Tokyo Tower

We've been living in Japan for almost 4 years (in Tokyo for almost 3), yet we had never before been inside Tokyo Tower, one of the more well-known icons of Tokyo. I've been to a few towers around Japan, including the Umeda Sky Building during our first trip to Osaka, and the Landmark Tower in Yokohama, and while the structures themselves were impressive, I must admit that it's pretty hard to get excited about seeing a 360deg view of cityscape, especially if you have to live with it everyday. Hence my reluctance to shell out cash to go up yet another tower to see concrete jungle and high rises that stretch out as far as the eye can see in all directions. My friend Anne was visiting Tokyo, but other than shopping a lot in Ginza, she hadn't had much of a chance to do sightseeing. So after our lunch, we decided to head out with the rest of my family to Tokyo Tower because the weather had cleared up considerably well after a rainy morning. We went up only to the Main Observatory level at 150m, but for an additional 600yen, visitors can go up to the Special Observatory located at 250m elevation. The view was pretty much as I'd expected, but it was great spending time together as a family with a friend.

My sister Honey and my friend Anne, looking ever so fashionable; and the view of Tokyo Tower at its bottom:

Panorama out of one of the many windows on the Main Observatory level. I just realised this view looks out towards the direction of our home:

View through the 'look down window' (those boots are Anne's and mine). Zak loved the vertical view, going on all fours to crawl across the window - I was concerned about Zak obstructing other people's view, but instead they thought Zak was "sugoi" (means "cool", "great" etc):

The girls with the little man; and family shot with a mascot that Zak found quite amusing: