Just in time for the Tokyo Olympics, Takanawa Gateway Station opened in 2020 between Shinagawa and Tamachi Station on the JR Yamanote Line. Now, this March 2025, easily accessible from Haneda Airport, a brand new district is set to open its doors in the area: Takanawa Gateway City.

Takanawa is a historic site where tracks were built over the sea when Japan’s first railway opened in 1872. This pioneering achievement is also regarded as a symbol of innovation in Japan. Let’s take a closer look at Takanawa Gateway City, where history meets the new.

Takanawa Gateway Station

Starting operations in 2020, Takanawa Gateway Station is the newest stop on the JR Yamanote Line. The station will have its grand opening this March along with the town inauguration. The station, designed by world-renowned architect Kuma Kengo, features an exterior inspired by origami paper folding, reflecting Japanese aesthetics. Inside, the space is made to encourage community interaction. “Eki Park” for example, is a common space to relax with sofas featuring a motif of green grass. The movable sofas allow the layout to be changed for various occasions, including events. The grand opening will also welcome four new shops. Among them are a sweets store with a workshop where you can watch the treats being made, and a bar offering a “chill space” to enjoy music. These places are designed to make time at this station enjoyable. A suite of residences is also directly connected to the station, catering to foreign business professionals, and an international school is scheduled to open on the lower floors.
JR-Cross

Linkpillar 1 and 2:
twin towers that serve as icons of a hub for international exchange

As shining symbols of Takanawa Gateway City, the complex "THE LINKPILLAR 1" directly connected to the station will open on March 27, 2025, and "THE LINKPILLAR 2" will open in spring 2026. THE LINKPILLAR 1 houses offices, along with 15 convention halls, offering high value as a venue for international conferences. A travel center is also provided for the convenience of the international attendees at conferences and lectures, and the JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo, marking its first location in the Tokyo metropolitan area, is scheduled to open on the upper floors this autumn. THE LINKPILLAR 2 is set to offer shopping and other services including a clinic and a fitness center to support people in Takanawa. The clinic is ready to care for international patients, ensuring ease of mind for foreign visitors.
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY

NEWoMan Takanawa:
a cutting-edge commercial facility where diverse values intersect

LUMINE, the popular shopping spot with stores in places like Shinjuku, will unveil part of what is set to be its largest ever commercial facility "NEWoMan Takanawa," in spring 2025. This will be unlike any existing shopping center, with a vast variety of shops offering everything from daily necessities to beauty, culture, a unique and massive bookstore and even a sauna and other wellness retreat services, a base not only for shopping enjoyment but also initiatives to enrich people's lifestyles. In addition to holding Japanese cultural events and providing venues for a wide range of locally produced products, the mall will promote sustainability with the aim of bringing to fruition a "circular society" by using crops harvested from its own on-site farm in restaurants.

On March 27, two shops will open in advance: the popular coffee shop Blue Bottle Coffee and Nicolai Bergmann, the world-renowned sensation famous for its box-shaped flower arrangements.
NEWoMan Takanawa

Mon Takanawa:
Experience Japanese culture at a multi-faceted facility

In contrast to the modern design of LINKPILLAR, the unique facade of “Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives,” scheduled to open in the spring of 2026, is covered in greenery, designed by the same architect as Takanawa Gateway Station, Kuma Kengo. The facility with six floors above ground and three below, features stages for live performances, exhibition galleries, event spaces, plus a 100 tatami mat (approx. 200 sq. m.) Japanese-style room called "TATAMI," intended for programs that fuse Japanese culture and technology. Drop by the shared space called "Tsukimi Terrace" on the sixth floor to enjoy a foot bath, and seasonal events. All floors of this spiral building are tied together by a gentle slope for a pleasant stroll to the rooftop garden.
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY

53 Playable Park:
perfect places to relax and connect

In the early 17th century, the Tokaido road was constructed to connect Edo (present-day Tokyo) with Kyoto and became a major artery for the flow of people and goods. The settlements known as "post towns" (shukuba) that developed along this route are called the "53 Stations of the Tokaido." Their famous scenic beauty has been immortalized in ukiyo-e woodblock prints and countless other artworks. Takanawa Gateway City lies along this illustrious road. From the common area in the station "Eki Park" to the street space built over the railway line of the first train long ago, "Takanawa Link Line," the public spaces throughout the grounds are designed to evoke the lively atmosphere and cultural significance of the historic post towns.
53 Playable Park

Innovation and sustainability

About 150 years ago, the launch of Japan's first railway marked the area as a center for innovation, and now Takanawa Gateway City aims to continue this lineage with innovations that benefit planet earth. Driven by the goal to be "a test ground to enrich lives 100 years from now," the venue will conduct demonstration experiments on environmental energy, robotics, and healthcare. Particular attention will be on the autonomous mobility services partially running on hydrogen-based electric power, traveling throughout the area in harmony with pedestrians. Additionally, security and cleaning robots, along with delivery bots that will transport goods ordered via an app to offices and other locations, will also be operating within the area.
Takanawa Gateway City is also involved in many sustainability initiatives. One particular focus is on the circular economy, in which waste is reused as a resource, to create an environment in which the activities of the city itself are linked to sustainability. The town is also striving to create a zero-carbon environment, with a logistics network powered by fuel cell vehicles.
In Takanawa Gateway City, history and innovation meet, with all eyes fixed on enhanced lifestyles promised by visionary urban development. Why not visit this new city and see it for yourself?
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY

UPCOMING HOTELS ＆FACILITIES

From 2025 onward, new facilities will continue to open across Tokyo,
including Takanawa Gateway. Here’s a roundup of the key ones.

	OPEN	NAME	PLACE
HOTELS	OPEN:July 1, 2025	Fairmont Tokyo	Shibaura Hamamatsucho
HOTELS	OPEN:October 2025	JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo	Takanawa
HOTELS	OPEN:October 2025	Caption by Hyatt Kabutocho Tokyo	Nihonbashi Kabutocho
HOTELS	OPEN:Autumn 2025	1 Hotel Tokyo	Akasaka
HOTELS	OPEN:Autumn 2025	(tentative name) FUFU Tokyo Ginza	Ginza
HOTELS	OPEN:2026	Waldorf Astoria Tokyo Nihonbashi	Nihonbashi
HOTELS	OPEN:2028	Dorchester Collection	Otemachi
FACILITIES	OPEN:January 22, 2025	teamLab Planets (expansion)	Toyosu
FACILITIES	OPEN:January 26, 2025	Ginza Sony Park	Ginza
FACILITIES	OPEN:Tower S: February 2025 OPEN:Tower N: 2030	BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA	Shibaura
FACILITIES	OPEN:March 2025	TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY	Takanawa
FACILITIES	OPEN:Autumn 2025	TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO	Odaiba (Aomi, Koto City)
FACILITIES	OPEN:March 2026	OIMACHI TRACKS (A complex integrating offices, commercial facilities, and a hotel)	Oimachi
FACILITIES	OPEN:Spring 2026	EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM (Renovation)	Ryōgoku
FACILITIES	OPEN:Spring 2026	Tokyo Dream Park	Ariake
FACILITIES	OPEN:May 2026	Haneda Airport T1 Satellite Facility	Haneda
FACILITIES	OPEN:2028	Torch Tower	Otemachi