seeing tokyo from above

welcome to the sea of development...

I absolutely LOVE to see a city from a birds eye view. So it was no question that Rashawn and I had to see the Tokyo Tower while visiting Tokyo. There are so many reasons to visit Japan - and Tokyo Tower is one of them!

The Tower is 1,092 feet tall, which is just a couple hundred feet shorter than the Empire State Building! There are actually two observation decks on the tower, one at 150 meters and one at 250 meters! Both vary in hours of operation, cost, and overall experience.

what is the tokyo tower?

With a nickname like the Japan Radio Tower it might seem like a no brainer what this tower is used for! It’s polished description is being a communication and observation tower. So while it is used by Tokyo for telecommunications, it is also a Tourist Spot! People from all over Japan and the world come here to get a look at this amazing city from above. It is the second tallest structure in Japan and is modeled after the Eiffel Tower! Besides it use, it truly is a stunning landmark in the City.

how much does it cost to go up?

This adventure can be on the pricey side, or pretty cheap depending on what you want to do! If you read my new book, How To Travel Young And Broke, you know we love to splurge on seeing a city from above! To go to the very very top [250 meters] it will cost about $25 per person (¥2,800).  But there is another observation deck at 150 meters that will only cost you about $8 a person (¥1800)!  We just did the 150m deck and it was mind blowing!!

when is it open?

The hours are a little bit different for each observation deck so pay attention to the one you want to visit! You can see Tokyo Tower during the day or night, this is just if you want to visit the paid observation decks inside.

Main Deck 150m: 9:00 am - 11:00pm | Last tour leaves at 10:30pm
Top Deck 250m: 9:00 am - 10:45 pm | Last tour leaves at 10:15 pm

When I got up to the 150 meter deck I couldn’t believe my eyes! There is windows going around the deck almost 360 degrees. And every where I looked all I saw was BUILDINGS! Like a legit sea of them. Tokyo is so different from the other parts of Japan we visited, although I will say this is more so how I pictured it!

If you don’t care for heights, or are driving the Frugal Bus then you can just observe and admire the Tokyo Tower from below! Like I mentioned it was modeled after the Eiffel Tower so it truly is a sight to see. Just like in Paris, this giant tower gets lit up every night!

From sunset to midnight every night the Tower glows and shines its 180 light bulbs! There are two main patterns, a summer and winter pattern! Summer is only lit for three months and has a white and orange strips I believe. It is during July 7th - September. Than once October hits it’s, 9 months of the Solid Orange glow!

One thing not to miss is the Glass Deck! We have been in a few towers that has this and it ALWAYS freaks me out! Hence why Rashawns feet are pictured and not mine :) It is such a neat perspective to see how high you truly are so even if you’re afraid like me, I promise it is worth it!

One of my favorite things about Japan is how photo friendly everyone and everywhere was! People were constantly offering to take our picture. Like here at the Tokyo Tower, they will take a professional image that you can buy, or they will take a picture on your phone or camera for FREE!! It is so nice to have pictures of us together because we don’t always get them while traveling. I think free picture taking is something the US should adopt, who’s with me?!

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