Tokyo's Newest Mega Redevelopment Project

"The $4-billion Roppongi Hills complex, one of the larger urban redevelopments in the world, includes a high-tech Hyatt hotel, a 54th-floor observation deck with 360-degree views of the city, an outdoor theater, scores of restaurants, more than 100 shops, a nine-screen movie theater and hundreds of apartments and offices. A major art museum will be added in the fall. The nearly 30-acre project is the brainchild of billionaire developer Minoru Mori, who hopes it will become "a town where one can experience Japan's cutting-edge art, music, fashion and food culture," he recently told the Japan Times newspaper. Observers say the area, about a half-mile from such tourist draws as the Ginza district and the Imperial Palace, has needed some sprucing up. Although it's home to about 60 embassies, the district has been better known for its seedy night life, with hostess bars and massage parlors catering to foreigners."

Thanks to Christian Peralta