Interesting Facts!! #45

45. Tokyo Tower

This is one of the best-known towers in the world. Made of prefabricated steel, Tokyo Tower (東京タワー) is called light because it weighs only 4,000 metric tons. It is 333 meters( 1,092 feet) and is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris, and was the tallest tower before the Skytree was built in 2012 which is 304 meters taller than Tokyo Tower. 

Tokyo Tower was completed in the year 1958 as a symbol for Japan's rebirth as a major economic power, and serves as a television and radio broadcast antenna and tourist attraction, it is  located in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. All of Tokyo’s nine television and four FM radio stations are transmitted throughout the entire metropolitan area from Tokyo Tower.

The tower acts as a support structure for an antenna. 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. Japan's planned digital television transition for July 2011 was problematic, however; Tokyo Tower's height (333 meters) was not high enough to adequately support complete terrestrial digital broadcasting to the area.  The Tokyo Skytree, a taller digital broadcasting tower, was built and can broadcast digital television programs and much more because of its height.

Over 150 million people have visited the tower since its opening. FootTown, a four-story building located directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants and shops.Visitors can ascend to the main observatory at 150 meters(490 feet) and the special observatory at 250 meters (820 feet) to get a bird's eye view of Tokyo. Under good weather conditions, Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance. The Tower illuminates at night it changes every season and for events.


Every 5 years the tower is repainted in a process that takes about 12 months. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan in 2011 bent the tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower. Work to replace the top section of Tokyo Tower was undergone in 2012, the uppermost 24-meter portion of the steel-frame tower in Tokyo’s Minato Ward was replaced. This is the first time Tokyo Tower's height has been lowered, even temporarily, since it was built in 1958.

-The more you know~