Upon entering the Tokyo Kokusai Forum, your first impression will probably be that of awe. Far more impressive looking on the inside; when you look up from the bottom floor far below, you might get the feeling you're looking up at the ribs of a whale, or perhaps the skeleton of a massive ship. Your second thought will probably be something like: 'So what exactly is the purpose of this place?' Good question. After sniffing around a bit it's hard to credit it with being any more than a massive waste of extremely prime real estate, and of course money. The forum has other sections which are used for exhibitions, conferences, various performances and the like, but this particular building (below photo) seems to exist almost solely for the purpose of just looking good. Oh there are a couple restaurants on the top floor (right hand side) and some small conference rooms below that which can be rented out for extraordinary sums of money, but for the most part they remain empty.
Completed in 1996 by world famous architect Rafael Vinoly, the forum may not attract too many people willing to rent out its conference rooms, but it certainly does attract tourists, and with good reason. The building is definitely worth going to see in person.
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