This article is based on a visit made on Sunday, 20 May 2018.
Previously on Sekai Ichi,
in 2014, I visited Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcast tower, at night. At the end of that article, I commented about wanting also to go up it in the daytime. Well, in my last full day in Japan to date, I finally made it happen.
Actually, I had been here on the first day of this trip, but the cloud cover was so thick, the tower disappeared into it halfway up. In such occasions, the Skytree may still be open, but the staff will advise you against visiting, since the views would not live up to their full potential. So, we turned around and gave it a pass, taking a gamble on the weather clearing up for our final day in Tokyo. It paid off.
A cultural fair promoting Taiwan was being held in the Skytree Town's courtyard, at the base of the tower itself. These dragon dancers knew how to attract a crowd!
Being late morning on a weekend, and with exceedingly pleasant weather, Skytree was even more crowded than I remember it from last time. For once, it started to feel like a tourist trap, I must admit. To save time, we took advantage of the Fast Skytree Ticket line, a new service added after my last visit. It is open exclusively to foreigners and costs an extra ¥1,000, but for dealing with a much shorter line, I'd say it was worthwhile.
The upside to our choice of time was, once we finally found a place at one of the windows, the views were the farthest and clearest I've ever experienced. This shot looks down and to the west, with Asakusa's Senso-ji temple complex in the centre.
For the first time from one of Tokyo's observation decks, I even managed to spot Mount Fuji! From here, it is visible to the left, with Shinjuku's skyscrapers on the right. Can you spot some of the more famous ones, like the NTT Docomo building and the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government building?
No visit to an observation tower would be complete without looking down one of its glass floors. Well, all but the more acrophobic of us.
At the time, Skytree was hosting a promotion for the movie
Avengers: Infinity War, so decorations and merchandise of the movie's many Marvel superheroes lined the halls of the tower, including the base and the Tembo Galleria.
Speaking of that upper deck, the 451-metre (1,480-foot) Sorakara Point, its highest point, was taken up by standees of the film's main characters. So much for taking my obligatory selfie up there...
...but I tried.
Here's an even better sign-off selfie, of me posing with Black Panther. (Which is one of my favourite MCU movies, alongside
Iron Man,
Captain America: The First Avenger,
Thor: Ragnarok,
The Avengers, and
Avengers: Endgame.) But getting back on topic, even though I think I've had my fill of Tokyo Skytree for one lifetime, I'm glad I was able to experience it in all its glory, and share in it with my grandmother. But before I officially sign off on this holiday, I have one more special treat to give you patient readers. Find out what, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Hours: Open 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. No regular closing days.
Costs: ¥2,100 for the Tembo Deck, plus an additional ¥1,000 for the Tembo Galleria. On weekends and holidays, the ticket prices are ¥2,300 and ¥1,100 respectively. Major credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, JCB, and Discover are accepted.
It is possible to reserve tickets ahead of time through their website; however, this requires a credit card issued in Japan. However, foreign guests can take advantage of the new Fast Skytree Tickets, which are sold at a separate counter and allow the user to skip the regular lines. These tickets cost ¥3,200 (Tembo Deck only) or ¥4,200 (Tembo Deck & Galleria).
Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒130-0045
Access: Right next to Oshiage Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon
(Z) and Toei Asakusa
(A) lines, and Tokyo Skytree Station on the Tobu Skytree
(TS) line. From Tokyo Station, walk to nearby Otemachi Station and take the Hanzomon subway line to Oshiage (Z14, 15 minutes, ¥200).
Directions: The ticket counter is on the 4th floor, directly underneath the tower. The Oshiage subway stations are on the east side of the Skytree complex (roughly underneath the East Tower), and Tobu's Tokyo Skytree station is on the opposite west side.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
