Tokyo Skytree - Tokyo Intro: Experience #44 of 55

This is the tallest structure in Japan and is quite beautiful.  It offers some fantastic views and more is written about this in the Great Views section.  The Solamachi Mall underneath it is a little microcosm of Japanese culture, dining, and shopping.

This is an extremely modern tower with fantastic views of the city.  The tower dwarfs the old Tokyo Tower which is about the same height as the lower Skytree observation deck.  All of the architecture for this new tower with its paid upper and lower observation galleries is pretty snazzy and the tower lights up colorfully at night.  There are often long lineups to enter, but going early in the morning can allow you to skip the rush.  Millions have gone to visit this tower.  The Skytree is designed to be a modern tourist attraction with a train station, mega shopping mall, museums, and other attractions deliberately built under it.

View of Tokyo from the Skytree at night.

The Tokyo Skytree opened in 2012 and is a replacement for the Tokyo Tower for extending HD TV transmissions.  This tower is the tallest tower in the world at a height of 634 meters. The Skytree is the second tallest building in the world, with the 828 meter Burj Khalifa in Dubai being the tallest building in the world.  For scale, another one of the taller towers in the world is the 553 meter CN Tower in Toronto, Canada and the classic Tokyo Tower is only 332.5 meters high.  Observation decks are located in the tower at 350 meters and 450 meters along with restaurants, shops and see through floors that let you look straight down.  Of course, it is extra to get to the upper observation deck.

The Solamachi Mall underneath the tower is a pretty fantastic mall that sells all manner of traditional and modern merchandise.  There are great craft and souvenir shops on the fourth floor that are well worth a visit.  The fifth floor has a Japan Experience floor that houses regional trade shows and traditional Japanese foods and art.  There are some great restaurant floors up higher (sushi too), and a top notch and highly recommended food court here too. The food court has shops for curry, ramen, tempura, and more.  It is like eating in a cafeteria here with real cutlery and dishes you return to the shop you bought food from.  On the main level, there are also a bunch of traditional shops and little restaurants.  Look for the shrimp crackers!

Udon noodles and tempura from the food court.

Donburi Garden Totoro shop.

For anime fans who can only see a few things - there is a Hello Kitty Store, Pokemon Center, Shonen Jump Store, a big TV Character Store (lots of anime products), and a Donburi Garden for Ghibli goods with giant cat bus and Totoro included.  There is also a Q-Pot shop, Daiso, Loft, and UNIQLO stores here.  Also here is the small, but interesting Chiba Institute of Technology Robot Museum that also has a life-size, Macross VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie mecha on the 8th floor.

Some great and pretty exciting commercials about the Skytree are embedded below!

• Morning Views of the Tokyo Skytree
• The Ultra Tall Tokyo Skytree - World's Highest Tower 
• Tokyo Skytree, and the Giant Macross Valkyrie
• Free Observation Decks to View Tokyo From

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