Tokyo Tower
|
|
Tokyotower.jpg
Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower (東京タワー Tōkyō tawā) is a tower in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, whose design is based on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The Tower is 333 meters tall (9 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, or 33 if the latter's TV Antenna is not included) making it the world's highest self-supporting iron tower.
Unlike the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower is located in the middle of a city block. The tower only weighs about 4000 tons, which is extremely light compared to the 10100 ton Eiffel Tower, and it is painted in white and orange according to aviation safety regulations.
In the postwar boom of the 1950s, Japan was looking for a monument to symbolize its ascendancy as a global economic powerhouse. Looking to the Occident for inspiration, the Tokyo Government decided to erect its own Eiffel Tower. It was completed by the Takenaka Corporation in 1958 at a total cost of ¥2.8 billion. At the time it was built it was the tallest structure in Tokyo, but it has since been superseded by several buildings in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro districts. Although it chiefly functions as a radio and television broadcasting antenna, the Tower is best known as a tourist destination, though it is decried by some as overpriced and inconveniently located, and as having poor amenities.
Toyko_tower2.jpg
Tokyo Tower
In much the same way the Eiffel Tower has become a cliche in American cinema, the Tokyo Tower is often used in anime and manga, with series such as Digimon, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo!, X, and Magic Knight Rayearth often featuring climatic events occurring at the Tokyo Tower. It has also been used often in the monster films by Toho, having been destroyed by Mothra, Godzilla and also the location of the final battle of King Kong Escapes in which King Kong takes on his mechanical double.
Tokyo Tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.
Address: Nippon Television City Corporation 4-2-8 Shibakoen, Minato-Ku Tokyo, Japan 105-0011
See also: List of towers
External links
- realtime TOKYO (http://www.nttls.co.jp/webcam/index.html) - Live robotic webcam from Tokyo. One of the views shows the Tokyo Tower.
- Tokyo Tower official site (English) (http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/2005/web/eng/index.html)
- Technical information at Structurae (http://www.structurae.net/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000080)de:Tokyo Tower
ja:東京タワー es:Torre de Tokio fr:Tour de Tokyo pt:Torre de Tquio sv:Tokyo Tower