Places in Japan: Tokyo Tower

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: Tokyo Tower
• Where: Tokyo, Japan
• Hours: 09:00AM – 10:30PM
• Cost: Starts at 1,200 yen per person (ticket prices)
• More Information: Official website

Directions

Tokyo Tower is easily accessible via subway. There are multiple subway stations located within walking distance of the tower.  The closest station is Akabanebashi Station.  More information about either subway or bus access to Tokyo Tower can be found at this link.

Parking

For those looking to drive to Tokyo Tower like I did, I actually found there was plenty of parking at the underground parking garage adjacent to the tower.  Parking cost 600 yen for the first one hour and 300 yen for every additional 30 minutes after the first hour.  The parking lot is open from 9:00 to 23:00.

Narrative

I have been asked before if the Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Tower is the best place to go to get views of Tokyo?  I have taken my family to visit the Tokyo Skytree before, so to settle this question I loaded up my family and traveled over to Tokyo Tower.  The tower is located near central Tokyo and I found the drive into town on the Tomei Expressway to be pretty easy.  Even after getting off the highway and parking in the underground lot was not too bad.  As my family and I walked up the steps from the underground lot we were welcomed with this iconic view of Tokyo Tower:

After emerging out of the underground parking lot we then had a short walk up a small hill to the entrance of Tokyo Tower:

The entrance to the tower is extremely busy and crowded, but we figured out pretty easily where to go to buy tickets.  Just like Skytree, Tokyo Tower has different ticket options due to having two different viewing decks.  The main viewing deck is 150 meters (490 feet) high while the smaller top viewing deck is 250 (819 feet) meters high.  I bought a ticket package that let us visit both decks for 3,000 yen for adults and 2,000 yen for children.

Before we headed up the elevator to the main viewing deck we checked out the small museum at the base of the tower.  We learned that Tokyo Tower was built in 1958 as communications tower and was 333 meters (1,092 feet) high.  The tower was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, but painted in the colors that comply with air safety regulations.  The tower was long the primary source of radio and television signals in the Tokyo area, however it was too small to broadcast digital television.  This led to the construction of the much taller Tokyo Skytree which is 634 meters (2,080 feet) high that was completed in 2012.  More random facts about Tokyo Tower can be read at this link.

Besides facts about the tower the museum also had a model of Tokyo Tower made of jewels:

They also had a model that showed what the small hill Tokyo Tower sits on looked like before its construction:

There was also a display that showed how a baseball was found 306 meters high inside the antenna during maintenance to replace the antenna in 2012:

The antenna had not been replaced since its construction in 1958, so who ever put the ball there did it during its construction period in the 1950’s.  The mysterious ball is on display in the museum:

After checking out the museum we then took the elevator to the main viewing deck.  At the main deck we were greeted by a robot:

In contrast to the hi-tech robot also on the main viewing deck there is the Great Shinto Shrine of the Tower that highlights Japan’s cultural history:

We actually saw Japanese people giving prayers at the shrine.  According to the accompanying plaque the shrine was built inside the tower in 1977:

Also on the main viewing deck there is a small glass floor where visitors can view straight down.  The Tokyo Skytree has the same type of glass floor, but larger and since it is much higher it gave me more of a vertigo feeling compared to the one at Tokyo Tower:

However, the view of the downtown Tokyo area is where Tokyo Tower really shines.  I could see down below me the Tomei Expressway we took to drive into downtown Tokyo to the tower:

From Tokyo Tower we could see buildings almost as far as the eye could see:

Not being as high up as the Skytree allowed the buildings to be more recognizable:

We could even see the Rainbow Bridge that crosses Tokyo Bay to Odaiba island, one of our favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo:

Out in the distance we could see the Tokyo Skytree, the world’s highest tower and the world’s third highest structure overall:

To the west the view from Tokyo Tower is dominated by the construction of the Toranomon-Azabudai District Main Tower.  The building is so huge it is going to dwarf Tokyo Tower once complete and obstructs the views from the tower in that direction:

Here is a reflection of Tokyo Tower in the glass of this massive building:

Right across the street from the construction site we could see the Russian embassy.  It is interesting to see the embassy there in light of the ongoing Ukraine War and how Russia was reportedly plotting a provocation against Japan before it:

Next to the construction site was also this really cool looking building that is home to a Shinto religious sect:

Right below Tokyo Tower I could see the Tokyo Prince Hotel:

Right next to the hotel is the Zojo-ji Temple:

Zojo-ji is the main temple of the Tokugawa family that ruled Japan for over 250 years during the Edo Period.  The temple’s main wooden entrance gate remains the oldest wooden structure in Tokyo which dates back to 1622.  The rest of the temple had been previously destroyed due to fire, natural disasters, and World War II.  However, it has been rebuilt each time:

After taking in the views from the main viewing floor we then took the special elevator up to the viewing platform that was 100 meters higher.  What we found was that the extra height did not make much of a difference because the views were very similar.  For example you can compare the pictures below to the ones shown earlier in this posting of the same view from the main viewing platform.

The additional height really did not make much of difference:

Here is a look towards the Toranomon-Azabudai District Main Tower construction site from the upper viewing platform:

Here is a look at a soccer field that was completely surrounded by urban Tokyo:

Here is a closer view of the soccer field that looked like an oasis of green in the urban desert:

Here is another view of the Tomei Expressway that traverses downtown Tokyo:

Here is one final view from the upper viewing deck:

Conclusion

So what is my final verdict, is Skytree or Tokyo Tower better?  The main viewing deck on Tokyo Tower is 150 meters compared to Skytree’s 350 meters, so obviously more of the Tokyo region can be see from Skytree.  However, the ticket prices at Skytree are about 1,000 yen more expensive for those views.  Also we found Skytree to be more packed with visitors than Tokyo Tower was.  Tokyo Tower was also easier to access being downtown and thus closer to other tourist sites.  Considering the lower price, easier access, smaller crowds, and more near by attractions to check out we actually enjoyed our visit to Tokyo Tower more.  With that said Skytree is still a location I highly recommend people traveling to Tokyo check out.  You can’t go wrong visiting either attraction; better yet visit both!