Sunshine City

Sunshine City (サンシャインシティ) is a building complex and retail center located in East Ikebukuro within Tokyo’s Toshima district. Within the confines of the complex is the Sunshine 60 building, with an observatory, museum, planetarium, and aquarium contained within. Also part of Sunshine 60 is the Prince Hotel, the Namco Namja Town, a massive shopping mall, and multiple additional shopping centers, department stores, and restaurants offering a wide array of products and shopping opportunities.

History

Sunshine City was opened in 1978 and is the oldest such complex in the city, with the 240 meter Sunshine 60 building at its core. Located on the East side of Ikebukuro, Sunshine City is comprised of four buildings with Sunshine 60 in the center and the second tallest building in Tokyo. The land on which the complex currently sits is known for having once been occupied by the Sugamo Prison, which originally sat alongside the shops in the area.

Sunshine 60

Standing at 240 Meters tall, the Sunshine 60 building is second tallest building in Tokyo and features an observation deck on its sixtieth floor with a 620 Yen admission cost for adults and a 310 Yen admission cost for children. The elevators are known for their cutting edge speed – the fastest lift in the world at thirty five seconds from the ground to the sixtieth floor. Elevator attendants are on hand and old fashioned style elevator décor and music add to the classic design and aesthetic of the experience.

Attractions

Located in the complex is a collection of cultural touchstones including a planetarium, an aquarium, a small museum, a full theater, and Namco’s Namja Town, a theme park designed specifically for children. The planetarium and aquarium are both located inside the World Import Building on the 10th floor alongside the Passport Office.

Namja Town is located inside the World Import Mart building as well, on the 2nd floor and the theater and museum are both located in the Bunka Kaikan Building on the 4th and 7th floor respectively. Most of the retail and attraction space littered throughout Sunshine 60 and its surrounding buildings in Sunshine City is divided equally among government, retail, and commercial space making it hard in some instances to navigate between attractions.

Shopping near Sunshine City

Shopping in Sunshine City is among the most prolific in the city with multiple large department stores including:

• Tobu Department Store – Tobu Department Store is one of the largest department stores in Tokyo, located off the west exit from Ikebukuro Station.
• Seibu Department Store – The Seibu Department store is located off the east exit of the Ikebukuro Station and is owned by the Seibu group, a company responsible for multiple railway lines in Tokyo.
• Bic Camera – The main store for Bic Camera, a discount electronics dealer in Japan is located off the east exit of Ikebukuro Station with multiple more branches located outside and around the station.

External Links

• Official Sunshine City Website (Japanese)