
Tokyo Tower's two main revenue sources are antenna leasing and tourism. The Special Observatory located directly below the tower's digital television broadcasting equipment MaintenanceĮvery 5 years the tower is repainted in a process that takes about 12 months. Planned as an antenna for telecommunications and brightly colored in accordance with the time's Aviation Law, the tower's two panoramic observatories are mostly frequented by tourists today the tower constitutes a clear reference point in the center's chaotic skyline, forming a strong landmark, both night and day. Tokyo Tower was mortgaged for ¥10 billion in 2000. It was opened to the public on Decemat a final cost of ¥2.8 billion ($8.4 million in 1958). While other towers have since surpassed Tokyo Tower's height, the structure was still the tallest artificial structure in Japan until April 2010, when the new Tokyo Skytree became the tallest building of Japan. Despite being taller than the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower only weighs about 4,000 tons, 3,300 tons less than the Eiffel Tower. When the 90-metre antenna was bolted into place on October 14, 1958, Tokyo Tower was the tallest freestanding tower in the world, taking the title from the Eiffel Tower by 13 metres. It was constructed of steel, a third of which was scrap metal taken from US tanks damaged in the Korean War. The Takenaka Corporation broke ground in June 1957 and each day at least 400 laborers worked on the tower. The new construction project attracted hundreds of tobi ( 鳶), traditional Japanese construction workers who specialized in the construction of high-rise structures. With the help of engineering company Nikken Sekkei Ltd., Naitō claimed his design could withstand earthquakes with twice the intensity of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake or typhoons with wind speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph). Looking to the Western world for inspiration, Naitō based his design on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Tachū Naitō, renowned designer of tall buildings in Japan, was chosen to design the newly proposed tower.
TOKYO TOWER CONSTRUCTION TV
The tower's height was eventually determined by the distance the TV stations needed to transmit throughout the Kantō region, a distance of about 150 kilometres (93 mi). However, the plan fell through because of the lack of both funds and materials. Hisakichi Maeda, founder and president of Nippon Denpatō, the tower's owner and operator, originally planned for the tower to be taller than the Empire State Building, which at 381 meters was the highest structure in the world. A taller digital broadcasting tower, known as Tokyo Skytree, was completed on February 29, 2012.Ĭonstruction underway on February 25, 1958 Japan's planned digital television transition by July 2011 was problematic, however Tokyo Tower's height, 332.9 m (1,092 ft) was not high enough to adequately support complete terrestrial digital broadcasting to the area. Originally intended for television broadcasting, radio antennas were installed in 1961, but the tower is now used to broadcast signals for Japanese media outlets such as NHK, TBS and Fuji TV.

The tower acts as a support structure for an antenna. The two-story Main Observatory is located at 150 metres (490 ft), while the smaller Special Observatory reaches a height of 249.6 metres (819 ft). Departing from there, guests can visit two observation decks. FootTown, a four-story building located directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants and shops. Over 150 million people have visited the tower since its opening. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.īuilt in 1958, the tower's main sources of revenue are tourism and antenna leasing. At 332.9 metres (1,092 ft), it is the second- tallest structure in Japan. Tokyo Tower ( 東京タワー, Tōkyō tawā ?) is a communications and observation tower located in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Lua error in a at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
