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In the postwar boom of the 1950s, Japan was looking for a monument to symbolize its ascendancy as a global economic powerhouse - it was also looking to build a television and radio relay tower Looking to the occident for inspiration, the Tokyo Government decided to erect its own Eiffel Tower Constructed by Takenaka Corporation, Japan' oldest architecture, engineering and construction firm, and completed in 1958 at a cost of JY28 billion, this grand edifice, at a height of three hundred and 333m, entered the record books as the world's highest self-supporting iron structure

Taller than the Eiffel Tower by just thirteen meters, Tokyo Tower, while maintaining a commanding presence on the Tokyo skyline, has never gained status as a monument of international repute However, due to its advanced steel construction, it is half the weight (4,000 tons versus 7,000) of its French sibling, and represents Japan amongst "The World Federation of Great Towers," in which 21 other towers and monuments around the world are also listed

Chiefly a relay tower for nine TV stations and five FM radio stations, the tower is better known as the city's preeminent kitsch tourist destination Surrounded by Tokyo Tower tea towels and key rings, the first floor houses an aquarium - home to 50,000 (rather small) fish - the third floor a wax museum and the Mysterious Walking World, and the fourth floor the decidedly low brow Trick Art Gallery

In the '60s the iron monolith towered above a predominately low-rise skyline; however, these days it stands out less in the relief of the glass towers built around Shinjuku and Akasaka Still, the tower offers a mildly spectacular sight at night, with its 164 lights whose colors vary by season The Tokyo Tower has two observation galleries - a "main" one at 150 meters and a "special" one at 250 meters On a fine - and relatively unpolluted - day, particularly when the humidity is low during winter, the observatory offers spectacular views of Mt Fuji to the west, the Boso and Miura peninsulas (on either side of Tokyo Bay), the Hakone mountains and Mt Tsukuba to the northeast

The object of attacks from Godzilla, Tokyo Tower, which was snapped in half by the creature, has been forever lodged in pop culture folklore But its finest moment might have been in 1983 when the supernatural psychic Uri Geller used the Tower as a relay station to bend spoons and fix broken watches in homes all over Tokyo

As it approaches its half-century, Tokyo Tower's days as a broadcasting station might be numbered Plans to construct a new tower in Saitama - the Saitama New Metropolitan Tower - at the unprecedented height of 500 meters will make the aging antennae obsolete

Total Height of Tower 333m (1,093ft)
Upper Observatory Level 250m (820ft)
Observation Reach 200 Kms
Architects Tachu Naito 
Inauguration Date 23 December 1958 
Annual Attendance 26 million
Web Site  wwwtokyotowercojp
 
This is one of the best-known towers in the world Made of prefabricated steel, Tokyo Tower is called light because it weighs only 4,000 metric tonnes At a height of 1,092 feet (333 metres), it is the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower

Since its opening in 1958, it has become well known to visitors around the world, not only as one of Tokyo's popular sightseeing attractions, but also as the symbol of Tokyo as an international city All of Tokyo's nine television and four FM radio stations are transmitted throughout the entire metropolitan area from Tokyo Tower

Various gauges and instruments mounted on top of the tower monitor the condition of the air above Tokyo and the traffic conditions in the streets below The lights of Tokyo Tower, suspending it beautifully in the night sky, are made up of 164 flood lights installed on the various parts of the tower

TECHNICAL DATA  
GENERAL INFORMATION  
City name: Tokyo
Total Height of Tower from base including antenna: 333m/1,093ft
Height of Observatory(ies)
1 250m/820ft
2 150m/492ft
Visibility to horizon from Observatory(ies) (in Kms):
1 (in Kms) 200 Kms
2 (in Kms) 100 Kms
Unique features of Observatory(ies): n/a
Height of Restaurant(s): n/a
Capacity of restaurant(s): n/a
Time of full restaurant revolution (in minutes): n/a
Number of steps up to the top: 590
Maximum diameter of shaft: 80m/262ft
Minimum diameter of shaft : 32m/10