Rafael Viñoly’s 1996 convention centre is a glass hall shaped like a ship’s hull, 60 metres high and 200 metres long, its roof held up by a single steel spine. Walkways hang in the void and the whole thing floods with light from the courtyard of zelkova trees between the hall and the concert venues. It is the most dramatic public interior in Tokyo and almost always open.
Cross it as a shortcut between Yurakucho and Tokyo Station, or spend half an hour on the catwalks watching suited crowds cross the floor below. The antique market in the plaza is the best place in the city for old ceramics, kimono fabric and Showa-era clutter.
Tips
- The Oedo Antique Market fills the outdoor plaza on the first and third Sunday of most months with 250 stalls
- Walk the glass hall's upper catwalks for the full effect of the ship's-hull roof, reached by escalators at the north end
- The Mitsuo Aida Museum in the basement is a small, calm gallery of calligraphy