Tokyo's Towers
Tokyo Tower or Skytree, and which view is worth your evening
Tokyo has two great towers, and visitors almost always ask which one to go up. They are less rivals than two different views of the same city. Tokyo Tower puts you inside the skyline; Skytree lifts you far above it. Choose by the view you want, and if you only want the view, there is a free one in Shinjuku.
How this page was madeWe have not yet been to Japan. This page is built from Tokyo Tower's and Tokyo Skytree's official sites and published travel guidance, with prices and hours dated. When we go, we will say so here.
Last updated 3 October 2026
Why it matters
Tokyo Tower is the elder, completed in 1958. It is an orange-and-white lattice clearly modelled on the Eiffel Tower and, at 333 metres, slightly taller. It was built to broadcast, and it became the symbol of a country rebuilding itself after the war into an economic power. It lives in the city's imagination in a way the newer tower does not: it appears in countless films, anime and songs, and lit at night it is still, for many, the image of Tokyo.
Tokyo Skytree, opened in 2012, is the giant. At 634 metres it is the tallest tower in the world and the third-tallest structure of any kind, after Dubai's Burj Khalifa and Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka 118. It was built because the high-rises around Tokyo Tower had begun to block its broadcast signals. It makes no claim to nostalgia: it is a sleek spire over the eastern district of Sumida, close to Asakusa.
What it's like
Height changes the view, and higher is not simply better.
Tokyo Tower puts you in the skyline. From its decks at 150 and 250 metres, buildings, moving traffic, parks and Tokyo Bay all stay at a human scale. You are above the city but still part of it. For photographs this is the better tower: your shots have foreground, middle distance and horizon, and you can press a lens to the glass. It also gives the classic view down over the temple roofs of Zōjō-ji.
Skytree gives you scale and reach. From the Tembo Deck at 350 metres, or the Tembo Galleria at 450 metres up a spiralling glass ramp, the view is vast. On a clear day it runs to Mount Fuji, with the Kanto plain stretching to the horizon. The trade-off, which many visitors mention, is that from this height Tokyo can look like a flat grey model rather than a living city. Its base sits under the Tokyo Solamachi shopping centre and the Sumida Aquarium.
Go up near dusk and stay while the city lights come on. Dusk is the busiest hour, so expect the deck to fill and the room to grow louder behind you as the lights spread. Look less at the famous distances than at what the height does to Tokyo's scale: the overwhelming city of the street becomes a circuit board you can take in at a glance. Then find the other tower. One is the orange lattice of 1958, built by a country climbing out of the war; the other is the pale needle of 2012.
How to visit
Both towers are ticketed attractions with multilingual signs, English-speaking staff and floor guides, so neither needs a guidebook. The ticket shape is the same at both: a cheaper ticket for the lower deck, and a dearer one that adds the upper deck.
| Option | Decks | The view | Adult price | Hours | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Tower | 150m Main Deck; 250m Top Deck | Inside the skyline, at human scale | ¥1,500 Main Deck; Top Deck Tour ¥3,300 online, ¥3,500 at the counter | 9am–11pm; last entry 10.30pm | Photographs and character |
| Tokyo Skytree | 350m Tembo Deck; 450m Tembo Galleria | The whole Kanto plain, Fuji on a clear day | From ¥2,100 ahead, or both decks from ¥3,100; more on the day | 10am–10pm; from 9am on Sundays and holidays | Sheer height |
| Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku | 202m, 45th floor | Both towers and Fuji in one sweep | Free | 9.30am–10pm; last entry 9.30pm | The view without the ticket |
Dusk is the loveliest hour at both towers, and the busiest. Skytree, far more heavily marketed abroad, has the longer queues: reports of 30–60 minutes on a weekend evening are common, even with a ticket. Book a timed sunset slot online before the day, or go on a clear morning when the decks are calmer.
Tokyo Tower stands in Shiba Park in Minato, a few minutes' walk from Akabanebashi Station on the Ōedo Line and from Onarimon on the Mita Line, with Zōjō-ji temple at its foot.
Tokyo Skytree rises directly above Tokyo Skytree Station, with Oshiage Station on the Hanzōmon and Asakusa lines beneath the same complex. Asakusa and Sensō-ji are a short walk or one stop away.
The upper decks can close in high wind or poor weather. If the sky looks doubtful, check the official site before you set out.
Making the most of it
A tower visit is short, so the few choices you make shape it.
Choose Tokyo Tower for a characterful, photogenic view from inside the skyline, at the lower price. Choose Skytree for the highest panorama and the chance of Fuji. Neither is the better tower; they answer different wishes.
Online tickets are a little cheaper at both towers, and at Skytree they also save time. For the hour either side of sunset, book before the day: those slots go first, and a walk-up queue can eat the light you came for.
Many visitors find the step from 350 to 450 metres less dramatic than the price gap suggests. The Tembo Deck alone is a reasonable saving. At Tokyo Tower the Top Deck Tour is a more guided, intimate visit.
The Metropolitan Government Building's 45th floor in Shinjuku costs nothing and shows both towers and, on a clear day, Fuji. If you have been up Shibuya Sky on the same trip, Skytree's extra height may add less than its price.
Tokyo Tower sits beside Zōjō-ji and near teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills. Skytree is a walk from Asakusa and Sensō-ji. Building the visit into an afternoon in its district makes more of the trip than going up and coming straight down.
From what we have read, if you go up only one, make it Tokyo Tower at dusk: cheaper, closer to the city, and the view still has Tokyo in it.
— Andrew + MargaretNearby
From Tokyo Tower, the temple of Zōjō-ji is at its foot, and teamLab Borderless, the immersive digital art museum, is about ten minutes' walk away. From Skytree, cross to Asakusa for Sensō-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. Both towers fit into a day in the city's wider plan; our Tokyo guide shows how.
A final word on Tokyo's towers
Two towers, half a century apart, both saying the same thing in different voices: look how far, look how high. Go up one at dusk and you will understand the city's scale better than any map can show it.
Andrew + Margaret
- Tokyo Overview
- teamLab Highlight
- Sensō-ji Highlight
- Visiting Japan Overview
- Tokyo Tower — tickets and hours Official
- Tokyo Skytree — tickets and hours Official
- Tokyo Tower — online tickets Booking