November 19, 2023
This is not my first trip to Japan. It is one of my favorite countries to explore. However, this time, I am staying for seven weeks and concentrating on getting to know the country in a more relaxed and deeper way.
That being said, there are always the typical things one must do, so the first few days I have spent doing just that. I visited sites I have fond memories of, the first being the Tokyo Tower.
Tokyo Tower
The tower’s real name is “Nippon Denpatō” (“Japan Radio Tower”), but no one calls it that.
I don’t know if it is the color that reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge. They are both International Orange. Or my passion for steel structures that brings me back to admire this wonderful piece of architecture over and over.
The views help but don’t completely convey the size and complexity of Tokyo.
A view of Tokyo Bay from Tokyo Tower
You can not help but notice it looks a heck of a lot like the Eiffel Tower. Tokyo Tower was based on the Eiffel Tower, and yet it is 29 1/2 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower. Thus, Tokyo Tower was the tallest freestanding tower in the world when it was built. The tower weighs 4000 tons, and the Eiffel Tower weighs 7700 tons. The amount of iron used in building the Tokyo Tower is half the amount used in making the Eiffel Tower.
A view from the Lower Observation Deck
Hisakichi Maeda, founder and president of Nippon Denpatō, wanted the tower to be higher than the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, the funds and the materials were not enough to accomplish that.
A view from Tokyo Tower
The designer was Tachū Naitō, who was already a renowned designer of tall buildings in Japan.
I was so lucky that it was a clear enough day that I was able to see Mt Fuji from Tokyo Tower.
The tower was built in 1958 to serve the expanding demand for transmission towers from television stations in Tokyo. Rather than build multiple television towers all over the city, it was decided to build one tower at such a height that TV signals could be transmitted across a city as large as Tokyo from a single location, a distance of about 93 miles.
The Skytree in the distance
The Skytree knocked the Tokyo Tower off the pedestal of highest building in Tokyo. The Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower. It is the tallest structure in Japan, the tallest tower in the world, and the third tallest structure in the world after the Merdeka and the Burj Khalifa.
Tokyo Skytree
A few more views of Tokyo Tower. I really do love this building.
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