Takanawa Gateway City

A large mixed-use development by JR East on the former Shinagawa rail yard in Minato City, Tokyo. The first phase—THE LINKPILLAR 1—opened in March 2025 with twin towers of approximately 30 floors and 161 metres.

Use

Office tower

Area

Minato City

Completed

2025

Floors

30 above ground

Height

161 m

Developer

East Japan Railway Company (JR East)

Architect

Pickard Chilton, Nihon Sekkei, Nikken Sekkei, JR East Design

A Rail Yard Reborn

Takanawa Gateway City rises on the site of the former Shinagawa rail yard in Minato City, Tokyo—a swathe of underused land that JR East began transforming into a mixed-use district anchored by the newly opened Takanawa Gateway Station in 2020. The first phase, THE LINKPILLAR 1, opened in March 2025, bringing twin office towers, commercial space, a hotel, and residences to an area that had long been a blank on the urban map.

The two principal towers—LINKPILLAR 1 North at around 29 floors and 161 metres, and LINKPILLAR 1 South at around 30 floors and 159 metres—form a new skyline between Shinagawa and Takanawa Gateway stations. Their exterior design was led by US-based Pickard Chilton in collaboration with Nihon Sekkei, Nikken Sekkei, and JR East Design. Further phases are planned to follow, including a cultural creation building designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates, slated for completion in 2026.

History Buried Beneath the Cranes

During excavation work in 2020, construction crews uncovered the Takanawa Tsutsumi—a stone embankment built in 1872 to carry Japan’s first railway line over the sea on an elevated causeway between Shinagawa and Shimbashi. The discovery drew considerable attention from historians and preservation advocates, and JR East ultimately committed to displaying a section of the stonework within the development. It is a striking confluence: a 150-year-old fragment of the country’s railway origins preserved at the foot of towers that represent its latest chapter.

Summary

Takanawa Gateway City, with its first phase opened in March 2025, transforms a former rail yard into a mixed-use district of offices, retail, a hotel, and residences. The principal towers stand approximately 29–30 floors and up to 161 metres tall. Alongside the modern buildings, the preserved Takanawa Tsutsumi embankment keeps the site connected to the moment Japan first sent a steam locomotive across the water—a layering of history that makes this developing district worth exploring on foot.