Retail planning! Tokyo Midtown

Just love Midtown. Roppongi Hills has probably got more interesting buildings (and of course it's a bigger site), but the Midtown is so much nicer and easier to navigate. And of course the outdoor park and the airy space is just amazing and define the whole area.

Everything is well planned - from the park, to the adjacent service apartments and Ritz, to the low-rise office buildings behind it. And the much more pleasant and "segmented" shopping mall, all the shops are in places that make sense, eg, Tsutaya next to Starbucks, restuarants in one corner but across the floors so it's not just on the top 2 floors like in the traditional department stores, design stuff are together, etc.

There's also all these special events that make the place so interesting - like this "feet washing" in the little stream that runs through the park! Really helps cool off in the summer heat.