I had a little bit of time before I was suppose to meet friends so I figured I’d finally go to the Skytree. I’ve been in to the Tokyo Tower a couple of times and I really enjoy it, not just as a tower, but because of all the fun things in it, like a One Piece shop, restaurant, cafe and even a musical.
The Tokyo Tower’s observation deck is at 249.6 m (819 ft) while the Tokyo Skytree’s top viewing point is at 451.2 m (1480ft). The skytree is a total of 634 meters tall (2080ft) and Tokyo Tower is 333m (1092.5ft) tall.
You can buy two different types of tickets at the Skytree. One that goes to floor 350 which is 2,100 yen or one that goes to floor 450 and is 1,000yen. Or you can get a combo ticket which is 3,100 yen. I bought the combo ticket because I figured I might as well do it all at once. (Please note that during holidays the tickets are more expensive by 100 to 300 yen.)
Part of the tower is connected to a mall and is easy to get to from the subway. It’s a great way to get souvenirs, though most towers of a sort tend to have souvenir shops either at the observation decks, exits or nearby. But if you’re in a hurry it makes getting around difficult. I ended up being way behind schedule trying to figure my way out of the tower and back onto public transit. So give yourself time to figure out how to get out, because getting in is easy, you just follow signs but either due to the stress of being late or the fact it was late made it so I just couldn’t find my way out as easily.
After buying your tickets follow the staffs directions. There are a couple different elevators that go up so they tend to herd people into groups to fit in as many people as possible.
What I decided to do other than just look out the windows was to do their stamp relays. They were hosting two while I was visiting. Their regular one and their Peanuts one to go with their “First Beagle in the Skytree” Snoopy event.
The prizes were stickers. It was pretty popular with kids and I liked collecting stamps and putting them in my notebook. There were also several cute photo spots and facts about space.
Their education space section was probably the coolest part, where they showed things about life in space, from astronaut suits to astronaut food. I’m not sure if this is part of the Peanuts event which ended on October 14th or a permanent fixture. I assume it’s part of the Snoopy event.
If you like high views and have enough time then it might be worth a visit. You can also spend (or lose) a lot of time in the connected mall. Also check out their events, the space snoopy theme was a lot of fun. But it is also kind of expensive which is why I get that my friends always suggested I visit Tokyo Tower instead. While Tokyo Tower is a bit more difficult to get to (every time I went I hiked up a hill) I also think I like the cheaper and the somewhat more manageable aspect of it. (Plus all the One Piece stuff!) The aesthetic is also completely different. Tokyo Tower falls in that traditional radio tower vibe while the Skytree has a neo-futurism style.
Tokyo Skytree is open from 8am until 10pm. With last entrance at 9pm. They also change the lights of the tree and keep a schedule of the lighting on their website. You can check that out here, if you want to just get fun pictures from outside.
(This is the last part of my summer in Japan 2019 posts.)
Great post 😊
Thank you!