Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower Building

Address: 1-7-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan

Website: https://www.mode.ac.jp/

Hours: Not generally open to the public

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is a distinctive 50-storey skyscraper in the Nishi-Shinjuku district of Tokyo, completed in 2008. It is notable for its cocoon-shaped exterior and for housing vocational education institutions.

The building is primarily an educational complex rather than a typical office tower, with vertically stacked school facilities across its floors and a façade formed by an interlacing grid. It stands among other high-rises in Tokyo’s western Shinjuku area and is visible from surrounding viewing points in the district.

The tower was developed for Mode Gakuen and opened in 2008 to consolidate several vocational schools into a single high-rise campus. Its form and internal layout were designed to prioritise school facilities and communal vertical circulation rather than large open-plan office floors.

The tower sits in Shinjuku, Tokyo, within the city’s major commercial and transport hub. It is a short walk from Shinjuku Station and is part of the cluster of skyscrapers west of the station.

• Access: Located in the Nishi-Shinjuku skyscraper district near Shinjuku Station, making it easily reached by public transport.
• Basic stats: Completed in 2008 with a distinctive cocoon-shaped exterior and mixed-use educational occupancy spread over 50 floors.

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower sits in the Nishi‑Shinjuku area of Shinjuku, Tokyo. The easiest way is by rail: take JR lines to Shinjuku Station and use the West Exit or the South/West area exits-it’s about a 5-10 minute walk from Shinjuku Station to the tower. Alternatively, take the Toei Oedo Line to Tochōmae Station, which is a very short walk to the tower.

Local subway and bus connections to Shinjuku are extensive; once at Shinjuku the tower is clearly signposted and visible among the cluster of skyscrapers.

• See the tower from the pedestrian deck around Shinjuku and photograph it at blue hour when the exterior lighting accentuates the cocoon pattern-there's no public observation deck, so exterior views are the primary photo opportunities.
• Approach on foot from Shinjuku Station's West Exit or the nearby Tochomae/Seibu Shinjuku areas to avoid busy taxi ranks; early morning and late evening have fewer commuter crowds on the surrounding plazas.
• Don't expect interior tours-the building houses educational institutions and offices, so most visitors focus on exterior shots and the tower's nighttime illumination, which many casual passersby miss.