Sashimi Japan: Shinjuku

There are three things to say about Shinjuku:

1) If we use the analogy of Tokyo as a "titanic monster", then it has two "brains" - Tokyo Station to the East, and Shinjuku Station to the West. Shinjuku Station is reportedly the busiest railway station in the world, with daily passenger usage estimates ranging upwards from 500,000 to well over 2 million. As a major transport hub, it is very well connected to the various wards/districts of Tokyo and regions beyond. Served by a dozen train lines (including subways), highway buses and city buses, it is the common starting, ending, and/or transit point in many a journey.

2) Shinjuku was formed from the amalgamation of three former wards, and thus (in my view) lack its own distinctive character. Whereas the various sub-cultures meld together fairly well in Akihabara, the different neighbourhoods and districts of Shinjuku produce a cacophony of sub-cultures that are jarringly clashing and well-nigh confusing to most save the locals and perhaps the most travel-wise foreign visitors. To illustrate my point, here's a select list of some of the local neighbourhoods:

- Ichigaya: commercial area to the East
- Kabukicho: redlight district
- Kagurazaka: geisha district (yes, they can be found in Tokyo)
- Nishi-Shinjuku: skyscraper district, including Tokyo Metropolitan Building (admin centre of Tokyo)
- Shin-Okubo: Korean district
- Shinjuku Ni-chome: Homosexual district
- Takadonobaba: Student district
- Yotsuya: Upscale residential district

3) Though the analogy of "concrete jungle" illustrates the whole of Tokyo, I find it most aptly applied to Shinjuku. Nearly 90% of the buildings around Shinjuku Station was lost to Allied air raids in the Second World War, and as such, most of the area was rebuilt post-war literally from the ground up 'in concrete'. Shinjuku retains little of its former (i.e. pre-war) glory and character, serving instead nowadays (in whole) as a governmental, administrative, and commercial region of Tokyo, notwithstanding its residential, shopping, and entertainment aspects.

Here are my photos of Shinjuku:

One of the more interesting things for me is the network of long underground tunnels to the West of Shinjuku Station. The whole roundtrip took me a little over 30 minutes on foot.

One of the smaller shopping streets to the South-West of Shinjuku Station.

One of the shops along the shopping street. Love perusing the various wares on sale.

Shinjuku Station from across the South-Western intersection. Apparently that bridge is a common suicide area (people jumping off into the heavy traffic below).