Explore for a day: Tokyo Skytree

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Washburn
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, sits a 634-meter-tall behemoth of a structure known as the Tokyo Skytree. This broadcasting and observation tower was built in 2012 and is the tallest building in Japan. At the time of its completion, it was the second tallest structure in the world.

At the base of the tower is a complex of shops, restaurants, offices, a planetarium, aquarium and a postal museum.

The Skytree itself has two observation decks. The first, Tembo Deck, is located 350 meters from the ground. This deck has three floors housing a café, souvenir shop and a restaurant. The bottom floor has a section of vertigo-inducing glass panel flooring where visitors can look at the city below their feet.

The second deck, called Tembo Gallery, is 450 meters high and features a sloping spiral walkway. The walkway is constructed in such a way that visitors can look straight down. From this height, the view of Japan's Kanto Region (and Mount Fuji on a clear day) is spectacular.

One piece of advice for anyone looking to go -- Travel early and on a weekday as the lines can be long and the Skytree can be very crowded.