Sunshine 60, Skyscraper in Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
Sunshine 60 is a mixed-use tower with 60 floors above ground and five basement levels, rising 239.7 meters into the sky above Toshima ward. The building was constructed using reinforced concrete in the International Style and houses offices, shops, and restaurants along with an observation deck on the top floor.
The site was occupied by Sugamo Prison until 1970; during the war Soviet spy Richard Sorge was hanged there, and on 23 December 1948 seven convicted war criminals, among them Hideki Tojo and Koki Hirota, were executed. Sunshine 60 was completed in 1978 at 239.7 m, the tallest building in Asia until Seoul's 63 Building in 1985, and in Japan until the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in 1991.
The name Sunshine 60 refers to the tower's 60 floors; the sources record no naming origin beyond that. The site is rumoured in popular lore to be haunted, a memory of Sugamo Prison, where seven convicted war criminals including Hideki Tojo were hanged on 23 December 1948. A peace memorial monument stands in nearby Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park.
The upper observation deck on the 60th floor can be reached in just 35 seconds by one of the 40 high-speed elevators running from the basement. On clear days, the view extends far beyond Tokyo to Mount Fuji and Tokyo Bay, while cloudy weather shows the closer city surroundings.
The observation-deck elevators ran at 600 metres per minute, making them the world's fastest from the tower's opening until Yokohama Landmark Tower opened in 1993. Mitsubishi Electric supplied this top bank; Toshiba built the other four banks. The two direct observation lifts, themed on Sky Circus, are called the Shining Elevators.
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