Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower as seen in 2023
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Communications tower Observation tower
Location	4-2-8 Shiba-koen, Minato, Tokyo 105-0011
Coordinates	35°39′31″N 139°44′44″E / 35.65861°N 139.74556°E / 35.65861; 139.74556
Construction started	June 1957; 66 years ago (1957-06)
Topped-out	14 October 1958; 65 years ago (1958-10-14)
Completed	1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Opening	23 December 1958; 65 years ago (1958-12-23)
Cost	¥2.8 billion (US$8.4 million in 1958)
Owner	The Tokyo Tower Company (controlling shareholder: Toei Company and Mother Farm)
Height
Architectural	333 m (1,093 ft)
Antenna spire	332.9 m (1,092 ft)[2]
Top floor	249.6 m (819 ft)
Observatory	249.6 m (819 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	16+
Lifts/elevators	4
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Tachū Naitō[1]
Structural engineer	Nikken Sekkei Ltd.[3]
Main contractor	Takenaka Corporation[1]

The Tokyo Tower ( Tōkyō tawā, pronounced [toːkʲoː taɰᵝaː] ^ⓘ, officially called 日本電波塔, Nippon denpatō, "Japan Radio Tower") is a communications and observation tower in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, built in 1958. At 332.9 meters (1,092 ft), it was the tallest tower in Japan until the construction of Tokyo Skytree in 2012. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.

The tower's main sources of income are tourism and antenna leasing. Over 150 million people have visited the tower. FootTown, a four-story building directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants, and shops. Departing from there, guests can visit two observation decks. The two-story Main Deck (formerly known as the Main Observatory) is at 150 meters (490 ft), while the smaller Top Deck (formerly known as the "Special Observatory") reaches a height of 249.6 meters (819 ft). The names were changed following renovation of the top deck in 2018.^[4] The tower is repainted every five years, taking a year to complete the process.

In 1961, transmission antennae were added to the tower. They are used for radio and television broadcasting and now broadcast signals for Japanese media outlets such as NHK, TBS Television, and Fuji Television. The height of the tower was not suitable for Japan's planned terrestrial digital broadcasting planned for July 2011 for the Tokyo area. A taller digital broadcasting tower, known as Tokyo Skytree, was completed on 29 February 2012.

Since its completion in 1958, Tokyo Tower has become a prominent landmark in the city, and frequently appears in media set in Tokyo.