Tokyo Tower Audio Guide

Tokyo Tower: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Tokyo Tower

   Welcome to Tokyo Tower, the red-and-white lattice giant that has been shaping Tokyo's skyline since 1958. You are in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, in the heart of the capital. Look up and the tower seems to dominate everything around it. Its official name is Japan Radio Tower, or Nippon Denpato in Japanese, because it was built as a communications and observation tower. Almost nobody uses that name. To the world, and to Tokyo, it is simply Tokyo Tower. Japan's national tourism organization describes it as a symbol of the country's postwar ascendancy, and it is still an entertainment hub for visitors and residents alike. Over the next few stops we will look at where the tower came from and how it was built. We will also look at the neighbor sitting right at its feet, the work it still does, and the way it has become a character in Japanese popular culture. Stand wherever you like with the tower in view, and let's begin.

2. 02

   A Postwar Symbol Rises

   Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958, and it arrived as a statement. At 333 meters tall, it was the tallest freestanding tower in the world when it was built. That is easy to remember, because the number is three, three, three. The design is the work of the architect Tachu Naito, and the inspiration is no secret. It looks to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Yet Tokyo's tower goes higher, 333 meters against the Eiffel Tower's 324 meters. The friendly rivalry is part of the fun. Then there is a story you will hear again and again. The steel, it is said, came partly from scrap metal of American tanks damaged in the Korean War. If that is true, it is a remarkable image, with machines of conflict melted down and rebuilt into a broadcasting beacon. It is one reason the tower has come to stand for Japan's postwar rebirth, and why so many people call it more than a mere antenna.

3. 03

   Old Temple, New Tower

   Now bring your attention down from the steel and toward the ground, because this tower has a very old neighbor. Zojoji Temple dates back to the sixteenth century, and it sits right beneath Tokyo Tower. The contrast is the whole point. Tiled temple roofs and traditional halls stand in the foreground, and a soaring red-and-white lattice rises behind them. It captures in a single frame how old and new sit side by side in Tokyo, which is why it is such a beloved place to take a photograph. At the base of the tower you will also find Foot Town, a shopping complex with an array of shops and restaurants. Over the years the building's lower floors have housed a changing mix of attractions. Over time these have included a tower restaurant, an aquarium, a wax museum and a trick art gallery. There is also a food court, a convenience store, a Guinness World Records museum, a hologram gallery, and a souvenir area called Tokyo Omiyage Town. Wander through, and you are walking through decades of the tower's own life.

4. 04

   Broadcast Beacon and Pop Culture Star

   Behind the sightseeing, Tokyo Tower is a working communications tower. It is used for radio and television broadcasting, and it has carried signals for media outlets such as NHK, TBS Television and Fuji Television. Time, however, moved on. When Japan planned its terrestrial digital broadcasting for July 2011, the tower's height was not suitable for the Tokyo area. Today the taller Tokyo Skytree claims the title of the city's highest structure. Even so, Tokyo Tower is often called the emotional center of the city, and many travelers find it more affordable and far less crowded than its younger rival. The tower also lives in the imagination. Just as the Eiffel Tower instantly places a film scene in Paris, Tokyo Tower tells you immediately that you are in Tokyo. It appears in anime and manga such as Sailor Moon, One Piece and Detective Conan. It even has two mascot brothers, Older Brother in blue dungarees and Younger Brother in red, who were unveiled on the twenty-third of December in 1998 to celebrate the tower's fortieth anniversary. Its lighting also changes to mark special occasions.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, take one last slow look from the ground. Notice how the lattice frame looks different depending on whether you see it beside the temple roofs, between modern buildings, or lit up against the evening sky. Getting here is easy, which is part of the charm. The Mita subway line stops at Onarimon Station, the Hibiya line at Kamiyacho, and the Oedo line at Akabanebashi. If you arrive by the Yamanote Line at Hamamatsucho Station, it is about a fifteen-minute walk to the tower. Any of those routes makes a good way to return and see the tower from a new angle. The tower has plenty more to share, from the way its three distinct sections are arranged to the changing colors of its lights. So keep your eyes open as you leave, and see how many places in the city give you a glimpse of that red-and-white frame.