Tokyo Skytree

• 1. Introduction

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  Tokyo Skytree was completed on Leap Day, the 29th of February 2012, in Sumida, Tokyo. The tower serves as a broadcasting mast and as an observation tower for visitors. A date that arrives only once every four years makes a fitting birthday for a structure of this scale. This documentary asks why a city that already had a famous tower wanted another one. It asks how the tower earned its name and its exact height. It asks how something so tall copes in a country that lives with earthquakes. And it asks what happened when the public finally lined up to climb it.

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• 2. Replacing Tokyo Tower

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  Tokyo Tower, the older landmark, no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television coverage because high-rise buildings now crowd around it. That problem explains why Skytree became the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region.

  The tower is the centerpiece of a large commercial development. Tobu Railway, which owns the whole complex, paid for it together with a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK. The site lies 7 km northeast of Tokyo Station. Trains stop at the adjacent Tokyo Skytree Station and at nearby Oshiage Station. The Sumida Aquarium sits inside the Tokyo Solamachi complex at the foot of the tower.

  Eight television channels broadcast from the tower. NHK General TV and NHK Educational TV share the list with Nippon Television, TV Asahi, TBS Television, TV Tokyo and Fuji Television. Most of them cover the Kantō region at 10 kW. Tokyo MX serves Tokyo at a lower 3 kW.

  Five radio stations transmit from Skytree as well. J-Wave sits at 81.3 MHz and NHK FM at 82.5 MHz. TBS Radio takes 90.5 MHz, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting 91.6 MHz and Nippon Broadcasting System 93.0 MHz.

  On the 1st of October 2012, Tokyo MX began sending its signal from Skytree while Tokyo Tower carried the same programming in parallel. Power from the older tower had been reduced gradually since the 12th of November 2012. By the 13th of May 2013, Tokyo MX had stopped broadcasting from Tokyo Tower entirely.

  The main channels followed on the 31st of May 2013 at 9:00 in the morning. Channels 1 to 8, except channel 3, began formal transmission from Skytree. Months of tests had come first, during which the older tower was switched off for stretches of minutes to hours. The new tower, meanwhile, had needed something before any of that, which was a name.

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• 3. A Name By Vote

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  In October and November 2007, the general public was invited to suggest a name for the tower. On the 19th of March 2008, a committee picked six finalists. They were Tōkyō Sukaitsurī, Tōkyō Edo Tawā, Raijingu Tawā, Mirai Tawā, Yumemi Yagura and Raijingu Īsuto Tawā.

  A nationwide vote settled the matter. On the 10th of June 2008, the winner was announced as Tokyo Skytree. It collected around 33,000 of the 110,000 votes cast, which is about 30 percent. Tokyo Edo Tower came second.

  The tower's height of 634 m was chosen because it is easy to remember. In Japanese wordplay, the figure 6 can be read as mu, 3 as sa, and 4 as shi. Together they spell Musashi, an old name for the region where Skytree stands.

  The design itself had already been made public back in 2006, long before the name was settled.

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• 4. Design And Light

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  On the 24th of November 2006, the tower's design was published, resting on three concepts. The first was a fusion of neofuturistic design with the traditional beauty of Japan. The second was to act as a catalyst for revitalization of the city. The third was a contribution to disaster prevention, summed up as "Safety and Security".

  The base of the tower has a structure similar to a tripod. From a height of about 350 m upward, the structure becomes cylindrical, which gives panoramic views of the river and the city.

  There are two observatories. The one at 350 m holds up to 2,000 people. The one at 450 m holds 900. In the upper observatory, a spiral skywalk covered in glass carries visitors up the last 5 m to the highest point of the upper platform. A section of glass flooring lets them look straight down at the streets below.

  The exterior lattice is painted a color officially called "Skytree White". It is an original color based on aijiro, a bluish-white traditional Japanese color.

  The illumination design was published on the 16th of October 2009. Two lighting patterns alternate from day to day, and both use LEDs. One is the sky blue Iki, which stands for chic and stylish. The other is the purple Miyabi, which stands for elegance and refinement.

  The third of those original concepts, disaster prevention, shaped what lies hidden inside the structure.

