is a district of
Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent
Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign
embassies are located near Roppongi, and the
night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It is in the central part of Tokyo, south of
Akasaka and north of
Azabu.
History
The name ''Roppongi'', which appears to have been coined around 1660, literally means "six trees". Six very old and large
zelkova trees used to mark the area; the first three were cleared, and the last were destroyed during
World War II. Another legend has it that the name comes from the fact that six ''
daimyōs'' lived nearby during the
Edo period, each with the
kanji character for "tree" or a kind of tree in their names. Roppongi was not extensively populated until after the
Meiji Restoration, although the area was trafficked for centuries and served as the site of the cremation of Shōgun
Tokugawa Hidetada's wife in 1626.
[Gary Cooper]
Good ol' six trees—the way it was
''Tokyo Weekender''
In 1890, the Third Imperial Guard of the
Imperial Japanese Army was moved to a site near Roppongi (now home to the Pacific bureau of ''
Stars and Stripes''). The influx of soldiers led to the area's rise as a
nightlife district, briefly interrupted by the
Great Kanto earthquake
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
which flattened the area in 1923.
Roppongi was administratively part of
Azabu Ward from 1878 to 1947.
After
World War II, during which the area was again destroyed, this time by aerial bombing raids, the
United States Army and
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
government officials occupied several facilities in the area, beginning Roppongi's reputation as a neighborhood with large numbers of
non-Japanese. Several large US military installations were located in the nearby area, with
Hardy Barracks
Akasaka Press Center (also known as Hardy Barracks and Azabu Heliport) is a facility of the United States Army, Japan located in the Roppongi area of Minato, Tokyo.
The facility occupies 3.1 hectares of land in central Tokyo. It houses the Tokyo ...
probably the most significant (the US Embassy Housing Compound and
Akasaka Press Center including Hardy Barracks Recreational Lodging, ''Stars and Stripes'' office and heliport are still there). Surrounding the military installations were many Japanese-owned restaurants, pool halls, bars, and brothels which catered to US military personnel but were also often frequented by Japanese customers.
Starting in the late 1960s, Roppongi became popular among
Japanese people and
foreigners alike for its
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
scene, which attracted many of Tokyo's entertainment elites. Contributing to the international scene was the location of several foreign embassies and foreign corporate offices in the Roppongi area. However, many dance clubs shut down in the
recession following the
market crash of 1989.
The Roppongi area received a major economic boost in 2002–2003 when the
Izumi Garden Tower
The is a 201 m (roughly 659 ft) high-rise building in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. The tower features a hotel, apartments, a fitness center, offices, shops and restaurants. When construction was completed in 2002, the tower was the tall ...
and the
Roppongi Hills high-rise complexes were completed. These projects brought high-end office and condominium space to Roppongi for the first time. The
Tokyo Midtown project in neighbouring Akasaka, which was completed in 2006, and includes the first Tokyo
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, continued this trend.
Nightlife
The area features numerous bars, nightclubs, strip clubs, restaurants, hostess clubs,
cabarets, and other forms of entertainment. Among the
expatriate community, the area tends to be favored by business people, students, and off-duty US military personnel. Overall, the neighborhood caters to a younger crowd.
Clubs can range from large, multi-level establishments, to smaller one-room clubs located in upper levels of buildings.
In more recent times some of the larger venues with known
Yakuza connections have closed.
Around Roppongi crossing are a number of clubs which feature foreign performers. There are also a number of both foreign- and Japanese-operated bars catering to different crowds. Recently, Roppongi has enjoyed a growing reputation for its organized events such as art festivals, dart and billiard tournaments, pub crawls, robot exhibitions, beauty pageants, and so on.
Restaurants in Roppongi vary from upscale Japanese fare to popular international restaurants.
Controversies
In the past, Roppongi had a reputation as an area with high
Yakuza presence, whether as customers at Roppongi establishments, conducting business, or managing or owning clubs and bars in the area. Although still exerting some influence in Roppongi, in recent times they appear to have shifted much of their presence to other districts in the Tokyo area.
