Exploring Japan: Tokyo Tower

Yumi Murata

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tokyo-tower

Japan has many landmarks that a lot of people would have seen at some point in either anime, manga, paintings or just by visiting! Tokyo Tower is no exception.

Tokyo Tower’s initial construction started in June 1957 and it was completed and open by December 1958. The tower is both an antenna and an observation deck (there are actually 3 desks).

The antenna serves Tokyo and Kanto area, however the tower is not powerful enough for modern times due to the number of larger skyscrapers in the surround area. This is one of the reasons why the Tokyo Skytree was built. The antenna broadcasts both analogue and digital signals.

From the Observation decks, you can see a large portion of The view isn’t as impressive as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but it’s still quite nice. There is also a partial glass walkway, which allows you to see underneath you. It’s a pretty impressive view as you can see all of the structure from a different angle.

As you can probably tell, Tokyo Tower was inspired by the Eiffel Tower. It’s slightly taller at 333m / 1,093ft (Compared with the Eiffel Tower which stands at 324m / 1,063 ft). There are a few differences in design, but you can definitely see the resemblance.

Mascots

As with everything in Japan, Tokyo Tower has a mascot; two to be precise. They are called “Noppon” and were created for the 40th anniversary of the Tower.

They look a bit weird to me… …and why does one have a band aid on its head? Did it fall from the top of the tower?

FootTown

Below the tower is a building called “FootTown”. There are lots of things to see and do here; ranging from food to a waxworks museum. If you have children, there’s even an amusement park on the roof of FootTown. Of course, the obligatory souvenir shops that tourist can check out are on the second floor.

Have you ever been to the Tokyo Tower? If so, what did you think? Personally, I prefer Tokyo Tower over Eiffel Tower and Tokyo Skytree. I’m not sure whether it’s down to the lighting at night or the fact that it’s so bright and colorful.

The information covered in this article was correct at the time of writing. In the case of national holidays and seasonal holidays, opening hours may vary. If the information has changed, please notify us and we will alter it accordingly.