Tokyo Big Sight by heiwa4126 licensed under the terms of CC BY 2.0
While it may look like some futuristic spacecraft or a supervillain headquarters, it’s actually a convention center—the largest one in all of Japan. Officially called the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, it was completed in 1996 for nearly $2 billion.
It’s well known in the area for its unusual conference tower (pictured). Held up by four enormous columns, the conference tower includes an 1,100-seat reception hall and four smaller conference rooms. Remarkably, the 6,500-ton main structure was completed on the ground, then lifted into place over the course of three days!
Big Sight is scheduled to be a venue during the 2020 Olympics: it will host events for wrestling, fencing and taekwondo.
