Roppongi Hills (2004-11-26)
Roppongi Hills (
) has fast become the place where local
people and overseas visitors hang out. The idea behind this posh
site is to combine residence, commerce and cultural facility in one big
infrastructure, and Roppongi Hills is just that. The most
prominent building of Roppongi Hills is the 54-story Mori Tower in
which an art museum, observation deck (1500Yen/US$15 for an adult
admission) and a private club located. Other notable
establishments in the complex include Grand Hyatt Tokyo and TV Asahi
headquarters. Of the many shops in Roppongi Hills, a number of
them sell brand name merchandise. The world's largest Louis
Vuitton store is also located on the street bordering the
complex. Easily accessible by three subway lines, Hibiya Line is the one I
always take. Exit 1C links directly to the concourse of Hollywood
Beauty Plaza which is on the north side of the complex. The
escalators there will take you up to the main ground where a giant
spider sculpture welcomes/frightens visitors. I don't shop in
Roppongi Hills, other than to buy foccacia from L'Atelier on the
base of Mori Tower.
The bakery-cum-restaurant makes the finest olive and sun-dried
tomatoes foccacia in Tokyo. It is even better than the ones I ate
in Italy.
I think Roppongi Hills is all hype and delivers little. This
overrated complex is touted as a new tourist attraction in Tokyo, but
apart from expensive stores and expensive restaurants, it is more of a
place to see Japanese women show off their latest fashion and
jewelry. If you consider that
an attraction, go for it. Oh, and well-dressed residents of
Roppongi Hills who strut inside the complex with their pooches
(accessories)
amongst a horde of visitors have a statement to make (to me anyway) : "I live in this
swanky address, do you?"
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