Story
The story of Tokyo Skytree
Why 634 metres? The height was chosen to be easy to remember: the figures 6, 3 and 4 can be read in Japanese as mu, sa and shi, spelling Musashi, an old name for this region. Tokyo Skytree reached that full height in 2011, becoming the world's tallest tower, and it has been the tallest tower in Japan since it opened in 2012. It was needed partly because the older Tokyo Tower, now surrounded by high-rise buildings, could no longer give complete digital television coverage.
Its name was chosen in a nationwide vote. Observatories sit at 350 and 450 metres; in the upper one a spiral glass skywalk takes you up the last stretch, and a section of glass floor lets you look straight down at the streets. Against earthquakes, a central shaft of reinforced concrete is linked to the frame by oil dampers that act as cushions.
At night two lighting patterns alternate: sky-blue Iki and purple Miyabi.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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