Azabudai Hills Guide: Tokyo's New Landmark, Restaurants & Shops (2024)
Azabudai Hills opened in November 2023 after 17 years of development — Japan's tallest building complex, designed by Foster + Partners, with Mori JP Tower rising 330m above Minato-ku. teamLab Borderless moved here from Odaiba in 2024. This guide covers the development's history, how to get there, what to see, where to eat, and how it fits into a Tokyo itinerary.
Azabudai Hills: 17 Years in the Making
Azabudai Hills opened on November 24, 2023, but the project's history begins in 2006, when Mori Building Company — Tokyo's most ambitious private urban developer and the company behind Roppongi Hills (2003) and Toranomon Hills (2014) — began acquiring land in the Azabudai neighborhood of Minato-ku. The development required the voluntary relocation of approximately 300 residents and businesses from a densely built urban neighborhood. That process took 17 years, making Azabudai Hills one of the longest-gestating private urban redevelopment projects in Tokyo's postwar history. The site covers 8.1 hectares in central Minato-ku, tucked between the diplomatic quarter of Azabu-Juban to the south and the business district of Toranomon to the north. The location is approximately 1km from Tokyo Tower and sits atop a modest hillside — the name "Azabudai" translates literally as "Azabu platform," a reference to the elevated terrain. Mori Building hired Foster + Partners, the London firm behind the Gherkin, the Reichstag dome renovation, and the Apple Park campus, to design the master plan. The concept — articulated in the development's official materials as a "city within a city" — prioritized green space, public passage through and across the site, and a mix of uses (residential, commercial, cultural, hospitality) that would make the complex a genuine neighborhood rather than a sealed corporate campus. The final project includes three towers, 24,000 square meters of green space (including a central garden with a functioning farm), 150 restaurants and shops, luxury residences in the tallest tower, serviced apartments, an international school, a clinic, and a museum. The total floor area of the development is approximately 861,700 square meters — comparable in scale to Roppongi Hills, though with a different atmospheric character that leans toward quieter luxury rather than the nightlife and gallery district energy of its predecessor. The 17-year development timeline means that Azabudai Hills opened into a Tokyo that had changed significantly since the project was conceived. The development's emphasis on green space, flexible public areas, and human-scale circulation reflects evolving thinking about post-COVID urban design as much as it does the original 2006 vision.
Mori JP Tower: Japan's Tallest Building at 330 Metres
Mori JP Tower, the central and tallest tower of Azabudai Hills, rises 330 metres above street level, making it Japan's tallest building — surpassing the previous record holder, Abeno Harukas in Osaka (300m), which held the title from 2014. The tower's height represents a symbolic as well as architectural achievement: Japan's building height restrictions, a legacy of earthquake safety concerns and aviation approach paths, had limited central Tokyo's skyline far more than comparable global cities. Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, completed in 2003, reaches only 238m; the leap to 330m at Azabudai Hills required new engineering approaches and the special regulatory zone that dense mixed-use mega-developments like this one can qualify for under Japanese urban planning law. The tower houses 54 floors of office space, luxury residences (branded as the Residences at Mori JP Tower), and a hotel. The residential component, beginning above the office floors, represents some of the most expensive residential real estate in Japan. The tower's profile — a gently tapered rectangular form with a distinctive crown — is visible from much of central Tokyo on clear days, and from elevated vantage points such as Shibuya Sky and the Tokyo Tower observation deck, it is now the dominant element of the southern Minato-ku skyline. For visitors, the most accessible component of Mori JP Tower is the ground-floor and podium-level retail and restaurant space, which requires no ticket or reservation. The tower also includes Azabudai Hills Gallery, a dedicated contemporary art exhibition space that hosts rotating exhibitions with international artists — continuing Mori Building's commitment to arts programming established at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills. The two companion towers — Residential Tower A and Residential Tower B — house additional luxury apartments and serviced residences, completing the three-tower composition that frames the central garden from three sides. The complex's skyline silhouette is distinctive enough that it has already appeared in numerous Tokyo photography collections; the best external views are from the Kamiyacho Station area approaching from the south, or from the Toranomon Hills area to the north.
teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills
teamLab Borderless, the permanent large-scale digital art museum created by the Tokyo-based art collective teamLab, relocated from its original Odaiba location (which closed in August 2023) to a new purpose-built space in Azabudai Hills, opening in February 2024. The new venue occupies approximately 9,000 square meters across two basement floors of one of the complex's towers — slightly larger than the Odaiba original and designed from the ground up for the scale and technical requirements of teamLab's immersive digital installations. The teamLab Borderless concept is built around artworks that move across room boundaries, interacting with visitors and with each other in real time. Unlike a conventional museum where works are static and fixed in frames, Borderless installations flow between rooms through openings in walls, respond to visitor movement and touch, and change continuously based on internal algorithms that incorporate time of day, visitor density, and inter-artwork interactions. The space has no fixed route — visitors navigate through the building following light and sound into successive rooms, and the experience of different visitors in the same space simultaneously is genuinely different. Key installations in the Borderless collection include the Resonating Forest (a forest of glowing flowers that respond to human presence by changing color and spreading light through neighboring works), the Athletics Forest (a physically interactive multi-room installation mixing digital and physical challenges), the Bubble Universe (a mirrored room where glowing orbs change in response to touch), and the seasonal rotating works that change the character of the space throughout the year. Tickets are sold exclusively online in advance through the teamLab website; there is no ticket window at the venue. Admission is approximately ¥3,200 for adults. The museum consistently sells out on weekends and during school holidays; weekday morning sessions are the most available. The new Azabudai Hills location is significantly more convenient than the former Odaiba venue — Kamiyacho Station on the Hibiya Line is a two-minute walk, versus the multi-transfer journey to Odaiba's Palette Town area.
