Tokyo Tower, Tokyo

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For many people, Tokyo Tower is a "must see" and indeed you can't help seeing it from many places in the City, particularly at night when it is brilliantly illuminated. I'm not a particular fan of heights, though, and in any case had been living on the 27th floor of one building for three weeks, so I'd seen a view very similar to that available if I'd paid my entrance fee and taken the scary elevator up to the top. I did very much enjoy the area immediately around the Tower, though. The entrance is canopied by these fabulous, colorful fish banners called Koinobori (you see the "koi" in front, right?) and reminded me a lot of the waiting area for Table Mountain cable cars. And the surrounding park is lovely and peaceful. If you walk just a bit farther, you'll get to Zozoji, which I'll detail in another tip.

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The nearest subway train is the Akabanebashi Station which is run and managed under Oedo Line. This line is NOT included in the Tokyo Metro day pass.

If you wish to make use of Tokyo Metro day pass, the nearest station would be Kamiyacho Station of Hibiya Line.

Admission tickets are two tier system, 800Yen for the main observatory level (150m) which can accommodate alot of visitors.

The special observatory is, obviously, smaller and cannot accommodate every visitor. To discourage everybody from going onto the special observatory, there a long queue at the main observatory level to pay yet ANOTHER 600Yen to be able to go up to that level (250m).

If you are planning to be at the 250m level, make sure you allow enough time to queue and buy the secondary entrance ticket at the main observatory level.

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some magnificent views around the tokyo area as seen from the tokyo tower. you can see the Roppongi Hills complex in the roppongi area from the tower. Tokyo Bay and the nearby Odaiba City plus the Rainbow bridge can also be viewed from the tower. Sumida River and the Tokyo Imperial Palace East Garden can also be viewed from the tower and the bustling skysrapers of Shinjuku and Ikeburo Sun City are visible from the tower.On a clear day, you can see mount fuji (which is 97 kilometers away) from the tower. be ready to take pictures and videos of these wonderful scenes from this tokyo tower!

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assorted view outside and inside the tokyo tower. Although it chiefly functions as a radio and television broadcasting antenna, the Tower is best known as a tourist destination, though it is decried by some as overpriced tourist trap and inconveniently located, and as having poor amenities. FootTown, the main building below the tower, is the attraction below the tower. The first floor includes the Aquarium Gallery, a reception hall, the 400-person-capacity "Tower Restaurant," a FamilyMart convenience store and a souvenir shop. This floor's main attractions, however, are the three elevators that serve as a direct ride to the Main Observatory. The second floor is primarily a food and shopping area. In addition to the five standalone restaurants, the second floor's food court consists of four restaurants, including a McDonald's and a Pizza-La.

A Shinto shrine is located on the second floor of the Main Observatory making it the highest shinto srhine in tokyo metropolitan area. FootTown's third and fourth floors house several tourist attractions. The third floor is home to the Guinness World Records Museum Tokyo, a museum that houses life-size figures, photo panels and memorabilia depicting interesting records that have been authenticated by the Guinness Book.The Tokyo Tower Wax Museum, opened in 1970, displays wax figures imported from London where they were made. The figures on display range from pop culture icons such as The Beatles to historical figures such as Jesus Christ. A hologram gallery named the Gallery DeLux, a lounge and a few specialty stores are also located on this floor. Tokyo Tower's Trick Art Gallery is located on the building's forth and final floor. This gallery displays optical illusions, including paintings and objects that visitors can interact with.On the roof of the FootTown building is a small amusement park that contains several small rides and hosts live performances for children. On weekends and holidays, visitors can use the roof to access the tower's outside stairwell. At approximately 600 steps, the stairwell is an alternative to the tower's elevators and leads directly to the Main Observatory.

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inside the tokyo tower! With 333 meters, Tokyo Tower is 13 meters taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, and the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. It was completed in the year 1958 as a symbol for Japan's rebirth as a major economic power, and serves as a television and radio broadcast antenna and tourist attraction. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations. the elevator to main viewing decks takes about 40 second to go up and down to and from foot town. The FootTown, is a 4-story building located directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants and shops. Departing from here, guests can visit two observation decks. The 2-story Main Observatory is located at 150 meters (492 ft), while the smaller Special Observatory reaches a height of 250 meters (820 ft).

The two-floor Main Observatory, located at 145 m, provides visitors with a view of Tokyo and houses several attractions. The first floor is home to a small café and Club 333, a small stage that is used to put on live music shows. Also located on this floor are two "look down windows" that allow visitors to stand over a small clear window and look to the ground 145 m below. The second floor (at 150 m) houses a small souvenir shop and a Shinto shrine, the highest shrine in the special wards of Tokyo. The elevators leading to the Special Observatory are also located on this floor. Departing on these elevators, visitors can reach the Special Observatory. a small, circular, completely enclosed observatory located at 250 meters. (prices for entrance to both main and special viewing decks are found at my tokyo tower first tip).

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going to tokyo tower, the tower was made for the tokyo olympics of 1964. you can go to the tokyo tower via Onarimon Station on the Mita Subway Line and Akabanebashi Station on the Oedo Subway Line. You can also walk there from Hamamatsucho Station on the JR Yamanote and JR Keihin-Tohoku Line in about 15 minutes or you can do what we did which was to Book a Panoramic Tokyo City Day Tour which included the entrance and the transport to tokyo tower. the tower has 2 main viewing platforms, Visitors can ascend to the main observatory at 150 meters and the special observatory at 250 meters to get a bird's eye view of Tokyo.

hours and fees:

Hours: 9:00 to 22:00 everyday
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 1420 Yen (to top floor), 820 Yen (to intermediate floor only)

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We decided to go up the Tokyo Tower as it was just a short walk from our hotel. The tower is taller than the Eiffel Tower but not nearly as famous. It is also an antenna for most tv and radio stations in Tokyo.

Sometimes they have live music there but we missed the band. The staff are very polite and when we left (at closing time I believe) about 5 staff all bowed and said goodbye to us. Worth a look if you like that sort of thing.

More information on the website. My favourite thing on the website are the two weird pink mascot things whose mottos are:

Older brother: "Look at things with a hot heart with the cool touch"
Younger brother: "Start with small things and keep going on steady"

We didn't see them at the tower sadly.

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The 333 metre (1,091 ft) Tokyo Tower opened in 1958 and it is the world’s tallest self supporting steel tower. Tokyo Tower is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. The main observatory tower is 150 metre high, from there you can view large chunk of Tokyo at 360 degree rotation.

Like the Eiffel tower in Paris, Tokyo Tower is a popular tourist destination. Over 150 million people have visited the tower since its opening.

There are restaurants and shops for you to buy goodies. The tower also features an aquarium, a wax museum, and several of showrooms. At night the tower looks impressive. We can see Tokyo Tower day and night from our hotel (Grand Prince New Tanakawa).

If you end up going to Tokyo Tower you might as well visit Zojoji Temple, there next to each other.

Open: 09.00 - 22.00
Cost: 1420 Yen (to top floor), 820 Yen (to intermediate floor only)