The same view is now blocked by buildings.

It can sometimes be difficult to grasp how familiar scenery has in fact radically changed over the decades. In the 60 years since its founding, Sony the company has been transformed, but so has the landscape around HQ. Take a look!

The black and white photo shows the area around Sony HQ in Gottanda in 1959. It was taken ten days before a major event for Japan, the marriage of the current emperor. The main road, Yatsuyama Road, is now commonly referred to as "Sony Road." What is most striking is how flat the landscape is! You can glimpse the old Tokyo before the real post-WWII development got under way. The same year, Sony launched its first transistor radio.

Last spring, Sony moved away from this familiar neighborhood and to the new HQ site twenty minutes away.