 Neon signs along Yasukuni-dori in Shinjuku
Shinjuku (新宿区; -ku) is one of the special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre as well as the location of one of Tokyo's largest public transport interchanges, Shinjuku Station. Shinjuku is home to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Tokyo's tallest building, where political and public administration of Tokyo takes place. Thus, Shinjuku can be called the capital of Tokyo.
Shinjuku is a major urban-transit hub: Shinjuku Station sees an estimated 2 million passengers a day pass through it, with three subway lines, two private-rail commuter lines, and several JR lines passing through it. It is also home to a heavy concentration of department stores, movie theaters, hotels, bars, etc.
The city of Shinjuku developed into its current form after the Great Kanto earthquake (Kantō-daishinsai) in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation. Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many skyscrapers. In 1698, during the Edo period, Shinjuku (or Naitō Shinjuku) had developed as a new (shin) station (shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō. Naitō was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the Shinjuku Gyoen.
As of 2003, the ward has an estimated population of 297,135 and a density of 16,299.23 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km².
Major areas of the ward include Ichigaya, Kabukicho, Okubo, Shinanomachi, Shinjuku ni-chome and Takadanobaba. Shinjuku Ward is home to Waseda University, the Yakult Swallows baseball team, and a barracks of the Self-Defense Forces.
The ward was founded on March 15, 1947.
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