Tōkyō Tower

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Tōkyō Tower (東京タワー, Tōkyō-tawā) is 13 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, so Ash and I embarked on an expedition to check it out. Before we made tracks, I had shown him a couple of photos of the tower in an attempt to cultivate a pre-expedition buzz. However, on the road, everytime we passed a construction site that had an orange crane, Ash would yell “Look Daddy, Tōkyō Tower!”.

Tokyo Tower

We caught the Hanzōmon metro line from Shibuya to Aoyama-itchōme station where we changed onto the Toei Ōedo subway line bound for Akabanebashi station. It was a short walk from the station. Arriving at the tower I grabbed our tickets.

Ushered to the elevator we were crammed in for a 150 metre ascent to the Main Observatory. Alighting from the elevator we were confronted with a spectacular panoramic view of Tōkyō.

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower

Visitors can also continue up to the Special Observatory at 250 meters. Under good weather conditions, Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance.

Looking down from Tokyo Tower

Following are interesting facts about Tokyo Tower lifted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia:

• At exactly 332.6 metres (1,091 ft), Tōkyō Tower is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower
• Despite being 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower only weighs about 4,000 tons, 3,300 tons less than the Eiffel Tower
• The design of Tōkyō Tower was based on the Eiffel Tower in Paris
• It was completed and opened to the public on December 23 1958 as a symbol of Japan’s rebirth as a major economic power
• The tower is constructed of steel, a third of which was scrap metal taken from 90 US tanks damaged in the Korean War
• It is a communications tower that supports an antenna which broadcasts television and radio signals for Japanese media outlets such as NHK, TBS and Fuji TV
• The structure is painted white and international orange in order to comply with air safety regulations
• It is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world, the tallest artificial structure in Japan and is the 20th tallest tower in the world
• Tachū Naitō, designer of the Tōkyō Tower, claimed his design can withstand earthquakes with twice the intensity of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake or typhoons with wind speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour
• The lighting is occasionally changed for special events; for the Japan premiere of The Matrix, for instance, the Tower was lit in neon green

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