to the other side.

Looking at an old map, I see I'm right on the edge of the ponds.

All right. Now we're walking down the hill

and getting down to the level of the ponds.

This looks like the level of the pond.

An old-timey kind of neighborhood.

An old soba restaurant on a quiet street.

I head in to see if anybody knows the ponds.

Hello.

Welcome!

I'm met by the owners, the Kazamas,

and Nozaki, a regular who's a history buff.

When I visited Kumano Shrine, I read there were ponds near here.

Here we go.

This is where we are.

Seriously?!

The pond, and lots of restaurants.

Restaurants?

And geisha entertainers.

Geisha? Around here?

So they rode on the boats?

Yes, pleasure boats.

The ponds flourished as a leisure spot from the 1700s onwards.

By the late-1800s, it was famous enough to attract geisha.

This footage is from 1930, showing a string of restaurants along the bank.

The ponds were man-made, built to reserve water for rice paddies.

It was to grow rice?

The ponds were for farming,

but as the city grew, they became a leisure spot.

That's this window?

Yes, the water was right below.

All buildings now, of course! But it was all water back then.

What a shame it's gone!

There's nothing.

In the 1960s, redevelopment projects led to the ponds being filled in.

Did geisha ever eat here?

Oh yes, and we delivered too.

Did you really?

The ponds and geisha are long gone,

but the shop still serves their noodles the same way.

- Really excellent noodles!
- Thank you.

There was more water to the north and south of Nishi-Shinjuku.

Two aqueducts were in use until the end of the 19th century.

And here it is!

Kandagawa.

It's Kanda River. This used to be the main water

aqueduct for the Edo period for all of this area.

It's always been a water town, and it still is.

Kanda River still flows from west Tokyo,

past the north of Nishi-Shinjuku, to the city center.

But there was also the Tamagawa Aqueduct which flowed to the south.

Hey, look at this. What've we got here?

Oh, we've got something here.

Well, I guess this must be some kind of old bridge

when there used to be a river.

Do you see any signs anywhere?

There it is. Miazabashi.

It's a bridge over a river, it says.

It seems to be the remains of the Tamagawa Aqueduct.

I decide to learn more about its history.

Hi, I'm George Cockle.

Hello, I'm Kaneko of the Tokyo Waterworks Historical Museum.

What happened here?

Clean water used to flow in the aqueduct.

But as more people moved in, the water got dirtier.

Eventually it led to breakouts of diseases such as cholera.

The Tamagawa Aqueduct was a key water source

built for the residents of old Tokyo in 1654.

But when the regime changed in the mid-1800s,

it stopped being properly maintained.

Increasing pollution and cholera outbreaks

led to the aqueduct being closed down for good in 1901.

That makes sense.

Yes, modern water facilities were needed so they phased it out.

The government chose Nishi-Shinjuku

as the location for a new, modern water plant.

One factor was the area's high elevation,

which would help with distributing water.

The Tamagawa Aqueduct was reworked

and the water now went to the new plant.

In 1898, the enormous Yodobashi Treatment Plant was completed.

It was 340,000 square meters in size.

From then until 1965,

Nishi-Shinjuku was known for providing Tokyo with clean water.

Kaneko takes me somewhere we can see some remains.

This is where the plant was.

There are still a few hints today. Can you spot them?

Just buildings, trees, cars. I don't see anything.

That's fair.

The height gap between here and the road is the key.

The skyscrapers are what grab your attention now,

but the road running below the buildings used to be the bottom of the water plant.

Our bridge is where the water came up to.

The largest pools were 200 by 100 meters.

Oh that's big! Way bigger than a swimming pool!

From 4 to 5m deep, they left their mark on the topography.

The enormous rectangular plot of the Yodobashi Treatment Plant.

The high-rises were built neatly inside.

The upper and lower roads also keep the height gap from the plant.

A building reminiscent of that time still stands in Shinjuku Central Park.

What's this?

Rather elegant, and old.

It's called Rokkakudo. The only reminder of the plant.

It goes way back!

Rokkakudo was an observation point.

Visitors could look out over the cutting-edge facility from this spot.

At 45 meters high, it was built on earth dug out when the plant was built.

Shinjuku has a long history with water.

Yes, water had a big presence.

A treatment plant, and rivers. It's impressive.

Shinjuku lies west of central Tokyo.

The city's water runs west to east, so this was where it entered Tokyo.

A very important spot.

From the entry point of Tokyo's water to a city of skyscrapers.

How did this change come about?

The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

But how did a disaster lead to Shinjuku's development?

I visited the Shinjuku Historical Museum to learn more.

Hi, I'm George Cockle.

I'm Miyazawa of the Shinjuku Historical Museum.

When are these from?

These were 5000-series streetcars that ran in the 1930s.

The biggest of their time. There were a lot of lines.

There were also railway lines that terminated at Shinjuku.

