GranTokyo North Tower / South Tower

Twin supertall towers completed in October 2007 flanking the Yaesu exit of Tokyo Station. The North Tower stands 43 floors and approximately 205 meters; the South Tower stands 42 floors and approximately 200 meters. Both were designed with large-scale glass facades by Helmut Jahn.

Use

Office tower

Area

Chiyoda City

Completed

2007

Floors

43 above ground, 4 below

Height

205 m

Developer

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) / Mitsui Fudosan

Architect

JR East Architecture Design Office (Design Architect: Helmut Jahn)

Twin Towers at the Gateway to Tokyo Station

Step out of Tokyo Station’s Yaesu exit and two towers rise on either side of you. GranTokyo North Tower and South Tower were completed in October 2007 as the flagship buildings of the Tokyo Station City project — a large-scale redevelopment initiative led by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) that set out to transform the station into a destination in its own right. The North Tower stands 43 floors above ground, reaching approximately 205 meters; the South Tower rises 42 floors to approximately 200 meters. Both sit in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda City, flanking the Yaesu exit from the north (address 9-1) and south (address 9-2).

Design was handled by JR East Architecture Design Office, with Chicago-based Helmut Jahn serving as design architect. Jahn’s approach employed broad glass surfaces across both facades, giving the towers a luminous, open quality that stands in deliberate contrast to the brick-and-stone Marunouchi Station building on the opposite side of the tracks. Underground, the towers connect directly to the station’s concourse, providing a seamless, sheltered passage between the trains and the building’s commercial and office floors.

Anchoring the Tokyo Station City Vision

The completion of GranTokyo in 2007 coincided with a wave of simultaneous redevelopment on both sides of Tokyo Station. JR East’s Tokyo Station City concept positioned the station not merely as a transit hub but as an urban center — and the GranTokyo towers were designed to be its gateway. Station forecourt space, underground passages, and retail floors were integrated to create a continuous pedestrian experience from the train platform to the surrounding streets.

The towers sit alongside JP Tower (KITTE) and the Marunouchi Building as part of the dense cluster of landmark buildings that ring Tokyo Station. Together, they define the visual identity of the area that hundreds of thousands of passengers pass through each day. Nearly two decades after completion, the towers retain their role as the defining modern landmarks of the Yaesu side — the counterpoint to the historic west facade that greets arrivals from the Marunouchi side.

Summary

GranTokyo North Tower and South Tower were completed in October 2007. North Tower: 43 floors above ground, approximately 205 meters. South Tower: 42 floors, approximately 200 meters. Designed by JR East Architecture Design Office with Helmut Jahn as design architect, both towers brought a contemporary glass-forward presence to the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. A walk through both sides of the station — starting at the GranTokyo plaza on the Yaesu side and crossing via the underground concourse to emerge at the red-brick Marunouchi exit — is one of the best short architectural journeys the city offers. Hotels near Tokyo Station make an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding district at length.

Related: JP Tower (KITTE) / Marunouchi Building / Shin-Marunouchi Building