A Visit to Tokyo Tower
Posted on 07. Nov, 2007 @ 11:21 pm by harvey in Tokyo, Travel
Back in March I climbed the stairs to the top of Tokyo Tower and am finally getting around to posting about it. I’m a little behind.
Here is a shot of the Tower in all it’s majesty. It’s a bit taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the tallest man-made structure in Japan.
On special occasions it lights up, and it can even do some fancy tricks. Back in 2003 it was lit green with the release of Matrix Reloaded. You can see pictures of the different ways that they have lit up the Tower on this Japanese Tokyo Tower fan’s web page. Search the page for マトリックス to see the Matrix green shot.
Surprised that the Tower would participate in such a cheesy commercial tie-up promotion? Well… You haven’t seen anything yet…
We decided to walk up the stairs to get to the top of the tower. There is also a high speed elevator available… But where is the fun in that?
This Tokyo Tower photo opportunity backdrop is located right under the tower… I’ve been in Japan a long time now, but even I can see that this doesn’t make any sense. It’s ridiculous that anyone would want to get a picture of themselves in front of this poster, while actually at the Tower… Right? Right??
If getting a picture of yourself standing in front of a picture of the Tokyo Tower while standing under the Tower itself isn’t enough pre-main event memorial fun for you… You can also get a picture with the official Tokyo Tower mascot. His name is NOPPON (ノッポン)… Because, the verb to “climb” as in, the “Tokyo Tower climbs into the sky” is “NOBORU”, and, well… -PON is just cute. The tip-top of Noppon is a little bit dirty and showing a little wear and tear, but he’s a nice guy.
If you want to see NOPPON in action and read his profile, check out the NOPPON official website. Be sure your computer speakers are turned on so you can enjoy Noppon’s hip-hop rhythm. (I can hardly take this anymore. Please make it stop.)
On the way up to the top of the seemingly endless caged-in staircase to the top of the Tower there are friendly signs such as this to help you keep your spirits. A literal translation of this sign goes, “NO SMOKING. Let’s sing a song or something to blow away (our) fatigue.”
The final step! If I remember correctly anyway. I can’t imagine why I would have taken a picture of any step other than the final one… So I think this is it. It was quite the hike. Not very scenic either, as you’re inside of a dingy red cage the entire way up.
Once inside of the tower, visitors are assaulted by gift shops of every imaginable shape and form. Just to put it into perspective for you, in addition to these excellent NOPPON dolls they also had a 4-D Bio Hazard arcade game in a corner, a cafe with a live jazz band, and one of those coin mash-up contraptions that will turn your yen into a Tokyo Tower medallion. I’m sure that anyone who has been to the tower will agree that the goods and services were out of control.
On that note, here’s a view of the city from the top of the tower. The view is great, you can walk around the tower for a 360 degree glance at Tokyo. Which, also happens to be the world’s 4th most livable city!
Also, a quick relevant affiliate link via J-list. They have a larger than necessary (26 inches tall!) replica of the Tokyo Tower available that lights up and displays Japanese on a dot matrix message display.
As many of you may already know, they’re actually working on making a new and improved Tokyo Tower. The project itself is called the Rising East Project, and the Tower will be called the New Tokyo Tower. The New Tokyo Tower is planned to be completed in 2011, and will be 600 meters tall, nearly double that of the current 333-meter Tokyo Tower. There is a Japanese article with more details here, and an English Wikipedia New Tokyo Tower entry here.
And that’s a wrap!
- Harvey
A last shot of the current Tokyo Tower.
11 Responses to “A Visit to Tokyo Tower”
Leave a Reply
Welcome to JapanNewbie.com! My goal is to get you excited about Japan and the Japanese language. Love it! This blog has been around for more than five years now, so be sure to dig into the archives and use the search. You never know what you might find!
Recent Comments:
- Traditional Japanese Home in the City (10)
- M.....: ohhh… we have lots of japanese homes like that 1 story and 2 here. and i live in california!!! lol =D
- A Trip to Yakushima (4)
- Evangelion in Kansai-ben (1)
- Franzi: Just watched the first part and love it!! xD I think I need to browse around your blog a bit further so I’ll link you to my blog....
