It’s an old joke about what you learn from the movies: Every window in Paris has a view of the Eiffel Tower. Tokyo is sort of the same (except from our apartment). Wherever you are, you can see the Tokyo Tower. Rising 333 meters (1093 feet), with the highest viewing platform at 250 meters, it dominates swathes of the Tokyo skyline.
Of course, Tokyo and Paris are different. Tokyo is flooded with skyscrapers, none as tall as the Tower, but there are tall buildings in every direction. Still, you can’t come here without visiting it, even if, like Fiona, you aren’t keen on heights.
So when we were invited to meet someone at the next door Prince Plaza Hotel, we did what we had to do and headed off to the Tower after an 一番おいしい (ichiban oishii – number 1 delicious) Tempura lunch with our very knowledgeable host.
There we were greeted by several smiling young ladies dressed like 1960’s flight attendants who shepherded us into the glass-windowed elevator, where an enthusiastic young man operated the buttons and proceeded to dole out facts in Japanese, Chinese and English.
We reached the 150 meter viewing platform, wandered around, and took some pictures including, incongruously, a shot of a model of the Tower framed against a window. A little girl, fearless or simply unaware, looked through the glass floor, mocking our weak knees.
Then, we caught a ride on the somewhat more unnerving second elevator to the top platform. The view was, as you would expect, stunning in every direction although sadly, due to the afternoon haze, Mount Fuji could not be discerned. (We have actually seen Mount Fuji in real life, if somewhat fleetingly, on the train to Kyoto, but I think the fact that it is so often hard to see adds to its allure.) Since it was still sakura season, we caught some glimpses of canopies of cherry blossoms below and we also had a pretty good look at Tokyo Harbor, with Haneda Airport nearby.
Mostly, however, we saw the astonishing number of Tokyo’s tall buildings, a reminder of how this small and mostly mountainous nation manages to pack in over 100 million people, including nearly 40 million in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, to live and work. We got another reminder when, around 5 pm, we returned home on the Ginza line.
This is Joyce’s husband Dick; Joyce and I are thoroughly enjoying your photos and commentaries. I did business in Tokyo for 20 years and I feel like I am enjoying Tokyo as a tourist for the first time thanks to your wonderful website. We are looking forward to our first return trip to Japan in over twenty years later this fall and will be better prepared for our visit thanks to you. Looking forward to your next update….Dick