Tokyo Tower

• Tokyo One Piece Tower will temporarily close from Feb. 28 to March 17 due to the coronavirus. For updates on the COVID-19 situation in Japan check GaijinPot Blog: https://blog.gaijinpot.com/is-it-safe-to-visit-japan-as-the-coronavirus-cases-increase/

Let’s pretend you’re in a movie. After you’ve run away from Godzilla and risked the infamous crush of Shibuya Crossing, how can you be absolutely sure that you’re in Tokyo? Well, if you’re lucky enough to stumble across the red and white, taller version of the Eiffel Tower, you can be absolutely sure you’ve made it. Time to enjoy Tokyo Tower!

As well as being a well known landmark on the Tokyo skyline, Tower Tower offers a fantastic bird’s-eye view of the Tokyo city-scape at 333 meters meters high.

The main observatory can be reached by elevator or, if you fancy working off your breakfast/lunch/dinner, you can take the 600 stairs. A second set of elevators takes you even higher to the special observatory, the third-highest observation deck in Tokyo, boasting a cinematic view of the city and Mt. Fuji on clear days.

At the main observatory “lookdown windows” allow the brave to walk over see-through glass while ant-size salary-men go about their usual business below. For those of you who are scared of heights: don’t worry! You can relax in the cafe or pick out some cute Tokyo-Tower-meets-Hello-Kitty merchandise from the souvenir shop away from the windows.

If you’re more of a One Piece fan, take the elevator down, down below to the “Foot Town” building (who named it and why?). Home to the One Piece Tower amusement park that opened in 2015 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the manga, you can also find a variety of cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops selling products from all over Japan.

Tokyo Tower isn’t just a magnificent architectural feat; it’s also a symbol of Japan’s post-war boom and rebirth as a major economic power. From 1958 until 2012, it was even the tallest building in Japan (dammit Tokyo Skytree).