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Tokyo Skytree silhouetted above the city skyline at dusk
Photo: David Kernan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tokyo · landmark

Tokyo Skytree

東京スカイツリー

Tokyo's 634 m landmark, the world's tallest freestanding broadcast tower, with two observation decks at 350 m and 450 m giving 360-degree views over the city.

Tokyo Skytree lit in light blue at night, seen from Asakusa
Photo: 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
View over Tokyo and the Sumida River from the Tokyo Skytree observation deck
Photo: Jakub CA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tokyo's new 634 m landmark

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcast tower standing in Oshiage, Sumida ward, Tokyo. It was completed on 29 February 2012 and opened as a broadcast tower and tourist attraction on 22 May the same year. It is run by Tobu Tower Skytree Co., part of the Tobu Railway group.

It is 634 m tall. On 17 November 2011, Guinness World Records recognised it as the world's tallest freestanding broadcast tower. The number 634 can be read as "mu-sa-shi" in Japanese. The area where Skytree stands was once part of Musashi Province, an old province that took in parts of today's Tokyo, Saitama and Kanagawa. The height was chosen because the builders wanted the world's tallest tower to have a number that was easy to remember.

Japanese tradition hidden in a futuristic tower

At its base, the tower's cross-section is an equilateral triangle, but it becomes rounder as it rises until it turns into a circle at 320 m. Its silhouette uses two curves found in traditional Japanese architecture: sori (a concave, upswept curve) and mukuri (a gentle convex curve).

A reinforced concrete column runs up the centre of the tower as part of a system that reduces swaying. This system was inspired by the structure of a five-storey pagoda.

The tower's colour is an original shade called Skytree White, based on aijiro, a traditional Japanese colour (a very pale indigo white). At night, two styles of lighting alternate day by day: Iki, a light blue inspired by the water of the Sumida River, and Miyabi, based on Edo purple.

Two observation decks: Tembo Deck and Tembo Galleria

The first stop is the Tembo Deck, 350 m above the ground. It is split over three floors. On the top one, Floor 350, huge windows more than 5 m high run all the way round in a 360-degree circle. Floor 345 has a restaurant and shop, and Floor 340 has a glass floor where you can look straight down beneath your feet.

Higher still is the Tembo Galleria, 445-450 m above the ground. It is a tube-shaped glass corridor that the official website calls "the highest skywalk in Tokyo". At the end of the corridor is the Sorakara Point. You reach the Tembo Galleria from the Tembo Deck by a dedicated lift.

Tickets and getting there

You can buy a ticket for the Tembo Deck only, or a combined ticket for the Tembo Deck and Tembo Galleria. Tickets can be bought in advance online through the official site or at konbini (convenience stores); buying on the day at the 4th-floor counter costs extra. If you already have a Tembo Deck ticket, you can also buy a Tembo Galleria ticket on the day from the ticket machines inside the Tembo Deck. Prices and opening hours may change, so check the official website.

The nearest stations are Tokyo Skytree Station on the Tobu Skytree Line and Oshiage (Skytree-mae) Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and other lines. From Asakusa you can take the Tobu Skytree Line. From Haneda Airport you can reach Oshiage Station on the Keikyu Line and Toei Asakusa Line, and from Narita Airport on the Keisei Narita Sky Access Line. The entrance to the observation decks is on the 4th floor.

Tips

  • Skytree may close in typhoons and other bad weather (in September 2026, a closure notice was issued as a typhoon approached). If the weather looks rough, check the announcements on the official website before you set off.
  • If you plan to go up to the Tembo Galleria, either buy the combined Tembo Deck and Tembo Galleria ticket from the start, or buy the extra ticket from the machines inside the Tembo Deck.
  • On the way back you come out on the 5th-floor exit floor. As well as shops and a café, there is a foreign currency exchange counter.

Sources

Updated 28 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

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