Tokyo Tower
Papers – Cartridge, Optix
Framed size 914 x 305 mm
What is it?
A steel tower designed as a support structure for an antenna to broadcast television and radio. It is also an observation tower and has viewing areas for tourists.
Completed in 1958, the 333 meter high Tokyo Tower was modelled on the Eiffel Tower which is 13 meters shorter and almost twice as heavy. The tower is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.
The tower has two viewing decks accessible by stairs or elevators and feature glass floors. When visibility is good, visitors can see Mount Fuji in the distance. "Foot Town" at its base houses shops, cafes, restaurants and One Piece Tower, an indoor amusement park.
The origins
Nippon Denpatō, the tower's owner and operator, originally planned for the tower to be taller than the Empire State Building, but lack of funds and materials prevented that. One third of its materials were scrap metal taken from US tanks damaged in the Korean War.
It was to be a symbol of Japan's post-war rebirth as a major economic power, and was the country's tallest structure until 2012 when it was surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree.
Tokyo Tower wasn’t high enough to support broadcasting for Japan's digital television transition in  2011 and Tokyo Skytree now does this job.
Lighting effects
For most of the year the tower is lit in an orange colour which is warmer for the colder months. From July to October the lights are changed to illuminate the tower with a white colour which is cooler for the hotter months.
On New Year's Eve the tower lights up at midnight with the new year number displayed on one side. Some special Japanese events have also seen the tower lit in non-traditional ways.
In 2002, alternating sections of the tower were lit blue to help celebrate the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Japan. Alternating sections of the tower were lit green on Saint Patrick's Day in 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Japanese-Irish relations.
Fun Facts

• Every five years Tokyo Tower is repainted. It takes one year and 28,000 litres of paint.
• Over 150 million people have visited the tower in total since its opening in late 1958. The tip of Tokyo Tower was bent by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
• There are two Tokyo Tower Emojis   🗼 
• When we parked our car near Tokyo Tower it would reset the car’s computer and we would have to adjust the time and radio stations!
• The top half of the tower was lit green with the Japanese premiere of “The Matrix Reloaded”;  different sections of the tower were lit red, white and black to commemorate the first day of sales of Coca-Cola C2.
• The Tokyo Tower has two mascots named Noppon. They are two brothers: Older Brother, who wears blue dungarees, and Younger Brother, who wears red dungarees.