is an area in

Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits th ...

, Japan, located adjacent to

Shinbashi , sometimes transliterated Shimbashi, is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Name Read literally, the characters in Shinbashi mean "new bridge". History The area was the site of a bridge built across the Shiodome River in 1604. The river was la ...

and

Ginza Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...

, near

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

and the Hamarikyu Gardens. Formerly a railway terminal, Shiodome has been transformed into one of Tokyo's most modern areas. It is a collection of 11 tiny town districts or cooperative zones, but generally there are three main areas: *The , a collection of

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

s containing mostly businesses, hotels, and restaurants. Its thirteen skyscrapers house the headquarters of

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...

Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...

, JSR,

Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese chemicals company listed on the Nikkei with business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. It is one of the leading chemical companies in Japan and is part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company mainly ...

, Nippon Express,

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

Sega Sammy Holdings (also known as the Sega Sammy Group and generally Sega Sammy, stylized as SᴇɢᴀSammy) is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004. Both companies are involved in the amusement industry (Sega wi ...

" ''

''. Retrieved on February 2413, 2015. and

Softbank is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...

.Corporate Headquarters
." ''

''. Retrieved on December 24, 2008. *The western district, located west of the JR tracks and populated by European-style buildings. *The southern extension, east of the JR tracks from Hamamatsucho 1-chome. This area is for residential use, and there are three tall apartment buildings located there, along with a small park.

Shiodome Station is a railway station in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It serves as an interchange for the Toei Ōedo Line (E-19) and Yurikamome (U-02). Line *Yurikamome *Toei Ōedo Line Station layout Both parts of the station are not directly linked to one another. ...

is a stop on the

Yurikamome , formerly the , is an automated guideway transit service operated by ''Yurikamome, Inc.'', connecting Shimbashi to Toyosu, via the artificial island of Odaiba in Tokyo, Japan, a market in which it competes with the Rinkai Line. The line is name ...

and

Toei Ōedo Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12. T ...

; the complex is also within walking distance of

Shimbashi Station is a major interchange railway station in Tokyo's Minato Ward, located centrally and a 10-minute walk from the Ginza shopping district, directly south of Tokyo station. Station layout JR East The JR East station consists of three surface plat ...

. The Shiodome could be likened with places like

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...

of London.

History

Like its neighbors

and

Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...

, Shiodome is built on what was originally marshland on the shore of

. Shōgun

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

issued an order in 1603 to fill in the area, and throughout the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Shiodome housed the local residences of various ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' (feudal lords). The name ''Shiodome'', which translates to "keeping out the tide", probably referred to the shōgun's desire to isolate

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

(now the Imperial Palace) from Tokyo Bay. There was a

Shiodome River is an area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, located adjacent to Shinbashi and Ginza, near Tokyo Bay and the Hamarikyu Gardens. Formerly a railway terminal, Shiodome has been transformed into one of Tokyo's most modern areas. It is a collection of 11 tin ...

but it has been largely filled in. A small portion of the river remains on the west side of Hamarikyu Gardens. A water bus used to service the river. Following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the new Imperial government expropriated the daimyo-held lands in Shiodome to build . This served as the Tokyo terminus of the

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

, the first railway in Japan, from 1872 until 1914. In 1914, the line was extended to

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

, the passenger terminal at Shiodome was closed down, and Karasumori Station on the

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line ( ja, 山手線, Yamanote-sen) is a loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban ...

was renamed Shimbashi Station.

Shiodome Freight Terminal was a freight terminal of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The freight terminal was built on the site of the original which served as the first railway terminal of Tokyo between 1872 and 1914. History Shimbashi Stat ...

remained the primary freight yard for Tokyo through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, despite extensive damage from 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 destroyed the original passenger terminal. The 1936 opening of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market is a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors in Tokyo. The area contains retail markets, restaurants, and associated restaurant supply stores. Before 2018, it was the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the wor ...

in nearby

increased the terminal's importance in the Tokyo distribution network. The development of

expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

in Japan after the war lessened the importance of rail freight. Shiodome Station was officially closed in October 1987, shortly following the privatization of

Japan National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

. The abandoned 22 hectare (54.36 acre) facility, one of the largest open plots of land in central Tokyo, was transferred to the JNR Settlement Corporation in 1988 and earmarked for sale in order to discharge remaining JNR liabilities. The Japanese government and Tokyo Metropolitan Government held various review sessions between 1984 and 1995 before settling on a redevelopment plan. Under this plan, thirteen skyscrapers were built in Shiodome, as well as a number of smaller buildings, resulting in a new urban center. The old Shimbashi Station has also been rebuilt as a monument, although it is not operational.

Buildings

Major high-rise developments in Shiodome include: * Acty Shiodome (190.25 m): Japan's tallest

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

tower, developed by th
Urban Renaissance Agency
*

Dentsu Building The Dentsu Building or is a high-rise building in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The building houses the corporate offices of Dentsu. Description 48 floors rise to 213.34 m (700 ft), it is the twelfth-tallest building ...

(213.34 m) *

Nittele Tower The is a structural expressionist office building located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It houses the headquarters of Nippon Television. The 32-storey building has a height of 192 metres. Construction was finished in 2003. As a part of the design ...

(198.2 m) *

Shiodome City Center is a skyscraper in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan managed by Mitsui Fudosan and Alderney Investments Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited. Fujitsu's worldwide headquarters are in Shi ...

(215.75 m): Corporate headquarters of

Principal Offices
" ''

''. Retrieved on December 22, 2008. and

Fujitsu's Corporate Headquarters
." ''

''. Retrieved on February 4, 2009. * Shiodome Sumitomo Building (126.41 m): Corporate headquarters of JSR and

, contains th
Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome
* Tokyo Shiodome Building (173.2 m): Corporate headquarters of

and several major subsidiaries; upper floors house the Conrad Tokyo hotel. File:ACTY shiodome.JPG, Acty Shiodome File:Dentsu_Head_Office_Day.jpg,

File:Nittele Tower 2013.jpg,

File:Shiodome_City_Center_2012.JPG,

File:Shiodome Media Tower.jpg,

Shiodome Media Tower The is a high-rise building in Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan. It is 172.6 m (564 ft) high, has 34 floors, and 66,489 m² (710,400 ft²) of floor space. Construction began in 2000, and the building opened in 2003. It was designed by Seita ...

Parks

* Hamarikyu Gardens * Italy Park

References

External links

* {{Coord, 35, 39, 46.00, N, 139, 45, 35.45, E, region:JP_type:city, display=title Geography of Minato, Tokyo Neighborhoods of Tokyo

History

Buildings

Parks

See also

References

External links