6 Best Sights in Shinjuku, Tokyo

Prayers offered at this shrine, originally constructed in the early Edo period, are believed to bring prosperity in business. Although it isn't among Tokyo's most beautiful shrines, it does host festivals, and it has a long history and an interesting location. It's a five-minute walk north on Meiji-dori from the Shinjuku-sanchome subway station, and the back of it is adjacent to the so-called Golden-Gai, a district of tiny, fascinating nomiya (bars) that, in the '60s and '70s, commanded the fierce loyalty of fiction writers, artists, freelance journalists, and expat Japanophiles—all the city's hard-core outsiders.

Set amid the chaos of Kabuki-cho, this multilevel entertainment complex is a place where you can shoot a few games of pool, recline in a sauna, indulge in karaoke, or sharpen your skills at any number of video games.

Kabukicho Tower is just next to the Humax Pavillion and has some of the same offerings, albeit on a much larger scale and at slightly higher prices. Need a snack? Want to play some video games? See a movie or a band? With a food floor and game floors, you could probably spend all day here—and maybe all night, too. The basement level is home to Zepp Shinjuku, the area's largest live-music venue, and the building is also home to two hotels.

This lovely, 144-acre garden was once the estate of the powerful Naito family of feudal lords, who were among the most trusted retainers of the Tokugawa shoguns. After World War II, the grounds were opened to the public. It's a perfect place for leisurely walks: paths wind past ponds and bridges, artificial hills, thoughtfully placed stone lanterns, and more than 3,000 kinds of plants, shrubs, and trees. There are different gardens in Japanese, French, and English styles, as well as a greenhouse (the nation's first, built in 1885) filled with tropical plants. The best times to visit are April, when 75 different species of cherry trees—some 1,500 trees in all—are in bloom, and the first two weeks of November, during the chrysanthemum exhibition.

The multilevel museum began its life as a place to showcase works by painter Seiji Togo (1897–1978), who was a master at capturing grace on canvas. Today, it exhibits his work alongside pieces by other Japanese and Western artists, such as Gauguin and Cezanne. The museum is also home to van Gogh's Sunflowers.

Dominating the western Shinjuku skyline, this grandiose, Kenzo Tange–designed complex seems to serve as a reminder that Tokyo's annual budget is bigger than that of some countries. Several other area skyscrapers have free observation floors, but those—on the 45th floors of both towers (663 feet above ground)—at city hall are the best. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Mt. Fuji, as well as to the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. The Metropolitan Government website, incidentally, is an excellent source of information on sightseeing and current events in Tokyo.