Tokyo Tower, the Oriental Eiffel

Most of us would agree that Paris would still be Paris without its icon, the Eiffel Tower, but not quite the same - just somewhat missing its a recognizable portion of its charm and magic. A lump of iron, what some Parisians had called its at its unveiling - and some still continue to do so - yet it gives the city the right kind of vibe and jazz. However, it is not the only metallic tower to adorn a major city. The Blackpool Tower, for example, soars 158 meters above the Irish Sea; and the Sutro Tower in San Francisco has been featured in countless movies as a backdrop.

All these structures, being built in a city dominated by Western culture, have earned their share of fame, which leaves one other major man-made behemoth in the shade when it comes to international renown. This steel tower, set in one of the world's largest metropolises, is none other than Tokyo Tower of Tokyo in Japan.

Tokyo Tower is a steel structure in the form of a lattice tower - a free-standing framework tower that was intended for communication and tourism purposes. It stands 333 meters above Minato in downtown Tokyo (original plans had called for an even taller tower surpassing the Empire State Building in New York City, which turned out impossible due to funding constraints); with this height it is just 13 meters taller than its Parisian source of inspiration. It is still the second tallest free-standing structure in Japan; in fact it surrendered the crown just recently in 2010 to a newer communications tower built in Tokyo dubbed the Tokyo Skytree.

The history of the tower is not uncommon, yet interesting. The newly-industrialized nation of Japan was in need of both infrastructure to support growth and icons to boost its image in the world in the late 1950s. As part of this infrastructure undertaking, a broadcasting tower was devised by the government that would transmit television and radio signals to the Tokyo region. In fact, the city of Tokyo already had a communications tower at the time built by the public broadcaster NHK, but the proliferation of private TV and radio stations meant that more of these structures would be needed, scattered throughout the city and resulting in a cluttered skyline. Hence, the Japanese government's purpose in rushing in the boradcasting tower project was two-pronged: To show-off the power of Japan, and to provide a solution to the needs of multiple broadcasting stations.

The tower was designed by Tachu Naito, who was inspired by the Eiffel Tower strongly. It was built by the Takenaka Corporation, which employed hundreds of Japanese highrise construction workers (called tobi) to complete the task at hand. Ground-breaking took place in June 1957, and the entire structure was completed before the end of 1958, thanks to the use of steel instead of concrete during construction. An interesting factoid to note is that a third of the steel used during the construction was recycled from scrapped US tanks from the Korean War. Use of steel also helped the tower measure almost half the weight of the Eiffel at 4000 tons versus 7300 tons, which had been built of iron instead of steel. Regardless, it is claimed to withstand eartquakes with magnitude 9.0 and winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour.


Although a broadcasting tower, the structure has also brought in significant tourism revenue. Since its opening, it has been visited by more than 150 million people, who climbed to its two observation decks at 150 meters and 250 meters respectively. Although the visitorship has declined gradually to a bottom value of around 2 million per year in 2000, it has since picked up and currently stands close to 3 million visitors annually.


Perhaps what make the Tokyo Tower a sight to see are its illumination schemes. Before 1987, the tower had been illuminated by plain light bulbs placed throughout its lattice structure. Coinciding with the tower's 30th anniversary, a newer lighting system was designed to attract more visitors to the tower. A total of 176 floodlights were installed to the tower, which illuminate the tower from dusk to midnight everyday.

The illumination depends on the season, occasion and even endorsement. During fall, winter and spring months orange lighting is used to improve the mood of the people of Tokyo in colder months, whereas in summer white is used to induce the feeling of coolness in people. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is acknowledged by pink color at the beginning of October, and both Christmas and New Year's Ever are recognized by special schemes. Even St. Patrick's Day and Coca Cola and Matrix Reloaded made their way to the tower on special occasions. The tower's observation deck windows are also used as primitive tool for displaying texts, which was used dur,ng Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

As with most title holders, Tokyo Tower relinquished its crown, as mentioned before, to Tokyo Skytree in 2010. This was due to the fact that the tower's height was not sufficient for terrestrial digital broadcasting that has been rolled-out globally in the last decade. Tokyo Skytree dwarfs Tokyo Tower with its 634 meter height; in fact it currently is the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Still, the tower continues to function as a broadcasting tower. It also continues to shine, illuminate and dazzle Tokyoites and foreigners alike with its colors.