8 Best Sights in Roppongi, Tokyo

Occupying the 52nd and 53rd floors of Mori Tower, this museum is one of the leading contemporary art showcases in Tokyo. The space is well designed (by American architect Richard Gluckman), intelligently curated, diverse in its media, and hospitable to big crowds. The nine galleries showcase exhibits that rotate every few months and tend to focus on leading contemporary art, architecture, fashion, design, and photography. Tickets include admission to the Roppongi Hills 52nd floor and the City View observation deck.

This low-slung building in the garden at Tokyo Midtown hosts rotating exhibitions focused on cutting-edge art and design. Designed by architect Tadao Ando, the subdued exterior belies the expansive and bright gallery space, where exhibits focus on presenting the world of design in an exciting and accessible light.

Located within Tokyo Midtown, the Fujifilm Photo Salon hosts rotating photography exhibits across multiple genres, albeit with a strong emphasis on landscapes, while the Photo History Museum is a showcase of cameras and prints dating back to the mid-19th century. While the salon and history museum are on the small side, it is a good stop while visiting Roppongi's larger galleries, especially as its free.

When it opened in 2003, the Roppongi Hills complex was the center of Tokyo opulence, with the shimmering, 54-story Mori Tower as its main showpiece. Though no longer a unique skyscraper, the tower still outclasses most with the Tokyo City View observation promenade on the 52nd floor and the open-air Sky Deck on the tower rooftop; the views from both are wonderful and extend all the way to Mt. Fuji on a clear day.

Based on the principle of dividing profits three ways, Suntory, Japan's beverage giant, has committed a third of its profits to what it feels is its corporate and social responsibility to provide the public with art, education, and environmental conservation. The establishment of the Suntory Art Museum in 1961 was just one of the fruits of this initiative, and the museum's current home at Tokyo Midtown Galleria is a beautiful place to view some of Tokyo's finest fine-art exhibitions. Past displays have included everything from works by Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec to fine kimonos from the Edo period. The museum also runs occasional tea ceremonies; check the website for the monthly schedule.

Tokyo's largest rotating exhibition space is home to major international modern and contemporary exhibits as well as smaller shows (usually free) and is worth visiting for the architecture alone. Architect Kisho Kurokawa, a cofounder of the influential metabolist movement in 1960, created a stunning facade that shimmers in undulating waves of glass, and the bright exhibition space with its soaring ceilings feels a bit like being inside the set of a utopian sci-fi movie. The building houses seven exhibition areas; a library; a museum shop; a pair of cafés; and a restaurant, Brasserie Paul Bocuse Le Musée, offering fine French dishes.

In 1958 Tokyo's fledgling TV networks needed a tall antenna array to transmit signals. Trying to emerge from the devastation of World War II, the nation's capital was also hungry for a landmark—a symbol for the aspirations of a city still without a skyline. The result was the 1,093-foot-high Tokyo Tower, an unabashed knockoff of Paris's Eiffel Tower, complete with great views of the city. The Main Observatory, set at 492 feet above ground, and the Top Deck, up an additional 330 feet, quickly became major tourist attractions. Both observation decks were renovated in 2018 and still draw many visitors a year. On weekends and holidays, ambitious visitors can make the 600-stair climb up to the Main Observatory on foot.

This temple, just south of the Ichinohashi Crossing, dates back to the 800s. In the 1200s, the temple was converted to the Shinran school of Buddhism. When Consul-General Townsend Harris arrived from the Americas in 1859, he lived on the temple grounds. It is also home to what's said to be the oldest tree in Tokyo, a 750-year-old giant gingko.