Tokyo Metropolitan Government Observatory: Free Views, North vs South

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory is a free viewing deck on the 45th floor of Tower 1 in Shinjuku, 202 meters above the street. There's no booking; you just line up for the elevator. The building splits into two towers, so there are two separate decks, North and South. If you only do one, make it the South: it stays open until 10 p.m., which makes it the only one with night views, and even in daylight its outlook was noticeably better.

I've been up twice. The first time was winter 2024, when I was staying in Shinjuku and walked over one evening for the night view. On a second trip in 2026 I went during the day and did both decks. It's plainer than paid observatories like Shibuya Sky or the Skytree, but getting a view like this without spending a single yen makes it well worth the detour.

Opening hours, admission, and closing days

Entry is free, and there are no reservations at all. The catch is that the two decks keep different hours and close on different days, so when you go decides which one you can visit.

• South Observatory: 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last entry 9:30 p.m.), closed the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month

• North Observatory: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (last entry 5 p.m.), closed the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month

• On South Observatory closing days, the North stays open until 10 p.m. instead

• If a closing day falls on a public holiday, the deck opens that day and closes the next weekday

• Both decks close Dec 29–31, Jan 2–3, and on building inspection days (open Jan 1)

Because the closing days are staggered, at least one deck is open on almost any day outside the New Year break and inspection days. Bad weather can shut them at short notice, though, and those announcements go up on the observatory's official X account (@tocho_tenbou). Hours and closing days were last verified against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's official page in October 2026.

On my 2024 visit, only the South deck was running. Google Maps had the observatory marked as "temporarily closed," but when I got there the South side was open as usual. So if Maps says it's closed, don't write it off yet, because one side may well be open. Going in the evening? Head for the South deck and get in before 9:30 p.m.

Getting there from Tochomae Station Exit A4

The easiest route is Exit A4 at Tochomae Station. The door you see right outside the exit isn't the observatory entrance, though. I wandered for a minute before a security guard kindly pointed me the right way.

Walk past that door and around to the left, and you'll come to a high-ceilinged open hall. From there, observatory signs are posted all the way, so you only need to follow them. As long as you can get yourself to the building, it's hard to get lost.

The dedicated observatory elevators leave from the 1st floor of Tower 1. On the weekday I went, we came back down to the 2nd floor on the way out. On weekends and holidays the 2nd-floor entrance is closed, so you come and go through the 1st-floor main entrance. The ride up to the 45th floor is quicker than you'd expect.

In short: Exit A4, swing left, and follow the signs.

North or South: which deck should you pick?

I went up both for this write-up, and honestly, you don't need to. Each is a single indoor floor you walk around 360 degrees, with seating and a shop in the middle, so the two are almost identical. Neither has an outdoor area.

Comparing them side by side, I did find three real differences:

• Hours: only the South, open until 10 p.m., gives you night views

• View: the South was better even by day, and it's the only side where Shinjuku Gyoen spreads out as a big green patch between the towers

• Crowds: the North was fairly quiet, while the South had an elevator line even during the day (the city says the usual wait is 20 to 30 minutes)

The South deck also has a piano, the Tocho Omoide Piano, and people line up to play one piece each.

Playing is allowed from 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 4 p.m., and 7 to 9 p.m. One fun detail: from the North deck's windows, you can see people looking out from the South deck across the way.

So the South alone is plenty. Treat the North as a backup for when the South line is long or you'd like a quieter look in the daytime.

Why a weekday evening is the time to go

I honestly didn't expect much from a free observatory, so the night view caught me off guard. It was far better than I'd imagined, and for me, night beat day by a wide margin. Tokyo is so packed with towers that the city only really comes alive once the lights come on.

The thing to plan around is the day of the week. Most of the surrounding high-rises are offices, so you need a weekday evening for the windows to be lit. If the skyline is the reason you're going, pick the day before anything else.

Looking down on 20-odd-story buildings from 202 meters up was the best part of the view, and the wide, half-empty avenues below felt very Tokyo. You can also spot Shinjuku Park Tower, three linked towers designed by Kenzo Tange, the same architect behind the Government Building itself.

Walk around to the other side and the view opens up with hardly any tall buildings. Every window has a panel naming what you're looking at, which makes it fun to pick things out one by one. If you go during the day, check the west windows too. That's the Mt. Fuji side, and Fuji shows up most often from December to February, when the air is cold and clear.

I got there a little after 8 p.m. and there was no line at all. I'd heard it gets crowded around sunset, so if you want a relaxed visit, it's worth skipping the sunset rush. On a weekday after 8 p.m., once the sunset crowd had gone, it was at its calmest.

The gift shops: worth a browse, not a splurge

Each deck has a shop in the middle: GIFT SHOP TOKYO Mikke! on the South side, and CAFE&SHOP SOCOCOCO, a café and shop, on the North. The night I went, I browsed the South deck's gift shop.

Postcards were about $1 each, and the magnet selection was smaller than I expected. They were designs I hadn't seen elsewhere, so I couldn't tell whether the prices were fair. I passed and picked up magnets in Shibuya later. For souvenirs, Shibuya or the Senso-ji area is a better bet.

There's also a commemorative stamp, so if you collect stamps on your travels, don't miss it.

Tokyo has no shortage of paid observatories, but if you're staying in Shinjuku, this is an easy walk worth making at least once. Skipping one paid deck and catching the night view here is a perfectly good trade. For open-air rooftop views, see my Shibuya Sky review, and for the highest view in the city, read the Tokyo Skytree observatory guide. If you're taking the subway to Tochomae, the Tokyo subway guide will help.