Tokyo Tower, probably the most recognisable symbol of Tokyo, was built in 1958 as a communications and observation tower.  It is 332.5 metres high and it is an Eiffel Tower inspired lattice tower that is painted white and orange for visibility to aircraft.

There are a number of tourist orientated features in Tokyo Tower including FootTown (a four storey building located directly under the tower housing museums, restaurants and shops), a two storey Main Observatory which is located at 150 metres and a smaller Special Observatory at a height of 250 metres.

It is difficult to photograph the exterior from close to as it is surrounded by tall buildings, the photograph below was taken from outside the East Garden of the Imperial Palace.

Despite the tall buildings surrounding it the view from the tower is still splendid (unfortunately the Special Observatory at 250 metres was closed during my visit).  The photograph below shows a view northwards with the new Tokyo Skytree just visible at the right of centre.

This is a view to the East looking into Tokyo Bay.

The two photographs below show more views of Tokyo from the tower.  The number of tall buildings explain why the Tokyo Tower is not high enough to adequately support complete terrestrial digital broadcasting.  The new digital broadcasting tower, known as Tokyo Skytree, is 634 metres high and is the tallest free standing broadcasting tower in the world.

The Tokyo Tower also gives one an excellent view of the Tokyo road system, I decided to stick to the train / Metro.

The close relationship between the old and the new is shown by this next photograph, a large shrine next to the Tokyo Tower.

There is also a shrine inside the Tokyo Tower, this is the Great Shinto Shrine of the Tower.  It is the highest shrine in all the 23 wards of Tokyo, this Shinto shrine grants the faithful divine favours such as success in love, successful passing of academic examinations and traffic safety.

The lower floor of the Observatory has glass panels set in it so you can look down at the construction of the tower (those are my feet making a guest appearance).

Go to the Yasukuni Shrine page

Go to top of page