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• 5. Built To Sway

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  A central shaft of reinforced concrete runs through the tower as part of its seismic proofing. For the first 125 m above ground, the main internal pillar is attached directly to the outer tower structure.

  From 125 m up to 375 m, the pillar is connected to the tower frame by oil dampers. These work as cushions during an earthquake.

  A second layer of protection is called an "added mass control mechanism", also known as a tuned mass damper. In an earthquake it moves out of step with the building's structure. That keeps the center of gravity as close as possible to the center of the tower's base. According to the designers, the dampers can absorb 50 percent of the energy from an earthquake.

  The heavy dampers were handled in a striking way during construction. On the 20th of November 2010, two tuned mass ddampers with a total weight of 100 tons were temporarily placed on the tower tip at 497 m.

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• 6. Rising Through Records

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  On the 14th of July 2008, a ceremony at the site marked the start of construction. By the 6th of April 2009, the foundations for the three main legs were complete. The tower reached 100 m on the 7th of August 2009 and 200 m on the 10th of November 2009. It hit 300 m on the 16th of February 2010.

  On the 29th of March 2010, at 338 m, Skytree became the tallest structure in Japan. On the 24th of April 2010, a 1:25 scale model was unveiled at the Tobu World Square theme park in Nikkō, Tochigi. On the 30th of July 2010 the tower topped 400 m, standing at 413 m.

  The 11th of September 2010 brought a larger milestone. At 461 m, the tower became the tallest structure ever built in Japan. It passed the dismantled Tsushima Omega tower, which had stood at 455 m.

  On the 23rd of October 2010, assembly of the main tower section was completed at 497 m. On the 1st of December 2010, the tower reached 511 m and beat Taipei 101, which stands at 509 m. That same day, a lightning conductor and two tuned mass dampers were docked to the gain tower. This inner section was gradually lifted within the central shaft.

  On the 16th of December 2010, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications approved plans by NHK and five key TV stations in Tokyo to install broadcasting facilities on the tower. Two days later, installation of the transmitting antenna for digital terrestrial television began.

  On the 1st of March 2011, the tower reached 602 m. That passed Canton Tower and made Skytree the tallest tower in the world. On the 12th of March 2011, at 625 m, a full inspection looked for damage from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and its aftershocks. On the 18th of March 2011, at 1:34 pm JST, the tower reached its final height.

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• 7. Finishing Touches

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  Four tower cranes were still on the site on the 23rd of May 2011. Dismantling them continued until mid-July.

  On the 17th of November 2011, Guinness World Records certified Tokyo Skytree as the tallest free-standing tower. Among all structures, it ranks third in the world. It stands behind Merdeka 118 at 678.9 m and Burj Khalifa at 829.8 m, or 2,722 ft.

  Completion arrived two months later than first scheduled. A shortage of supplies after the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami caused the delay.

  On the 2nd of March 2012, a ceremony celebrated the completion, with a kannushi priest present. Seventy people from Tobu Group, construction firms, broadcasters and other companies attended.

  The first light-up came on the 6th of March 2012, during the Tokyo Hotaru Festival.

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• 8. Crowds And Falling Snow

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  On the 7th of June 2011, the entrance fees were announced. Adults would pay 2,000 yen to reach the 350 m level, with an extra 1,000 yen for the 450 m level.

  On the 26th of April 2012, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko inspected the Tokyo Skytree Tembo Galleria. The public opening followed on the 22nd of May 2012.

  People reportedly waited in line for a week to get tickets. Trips up the tower were fully booked for the first two months. A crowd of tens of thousands arrived on opening day, even though rain blocked the view from the observation deck. Strong winds forced two elevators to shut down, which left some visitors briefly stranded on the deck.

  According to Tobu, 1.6 million people visited Skytree in its first week. Local residents reported that the influx disturbed the peace of their community. They also said it had so far generated little economic benefit for the area.

  On the 16th of February 2012, snow and ice falling from the tower damaged the roofs of warehouses close by. On the 16th of January 2013, falling snow knocked a hole in the roof of a nearby house. No one was reported injured.

  On the 22nd of May 2022, the tenth anniversary of the opening was celebrated with Kabuki. Ichikawa Ebizo XI performed his signature technique, the "nirami" glare, on a special stage atop the tower.

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