Carrot Tower

Completed in November 1996 through a major urban redevelopment project in Sangenjaya, Setagaya Ward, Carrot Tower rises 27 floors and 124 meters above street level. The mixed-use complex anchored by the Setagaya Public Theatre (1,300 seats) integrates commercial, office, and observation facilities, serving as a transit hub for the Tokyu Den-en-toshi and Setagaya lines.

Use

Office tower

Area

Setagaya

Completed

1996

Floors

27 above ground, 5 below

Height

124 m

Total floor area

approx. 76,754 m²

Developer

三茶・太子堂地区市街地再開発組合

Architect

Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm

A 124-Meter Tower Born from Urban Redevelopment

Exit the Sangenjaya Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line and you immediately spot a tall building with warm reddish-brown cladding. That is Carrot Tower. Completed in November 1996 at 27 floors above ground and 5 below, standing 124.42 meters tall, the building was created through the Sancha-Taishido District First-Class Urban Redevelopment Project. The redevelopment association that drove the project was led by the Tokyu Group, and the building was designed by Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm.

The name was chosen from 1,488 public submissions for conveying a sense of freshness and vitality. The exterior is clad in ceramic tiles in the namesake carrot color, and a five-story glass atrium floods the building’s south face with natural light. The building connects directly to the Tokyu Setagaya Line’s Sangenjaya Station and links by underground passage to the Den-en-toshi Line platforms, making it a genuine multi-modal transit hub.

At the heart of the complex are the Setagaya Public Theatre (1,300 seats) and Theatre Tram (250 seats), located in the lower floors. Embedding a major public theater within a commercial tower was a deliberate choice to add civic meaning to what would otherwise be a purely commercial redevelopment.

Looking Out Over Sangenjaya

The observation lobby on the 26th floor — called Sky Carrot — is free to enter and offers views of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower, and Tokyo Skytree on clear days. Less tourist-oriented than flashier observation decks in central Tokyo, it has the character of a neighborhood spot where locals naturally end up.

Sangenjaya was once a streetcar town of small shops and informal eateries. Redevelopment brought high-rises, but the alleyways around the station still hold a lively Showa-era bar-and-restaurant district. Carrot Tower stands at the boundary between those two eras, embodying both the change and the continuity of the neighborhood.

Summary

Carrot Tower was completed in November 1996: 27 floors above ground, 5 below, approximately 124 meters tall, with a total floor area of about 76,754 square meters. Stacking a theater, retail, offices, and a free observation lobby over a redeveloped train station, it became one model for suburban railway-hub development in Japan. A quick stop at the observation floor before or after the train is an easy way to see Sangenjaya from above.

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