The secrets of Tokyo's most extravagant district

Tokyo's Shinjuku district is home to the university campus surrounded by skyscrapers, ultra-modern hotels, bars and restaurants... but it is also home to a surprising architectural secret that will leave you speechless. Taking the Tokyo underground line "Tōzai", just a few steps from the Waseda stop, an unusual five-storey building stands out amidst modern structures and neon lights... this is El Dorado, built in 1983, and conceived by the brilliant and visionary mind of architect Von Jour Caux, stage name Toshirō Tanaka.

The palace pays homage to Japanese culture with sinuous and colourful shapes reminiscent of those of the architect Gaudi. Colourful mosaics blend into the façade of the palace, adorned with wrought-iron balconies depicting water lilies and inlaid windows, as well as ceramic decorations and gilded wallpaper.

Upon entering the Waseda El Dorado, you will be immediately struck by the grandeur of the reproduction of the Gorgoneion designed entirely with mosaic and, also inside, an enormous Buddhist hand welcomes you on a carpet of coloured mosaics, crossed by multicoloured corridors with abstract figures, representing varied and visionary images and surmounted by glass ceilings. All this takes visitors on a journey through illusion to stimulate their deepest memories. Here, Art Nouveau blends with tradition, giving the urban layout of the Shinjuku district an almost fairytale-like image.

Referred to as the district that never sleeps, Shinjuku is located in the eastern part of the capital and while on the one hand we find skyscrapers soaring into the Japanese skies, with luxury bars and hotels, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, on the east side it offers residents and visitors alike a wide range of entertainment with nightclubs, bars of all kinds and for all tastes. It is no coincidence that it is here that the most transgressive red light district in Tokyo resides: Kabukicho.

One thing is certain, if you want to taste the genuine flavours of typical Japanese dishes, you are in the right place. In the maze of narrow streets that weave through Shinjuku, there are small restaurants frequented by locals where you can sample delicious Ramen or Yakitori, which you will find hard to forget.