Elsa Tower 55, Residential skyscraper in Kawaguchi, Japan
Elsa Tower 55 is a 55-story residential skyscraper in Kawaguchi, completed in 1998. Its facade is divided into three vertical sections: a light gray central section with dense horizontal rows of balconies and a yellow-ochre stripe containing small dark openings, flanked by two darker gray strips with their own windows. The top has a flat roof with a dark overhanging slab.
The building was completed in 1998 and was Japan's tallest residential building at that time. It held this title until 2004, when other towers began reaching similar heights.
The tower shapes Kawaguchi's skyline as a symbol of modern urban development in the Greater Tokyo area. Its presence shows how Japanese cities embrace vertical living to address limited space.
The nearest station is Kawaguchi Motogo on the Saitama High-Speed Railway, a 6-minute walk away; Kawaguchi Station on the Keihin Tohoku Line is 18 minutes on foot. The Kawa 24 bus loop from Kawaguchi Station stops at Elsa Tower-mae. The 1st floor is an atrium lobby, the 2nd floor a bicycle parking area, and homes begin on the 3rd floor.
The tower is divided into "neighborhood units" of 120 to 180 homes stacked vertically, each marked by differently colored corridor handrails. Shared rooms called community cores occupy the 10th, 20th, 29th, 36th, 43rd and 55th floors, among them a kids' library, a craft room, a Japanese-style salon and a sky lounge.
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