- Santa Ponta’s Journey – a Japanese-English Bilingual Story (1)
- amrutraj gore: aarigato. was looking for something like this.
Heather Meadows
Nov 7th, 2007
at 22:58
Wow…New Tower looks very sci-fi!
I’m finding myself listening to “Noppon’s hip hop rhythm” over and over…I need to turn it off, but it’s hypnotizing me!
I’ve been to Tokyo Tower twice, and I never took the stairs. I did walk up 777 steps at a shrine in Kyushu once, though…and then I wanted to die.
Adam
Nov 8th, 2007
at 00:33
Did you do the Mystery Walk or whatever it is? When I went to Tokyo Tower I was intrigued but couldn’t bring myself to spend the money. Still, sounds mysterious!
Kitty
Nov 8th, 2007
at 01:31
Did you see the wax Madonna??? Huh??? Didja didja didja??? That was the highlight of my own visit to TT. If you didn’t see it I will send you a photo. Because I did take a photo.
harvey
Nov 8th, 2007
at 07:37
That’s right Kitty! They DID have a wax museum inside! But, I didn’t go in!
Did you pay to enter the wax museum or was Madonna one of the ones on display??
Send a photo! Man that’s just weird.
Adam! I didn’t do the mystery tour! What is that??
Adam
Nov 8th, 2007
at 07:48
OK, apparently it’s called the Holographic Mystery Zone.Mystery solved, I guess.
But I just read that the wax museum has wax figures of German psychedelic rockers like Klaus Schultze and Manuel Goettsching! Plus Robert Fripp and others as part of the ‘Inventions for the Electric Guitar.’ That’s so random! I never would have guessed that some of my weirdo musical heroes are done up in wax inside Tokyo Tower.
More info here: http://japanvisitor.blogspot.com/2005/11/tokyo-tower-and-environs.html
Natsuki
Nov 8th, 2007
at 11:13
I was quite furious and wondering why you didn’t give me a buzz if you’re in Tokyo…but then this was back in March. ha-ha
Perhaps I should give a try taking the stairs of Tokyo tower next time since I’m into CLIMBING lately.
BTW, did I ever tell you that should be a journalist!
Godzilla
Nov 8th, 2007
at 19:40
I had no idea they let you walk up the steps. Does it cost the same as taking the elevator?
Zaty
Nov 12th, 2007
at 13:48
they have a mascot for the tokyo tower… *baffled* i cant help thinking that the it looks kinda.. scary and/or obscene… maybe it’s just me and my fear of mascots, i dunno. >_<
ever since i saw the japanese movie ‘tokyo tower’, i really wanted to visit it. the last pic is such a breathtaking shot! =D the ‘backdrop’ for photography sessions is quite amusing. i think if i go there i want to take a pic with it, just for the fun of it XD
Daniel
Nov 26th, 2007
at 23:15
“..and the tallest man-made structure in Japan.”
It was when it first opened, but I’m pretty sure the Yokohama Landmark Tower is the tallest now.
harvey
Nov 26th, 2007
at 23:20
Hey Daniel, actually I had that same doubt before writing this, but found out that the Tokyo Tower is actually taller than Landmark Tower.
Landmark Tower is the tallest building, 295.8 meters (970 feet) high.
Tokyo Tower is the tallest man-made structure at 332.6 m (1,091 ft).
It seems it’s much easier to make tall towers than tall buildings. Less infrastructure. But I’m no engineer!
kole
Dec 13th, 2007
at 01:33
I don’t get it. taking pictures in front of a fake tower when the real thing is right there. We have something like that here in New York. It has to do with this old movie where Cary Grant kisses someone under the 59th street bridge. Well someone set up a board with the same view so tourist can kiss and have their picture taken. I want to scream sometimes!
“THE REAL BRIDGE IS 3 BLOCKS AWAY, AND IT FREE!!!”
but of course I don’t, I mean we all have a hustle, right?