Omotesando

Omotesando Station is located at the intersection of Omotesando Dori and Aoyama Dori in Minato Ward, with part of the platforms extending into Shibuya Ward. The station was previously known as Jingumae Station, but changed over to the name Omotesando in 1978 with the opening of Hanzomon Line.

Omotesando Station serves the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda, Ginza , and Hanzomon Lines. Ginza and Hanzomon Lines share the same platforms, making Omotesando a very convenient transfer point.

The neighborhood of Omotesando stretches with Omotesando Avenue (Dori) from Omotesando Station to Meiji Jingumae and Harajuku Stations. Omotesando Avenue , called the Champs Elysee of Tokyo, is an upscale shopping area featuring several international brand outlets including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Zara. The famous Japanese toy store Kiddyland is also located here. Architecturally, too, Omotesando stands out. All along the tree-lined avenue and its backstreets are several palazzi built by the big global fashion houses. A range of trendy cafes, bars and restaurants can be found in the side-streets off Omotesando, which are crowded with people on weekends.

Omotesando Hills

Located on Omotesando Avenue is Omotesando Hills, the latest of Tokyo's urban developments. Designed by one of Japan's leading architects, Tadao Ando, Omotesando Hills is a shopping and residence complex built along the lines of Roppongi Hills. When it was opened in 2005, it created a lot of controversy as it was built after demolishing the Dojunkai Aoyama Apartments, originally constructed in 1927 as the first public reinforced-concrete apartments in Japan . Although most of the charm of the original site is lost, a small fragment of the apartments still remains at the East end of the complex.

Keeping in line with the zelkova trees that line Omotesando Avenue , the buildings of Omotesando Hills do not go above six stories. There are six stories below ground level as well. The whole Omotesando Hills complex houses over 130 shops and 38 apartments. The shops are all high-priced stores with a mix of all of the latest trends and brands available to the fashion conscience. Several fashionable cafes and restaurants bring variety to the place.

Ota Memorial Museum of Art

Ota Memorial Museum of Art is located on the busy Omotesando Avenue . It contains the best collection of ukiyo-e in Tokyo , all belonging to late Ota Seizo, a former philanthropist and chairman of the Toho Life Insurance Company. Ota Seizo had recognized the importance of ukiyo-e as an art form and dedicated himself to its preservation. Ukiyo-e are woodblock prints which portray images of theaters, teahouses and geisha. These prints first appeared during the Tokugawa shogunate (1600-1868) when Japan was cut off from the world. It later influenced Impressionist painters in Europe , which can be seen in Toulouse-Lautrec's posters, Van Gogh's copies of Hiroshige prints, and Monet's portrait of his wife in Japanese attire.

The Ota Memorial Museum retains much of the old Japanese traditions with bamboo screens and stone pathways. Visitors have to take off their shoes at the entrance before entering the museum. There is one galleried exhibition space with tatami mats where you can sit and view from the correct level, and a basement with a "Kamawanu", a shop specializing in Japanese face cloths. There is also a small shop that sells catalogs and postcards.

Although the ukiyo-e collection at the museum consists of over 12,000 items, only 80-100 are exhibited each month. The exhibits rotate every month according to different themes.  

United Nations University

A five-minute walk from Omotesando Station is the United Nations University. It was opened in 1975 as an autonomous organ of the United Nations General Assembly with the mission "to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States" [UNU Charter]. It aims to foster intellectual cooperation among scholars, scientists, and practitioners from around the world, especially from the developing world. It acts as a bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community and as a think-tank for the United Nations.

The building of the United Nations University stands out for its design. It is made of granite and is built in the shape of a large pyramid.

Aoyama Gakuin University

Located across the street from United Nations University is Aoyama Gakuin University , one of Japan's most well-known and reputed universities. As part of a more comprehensive educational institute called Aoyama Gakuin, which includes kindergarten, elementary school, junior/senior high school, and women's junior college, Aoyama Gakuin University offers quality education to both Japanese and international students. It offers undergraduate programs in a variety of subjects including literature, law, economics, business, science and engineering. The University's specialized graduate programs include management, accountancy, and law.

National Children's Castle (Kodomo no Shiro)

National Children's Castle, or, Kodomo no Shiro, is a large children's house situated next to the United Nations University in Omotesando. Although from the outside it looks like any other building, it is completely different from the inside - it is a place that children never want to leave.

The Castle has different activity rooms for children of different age groups. There are swimming pools, gymnasiums, playrooms, mini-snooker tables, as well as an area designated for paper airplanes, complete with folding instructions, targets and netting. There's a play hall with slides, rope bridges and plastic tunnels across the room. Space has been set aside for play with Duplo blocks, complete with both a playhouse and "yatai" set-ups. On the third floor are a computer room and an arts and crafts room with instructors to help children with their projects. The building also houses a teen section with age-appropriate games like table-tennis, a music room with instruments children are encouraged to play, as well as a video room with private cubicles where children can watch videos after selecting them from a library of both English and Japanese videos. On the roof there is an outdoor playground complete with tricycles and wading pools for toddlers, and the basement has a family swimming pool. There is also a nursing/diaper-changing station, a child wellness clinic offering health consultations by appointment, a restaurant, and a theater.

In fact the National Children's Castle has everything a child could ever want. Reasonably priced, it is well worth spending a day at.