Did you know that Keio Plaza Hotel once had an observation deck? It stood alone in 1971 on the site of Nishi-Shinjuku, which had been completely cleared by redevelopment. The observation deck, located on the top floor, the 47th floor, opened before the hotel itself. The view from 170 meters above ground, which no one had ever seen before, was incredibly popular, and it is said that the line to get in stretched all the way to Shinjuku Station. The number of visitors exceeded 1 million in just six months after opening, and reached approximately 4.15 million in five years.
The floor, which continued to be enjoyed by many guests as an observation deck, was renovated into a banquet room to meet conference needs following the relocation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in 1991. Following２F, which has a kanji name themed around "mountain," and the３F, which has a katakana name themed around the night sky, the names of Banquet Room still in use today, such as <Akebono>, <Aozora>, and <Asahi>, themed around the daytime sky, embody the aspirations and dreams of the time when it was born as Japan's first skyscraper hotel.
Subsequently, in 1994, the hotel opened "Karaoke 47," the first karaoke room in a Tokyo hotel, on the same floor. Furthermore, during a complete renovation in 2015, Banquet Room foyer was created where guests can enjoy the view from the moment they step out of the elevator. The floor, once a bustling "sky terrace," now thrives as a venue for international conferences, attracting guests from all over the world.
Today, countless skyscrapers stand tall—a sight unimaginable when the hotel first opened. While the cityscape visible from the windows may have changed, the beauty of the sky viewed from 170 meters above ground remains one of the hallmarks of Keio Plaza Hotel 's hospitality.
