When in Japan: The Tokyo Tower will make you say, "J'aime Tokio"

All my bags are packed; I’m ready to go. No taxis are waiting, but the JR train is.

This trip to Japan was too short. I haven't gone through all the items on the Tokyo checklist, which cemented my resolve to return to this city at the soonest possible time. But before I boarded the train to Gunma Prefecture, a good friend was taking me to a couple of spots I hadn't seen yet.

First, the Tokyo Tower in Shiba Park, Minato. It was a chance to view Tokyo from a high vantage point and, while up there, realize that it was the final battleground of Godzilla, Mothra, and King Kong.

J'taime Paris.....................................................................Ai shi teru Tokyo

The sight of the landmark brought back memories of Paris. The Tokyo Tower is inspired by the French landmark, the Eiffel Tower. Japan built and completed a single communication tower in 1958 to service the entire region’s communication needs. It would also be the monument to symbolize post-war Japan’s ascendancy as a global economic powerhouse. But unlike the Parisian tower it drew its inspiration from, the Tokyo Tower is orange (to comply with air safety regulations), it’s taller by thirteen meters, lighter in weight by 3,300 tons, and more impressively, its design could withstand earthquakes with twice the intensity of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake or typhoons with wind speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour.

It was originally planned to be taller than the 381-meter Empire State Building, once the world’s tallest, but the Tokyo Tower had to work within what the funding and materials allowed. Eventually, the Tokyo Tower's 330-meter height was determined by the distance the TV stations needed to transmit throughout the region.

The Tokyo Tower was erected utilizing steel, including scrap metal salvaged from Korean War-damaged US tanks. Upon its completion, it was the tallest artificial tower in Japan (until the Tokyo Sky Tree was built in 2011) and the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world today.

Since its opening, over 150 million people have visited the tower (add me to the number). What will make the visit noteworthy? These attractions: 1.) the FootTown, a four-story building housing restaurants, specialty shops, the Guinness World Records Museum Tokyo, the Tokyo Tower Wax Museum, and an interactive hologram gallery named the Gallery DeLux, and you get to meet the Noppon Brothers, Tokyo Tower’s mascots; and 2.) the observation decks—the two-story Main Observatory and Special Observatory at 150 meters and 250 meters from ground level, respectively. From these vantage points, the view is breathtaking. Catch a 360-degree view of Tokyo, including Mt. Fuji on a clear day, and the highest Shinto Shrine in the special wards.

Just like New York’s Empire State Building, Edo has its own “Tokyo Tower State of Mind,” with special illumination events. The Tokyo Tower lights up in pink in October for the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in red and green at Christmas. It saluted a couple of pop culture events: the top half of the tower was lit in green on the Japanese premiere of Matrix Reloaded, and on the first day of sales of Coca-Cola C2, the different sections of the tower were lit in red, white and black.

Tokyo Tower meets the Davao giants. Thanks Angelo for this great tour!

Did I go up the Tokyo Tower on the evening I visited? Here's the picture: buses filled the parking lot to capacity, and the queue at the entrance was snaking. My hope of entering Tokyo Tower fell as quickly as it rose.

Tokyo Tower was not ticked off the Tokyo must-see list yet. I will get my chance on the next visit.

Just one more stop before I boarded the train to Gunma Prefecture.