Aoyama Park Tower

Completed May 2003 in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, this 34-story, 119.95-meter residential tower occupies the former site of the Nashimotonomiya Imperial Palace. Jointly developed by Mitsui Fudosan and partners, it blends 314 homes with ground-level retail in the heart of the Aoyama–Shibuya corridor.

Use

Residential tower

Area

Shibuya City

Completed

2003

Floors

34 above ground, 2 below

Height

119.95 m

Developer

Mitsui Fudosan / Sumitomo Shoji / Mitsui & Co. / Orix Real Estate

Architect

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Architects / Jun Mitsui & Associates

An Imperial Legacy Replaced by Glass and Steel

A short walk from Omotesando Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Aoyama Park Tower stands 34 stories and 119.95 meters tall at 1-19-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku. Completed in May 2003, it was jointly developed by Mitsui Fudosan, Sumitomo Shoji, Mitsui & Co., and Orix Real Estate, with design by Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Architects and Jun Mitsui & Associates. Its 314 residential units sit above a low-rise commercial podium, combining homes and retail in a format that would influence central Tokyo tower developments for years afterward.

The site’s history adds a distinctive layer to its character. It occupies the former grounds of the Nashimotonomiya, one of Tokyo’s imperial clan residences. After the prewar aristocratic system was dissolved, the estate was transferred and eventually cleared, leaving a relatively wide lot in one of Tokyo’s most sought-after addresses. The joint-venture structure of the development — four major companies sharing one site — reflected both the scale of the investment and the prestige of the location.

Between Aoyama and Shibuya

Despite its “Aoyama” name, the tower carries a Shibuya-ku address. It sits precisely at the boundary where Shibuya’s density fades into the quieter, tree-lined character of Minami Aoyama. The Jingu Gaien — Tokyo’s outer garden of the Meiji Shrine — lies just to the east, and upper-floor views sweep across its wooded treetops toward the central Tokyo skyline.

Compared to the later generation of Shibuya high-rises — Scramble Square, Hikarie — Aoyama Park Tower is modest in height. But as an early-2000s tower mansion, it represents a pivotal moment when major developers began treating central Tokyo residential development as a premium mixed-use proposition rather than a purely residential one.

Summary

Aoyama Park Tower, completed in 2003, stands 34 floors and 119.95 meters on the former site of an imperial residence in Shibuya-ku. The 314-unit tower developed by Mitsui Fudosan and partners established a model for high-end mixed-use towers in the Aoyama corridor. Walking between Omotesando and Shibuya, it is worth pausing to take in how this glass tower and its imperial-era address coexist at one of the city’s most seamless transitions.