Tokyo Skytree

The Skytree

The Tokyo Skytree is located in the Sumida district of Tokyo, Japan.  It's actually a broadcasting tower, but it also houses a restaurant and observations decks.

The tower is the primary TV and radio broadcast site for the region surrounding it.

It's very tall, measuring 2,083 feet in height. It has been named the world's tallest free-standing tower by the Guinness World Records people.

The tower is quakeproof, having a central shaft that is resistant to earthquakes.  It was designed to absorb 50 percent of the energy from an earthquake...

... which is good, because it's in earthquake territory!

Work on the structure began in 2008 with a groundbreaking ceremony and was completed in 2012. The first week it was open, 1.6 million people visited it!

There have been problems with chunks of snow and ice falling from the tower during the winter and damaging roofs of buildings in the neighborhood!  Apparently the jury is still out whether it was a good thing to build this huge tower in this neighborhood.  Many complain that it has brought little economic benefit to the area, despite record numbers of tourists.

In spite of this, it's really a rather incredible tower.

George took this really cool photo of Tokyo from one of the observation decks:

The View from the Sky Tree

I love that nighttime skyline with its contrast of dark and light.

Would you be frightened to ascend to the top of a tower like this?  It may be intriguing, but I think it seems a bit scary, too!