Many people moved to the west of Tokyo after the disaster.

Shinjuku Station became the entrance to the city center

for all the western rail lines.

In 1927, it outgrew Tokyo Station to become Japan's busiest station.

The east of the station became a large entertainment district.

As the east side grew, people wanted to develop the west.

There was already talk of moving the plant before the war.

Although plans to move the plant were stopped by the war,

the city of Tokyo created an urban plan to redevelop the area in 1960.

With this new urban plan, the Yodobashi Plant was closed.

New construction techniques and the removal of height restrictions

led to a boom in high-rises.

The very first to go up is a place with a lot of memories for me.

We're around here somewhere.

All right, here it is. Hey, this is the building that started it all.

When this came, there was none of this here.

This was the very, very first one.

A 1971 photograph of the newly completed hotel.

It dominated the Tokyo skyline.

Hello, how are you?

Welcome to the Keio Plaza Hotel. I'm Yoko Sugiura from the PR section.

I'm George Cockle.

Thanks for meeting me.

Sugiura shows me around the hotel,

which has maintained its character over the years.

Oh, nice!

A little bit of Asia, a little bit of the West in here.

Look at the view.

May I?

The metropolitan towers!

Wow, right there. They're working at the government office.

What a view!

Japan's first high-rise hotel, built 52 years ago.

Windows then were at hip height but these begin at the knee.

These huge windows were revolutionary at the time.

All 1,000 rooms feature them.

Here you can enjoy a 160m-high view.

We head to the lounge, a great viewing point.

The same big windows.

That's right.

When I came in the '70s, there were no other buildings.

Just empty lots. I had no idea what would happen.

I first came up here when the building was still new.

Just look at how different it was.

A single tall building standing alone.

It made for spectacular views.

The observation room was on the 47th floor and had over 10,000 visitors a day.

The line for the elevator stretched all the way to Shinjuku Station.

Wow! I didn't wait that long. That's incredible.

This is footage from the 47th-floor observation room in 1971.

This was long before high-rise hotels were common,

and the company's fortunes rested on this gamble.

The CEO thought the hotel could make Shinjuku the new face of Japan.

That Nishi-Shinjuku could become a city of skyscrapers, like New York.

That's exactly what Shinjuku became! He got it right.

After that, 200-meter skyscrapers

popped up all over the remains of the water plant.

With the completion of the government towers in 1990,

the entirety of the old plant was now covered in high-rise buildings.

Other parts of Nishi-Shinjuku went on to be redeveloped,

and new skyscrapers are being built even today.

Recently, the spotlight has moved away from the office buildings

to galleries, event spaces, apartments, and other aspects of daily life.

My last stop has long been at the heart of Nishi-Shinjuku,

along the train tracks.

A collection of tiny drinking establishments

known as Omoide Yokocho, or "Memory Lane."

Wow, I still remember this place.

Lots of little tiny shops.

Oh, I've been to this one before.

I've been here a lot.

Man, always brings back memories!

Now, look at that.

There sure are a lot of yakitori bars here!

There are around sixty bars here, many of them offering yakitori skewers.

It's now a popular spot with foreign tourists.

I'm here to meet someone who knows the history of the street.

Let's ask him what it's like.

Hello there.

Hi, I'm George.

I'm the owner, Murakami.

You're the oldest on the block?

Pretty sure I am, yeah.

Murakami has been making sushi here for around fifty years.

His parents started here in 1945.

Was this really a black market?

Back in 1945? Sure. We sold yakitori back then.

Just after the war in 1945, this alley was a black market.

U.S. Army surplus and everyday items

brought by train from the country were sold illegally.

The market thrived, with countless stalls popping up around the area.

Although the station was once surrounded,

the stalls gradually fell away until this alley was all that remained.

As Japan's economy boomed, it slowly evolved into today's Omoide Yokocho.

Murakami's shop has carried on for decades, adjusting with the times.

Things changed with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. New customers.

More regulations came in. We switched to sushi.

Did you get tourists after that hotel was built?

We'd get phone calls to arrange a few visits, yeah.

The government building led to more women customers.

We rebuilt the shared bathroom, that kind of thing.

There's often been plans to redevelop the alley.

But the owners and customers all cherish the atmosphere.

I want to keep this place.

Me and the locals talk about how to preserve it.

Another 10, 20 years at least. It's a beloved part of town.

Let's have a drink!

Let's go!

I want to come by again.

We've been hanging out in Shinjuku all day today.

This town is very close to my heart, because in my 20s,

I used to hang out here in this town.

But I didn't know so many things.

There was only one skyscraper when I was here,

but now there's a whole town of skyscrapers!

And I had no idea about the treatment plant, or all the connections to water.

The geisha, the ponds, and the boats may be gone,

but places like the soba restaurant and Omoide Yokocho remain.

I had a lot of fun today.

Now, retaining the old, keeping the new going.

That's Nishi-Shinjuku.