Tokyo Skytree
도쿄 스카이트리
Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, a district in the east of Tokyo, Japan. At 634 metres, it is the tallest tower in the world and the tallest structure in Japan. It reached its full height in March 2011, was finished on 29 February 2012, and opened to the public on 22 May 2012.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- Japan
- Location
- Tokyo, Japan
- Built
- 2012
- Height
- 634 m
- Type
- Tower
Quick answers
Where is Tokyo Skytree?
Tokyo Skytree is in Tokyo, Japan.
When was Tokyo Skytree built?
Tokyo Skytree was built in 2012.
How tall is Tokyo Skytree?
Tokyo Skytree is about 634 m tall.
At 634 m, the world's tallest broadcasting tower and a new symbol of Tokyo.
The tower was built mainly to send television and radio signals across the Kantō region around Tokyo. The older Tokyo Tower could no longer reach everyone, because so many tall buildings had grown up around it and blocked its signals. Skytree also has two observation decks high above the city, and at its foot is a large shopping area with an aquarium. Its design was meant to blend modern, futuristic shapes with the traditional beauty of Japan.
How it was built
Construction started with a ceremony on 14 July 2008. The tower grew steadily: in March 2010 it became the tallest structure in Japan, and on 1 March 2011 it passed China's Canton Tower to become the world's tallest tower. The very next week, on 11 March, the huge Tōhoku earthquake struck Japan, and workers inspected the tower carefully for damage. It reached its final height of 634 metres on 18 March 2011.
Standing up to earthquakes
Japan has many earthquakes, so the tower was designed to stay steady. Its base is shaped like a tripod, and higher up it becomes round. Inside is a central column of reinforced concrete. For the first 125 metres this column is fixed to the outer frame, and above that it is joined by oil dampers, which work like cushions during an earthquake. The designers say this system can soak up about half of the energy of an earthquake.
Visiting today
Visitors ride fast lifts to the Tembo Deck at 350 metres, which has three levels, a café and glass panels in the floor for looking straight down. A second set of lifts goes up to the Tembo Galleria at 450 metres, a sloping, glass-covered spiral walkway that climbs around the tower. These are the highest observation decks in Japan. At night the tower glows with LED lights in two patterns that change daily: a sky-blue one called Iki and a purple one called Miyabi.
Fun facts
- The height 634 was chosen because the numbers 6, 3 and 4 can be read in Japanese as "Mu-sa-shi", an old name for the Tokyo region.
- The name "Tokyo Skytree" was picked in a nationwide public vote in 2008, winning about 30 percent of the roughly 110,000 votes.
- The tower is painted a special colour called "Skytree White", based on a pale bluish-white traditional Japanese colour.
- Only two human-made structures in the world are taller than Skytree: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur.
On the globe
The model shows the very tall, slim white lattice tower rising from a wide base, with the two observation decks near the top. Zoom in on eastern Tokyo to compare it with the buildings around it.
Quiz time
Which is taller: Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building?
Show the answer
Tokyo Skytree. (634 m vs 46 m) Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building →
Nearby on the globe
Sources
- Read more on Wikipedia
- Tokyo Skytree — Wikipedia
- 도쿄 스카이트리 — 위키백과
- Tokyo Skytree — japan-guide.com
- Learn about TOKYO SKYTREE — TOKYO SKYTREE (official)
Updated: 2026-10-13