[Robert Whiting, ''Tokyo Underworld : The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan'' (Vintage Departures, 2000) ]
In 2006,
Nigerian immigrants to Japan began opening a number of bars and nightclubs in the area, following an earlier group of innovators who had been in business in Roppongi for many years. The Nigerians were noted for using visible, high-pressure tactics to draw customers to their bars. In 2009 and 2010 a series of drink-spiking incidents, in which customers reported being drugged and robbed, were linked to Nigerian-owned bars. The incidents resulted in the United States embassy in Japan warning US citizens to avoid certain bars and clubs in Roppongi. An investigation by ''
The Japan Times'' in July 2011 found that though drink spiking occurred, most of the incidents did not involve criminal activity. Many customers claimed unusually severe hangovers after nights spent in Nigerian-run establishments. Similar complaints are often made about non-Nigerian bars in Roppongi that offer unlimited drink packages and often lace drinks with hard liquor to minimize customer consumption and increase profit.
Economy
Mori Building Company
is a Japanese family-owned property management firm. As of 2015 its president and CEO is Shingo Tsuji. Its headquarters are in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo.
Mori Building has been managing office buil ...
and
The Pokémon Company have their headquarters in the
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
is a 54-story mixed-use skyscraper in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. Completed in 2003 and named after builder Minoru Mori, it is the centerpiece of the Roppongi Hills urban development. It is the sixth-tallest building in Tokyo at . The tower has a ...
.
Companies based in Roppongi include:
*
Google Japan
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. It ...
*
Being Inc.
Being Incorporated, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of the ...
*
Wrestling New Classic
*
NJPW World
, also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi a ...
Rail and subway stations
*
Roppongi Station
is a subway station in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway.
Lines
*Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-04)
*Toei Oedo Line (E-23)
Station layout
The Toei Oedo Line platform 1 is 42 meters underground, making this stat ...
(
Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-04) &
Toei Ōedo Line) (E-23)
*
Roppongi-itchōme Station
is a subway station on the in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Lines
Roppongi-itchome Station is served by the Namboku Line which goes from Meguro to Akabane Iwabuchi, and is numbered "N-05". T ...
(
Tokyo Metro Namboku Line) (N-06)
*
Nogizaka Station
is a subway station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Lines
Nogizaka Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and is 17.4 km from the northern starting po ...
(
Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
Education
Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the Minato City (the Minato Ward) Board of Education. Roppongi Junior High School (
六本木中学校) is located at Imoarai-Zaka, in Roppongi.
Roppongi 1-
chōme
The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. When written in Japanese characters, addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. When written in Latin characters, ad ...
, 3-chōme, and 4-chōme, as well as 1-8 and 15-18 ban of 5-chōme, and 1-22 ban of 7-chōme, are zoned to Azabu Elementary School (
麻布小学校). 2-chōme is zoned to Akasaka Elementary School (
赤坂小学校). 9-14 ban of 5-chōme and 6-chōme are zoned to Nanzan Elementary School (
南山小学校). 23-ban of 7-chōme is zoned to Kōgai Elementary School (
笄小学校).
The majority of Roppongi is zoned to Roppongi Junior High School. However 2-chōme is instead zoned to Akasaka Junior High School (
赤坂中学校). Roppongi 7-chome 23-ban is instead zoned to Koryo Junior High School (
高陵中学校).
Public high schools are operated by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.
Roppongi High School
is a public high school in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. It is a part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board o ...
is located in Roppongi.
Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin is private girls school, also located at Torii-Zaka in the district.
The American School in Japan Early Learning Center is in Roppongi Hills.
[School Profile]
." The American School in Japan. Retrieved on May 28, 2014. "Location: Campuses in Roppongi and Chofu, Tokyo"
Mori Tower Under View.jpg, Partially lit Mori Tower from a low view
Roppongi kosaten 0105.jpg, Roppongi crossing
Akasaka Press Center overview.JPG, US Army heliport and '' Stars and Stripes'' office in Roppongi-Nanachōme
Roppongi_Junior_High_School1.JPG, Roppongi Junior High School ( 六本木中学校)
Notable residents
*
Terry Farnsworth (born 1942), Canadian Olympic judoka
References
External links
Roppongi-Azabu Maps
{{Authority control
Entertainment districts in Japan
Red-light districts in Japan
Yakuza