Shinjuku is Tokyo at its most intense. The station alone handles over three million passengers a day, making it the busiest in the world, and the neighbourhood around it packs skyscrapers, department stores, neon-lit entertainment blocks, and quiet parks into a few square kilometres.
West of the station, a forest of glass-and-steel towers houses the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and corporate headquarters. The observation decks here offer some of the best free views of the city. East of the station is a different world entirely: Kabukicho, Tokyo's largest entertainment district, where bars, restaurants, and live music venues stack up in narrow buildings along crowded lanes.
Between the two extremes sits Shinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo's finest parks, with Japanese, English, and French gardens that are especially beautiful during cherry blossom season. If you are visiting during rush hour, brace yourself at the station -- but once you are through, the neighbourhood rewards exploration in every direction.