Restaurants, Shops, and the Central Garden
Azabudai Hills' retail and restaurant offering is positioned firmly at the luxury and international end of Tokyo's market, reflecting both the neighborhood's demographics (the Azabu area is home to much of Tokyo's diplomatic community and expatriate professional population) and Mori Building's strategy of pairing premium cultural programming with premium dining. The restaurant lineup covers a broad range of cuisines at consistently high quality. Japanese restaurants include several kaiseki and washoku establishments, sushi counters operating at a level comparable to the best in Roppongi, and ramen, soba, and tonkatsu options that bring Tokyo's serious food culture to accessible formats. International options include French, Italian, Middle Eastern, and Asian restaurants, several of which are Tokyo outposts of restaurants with international reputations. The development's food hall and market area on the lower retail floors is one of the better grocery and prepared food options in central Minato-ku, stocking a premium selection of Japanese and imported ingredients. The central garden — 6,000 square meters at ground level between the towers — is the development's most genuinely public-feeling space. Designed as a working garden as well as a decorative one, it includes a small farming area where produce is grown for use in the complex's restaurants. Stone paths, planted berms, and a network of exterior corridors connecting the towers create an environment that is walkable from multiple directions and genuinely green in a part of Tokyo where open space is rare. The garden is accessible without paying any admission or entering any commercial space. For shopping, Azabudai Hills' retail is weighted toward fashion, lifestyle goods, and food rather than mass-market retail. Several brands have opened their first Japan or first Tokyo locations here. The underground retail concourse connecting the towers is the most sheltered and weather-proof route between them, and functions as the primary circulation route on rainy days.
Getting to Azabudai Hills and How It Fits Into a Tokyo Visit
Azabudai Hills is most directly accessed from Kamiyacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Exit 3, approximately 2 minutes walking to the main entrance). The Hibiya Line is a central and useful line for tourist itineraries — it connects to Roppongi (Roppongi Station, one stop south) and continues to Akihabara, Ueno, and Naka-Meguro. From Roppongi, Azabudai Hills is also walkable in approximately 15–20 minutes through the Motoazabu area. Toranomon Hills Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Exit B3, approximately 5 minutes walking) is an alternative approach from the north. Toranomon Hills itself, Mori Building's 2014 development, sits immediately adjacent to the northern edge of Azabudai Hills and the two developments have become a connected cluster of contemporary architecture, international offices, and premium hospitality. For visitors building a day itinerary around Azabudai Hills: the most natural combination is with Roppongi Hills (Mori Art Museum, 360-degree Tokyo observation deck, outdoor sculpture park) to the south, and with Shimbashi or Ginza (15–20 minutes by Hibiya Line) for shopping and dining. The Azabudai Hills area does not have the same tourist infrastructure density as Shibuya or Shinjuku — there are no large souvenir shops or budget dining options — but it functions well as a half-day component of a broader Minato-ku itinerary. Azabudai Hills represents a new direction for the kind of urban experience Tokyo's major developments offer. Where Roppongi Hills positioned itself as Tokyo's international arts and entertainment quarter and Shiodome positioned itself as a media and business hub, Azabudai Hills presents a model closer to Hudson Yards in New York or the King's Cross development in London: a dense mixed-use environment designed to be inhabited throughout the day by residents, workers, and visitors simultaneously. Whether this model succeeds as urban experience rather than architectural achievement will become clearer as the development matures through its first years of operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Azabudai Hills open?
Azabudai Hills opened on November 24, 2023. The project took 17 years to complete, with land acquisition beginning in 2006. teamLab Borderless, the major digital art museum in the complex, opened in February 2024 after relocating from its original Odaiba venue.
How tall is Mori JP Tower?
Mori JP Tower stands 330 metres tall, making it Japan's tallest building — surpassing Abeno Harukas in Osaka (300m), which held the title since 2014. The tower houses offices, luxury residences, and forms the centrepiece of the Azabudai Hills complex designed by Foster + Partners.
How do I get to Azabudai Hills?
The most direct access is Kamiyacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Exit 3, approximately 2 minutes walk to the main entrance). Toranomon Hills Station (Exit B3) is also walkable in about 5 minutes. From Roppongi, it is approximately 15–20 minutes on foot through the Motoazabu area.
How is the new teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills different from the Odaiba version?
The new Azabudai Hills space is purpose-built at approximately 9,000 square meters — slightly larger than the Odaiba original. The location is far more convenient (2 minutes from Kamiyacho Station vs. the complex multi-transfer journey to Odaiba). The core concept is the same: immersive digital artworks that move across room boundaries and respond to visitor interaction. Tickets must be booked in advance online; the museum consistently sells out on weekends.
Is Azabudai Hills worth visiting for tourists?
Yes, particularly if you combine it with teamLab Borderless (book tickets in advance) and Roppongi Hills nearby. The central garden and retail spaces are free to enter. The restaurant selection is genuinely high quality but expensive by general Tokyo standards. Azabudai Hills works best as a half-day component within a broader Minato-ku or Roppongi itinerary rather than a standalone full-day destination.
Book Accommodation in Tokyo
Stay in central Tokyo near Minato-ku, Roppongi, or Toranomon for easy access to Azabudai Hills — the Hibiya Line connects the complex to Ginza, Ueno, and Naka-Meguro directly.
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