Tokyo Skytree (???????? Tokyo Sukaitsuri?

) is a broadcasting, restaurant,[3] and

observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in J
apan in 2010[4] and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March
2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower,[5][
6] and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa (829.8 m
/2,722 ft).[7]
The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kanto regio
n; the older Tokyo Tower no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television
broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Skytree
was completed on 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 Ma
y 2012.[8] The tower is the centrepiece of a large commercial development funded
by Tobu Railway and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK. Trai
ns stop at the adjacent Tokyo Skytree Station and nearby Oshiage Station. The co
mplex is 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of Tokyo Station.
Design[edit]
The design was published on 24 November 2006,[9] based on the following three co
ncepts:
Fusion of neofuturistic[10][11] design and the traditional beauty of Japan,
Catalyst for revitalization of the city,
Contribution to disaster prevention "Safety and Security".
The base of the tower has a structure similar to a tripod; from a height of abou
t 350 m (1,150 ft) and above, the tower's structure is cylindrical to offer pano
ramic views of the river and the city.[12] There are observatories at 350 m (1,1
50 ft), with a capacity of up to 2000 people, and 450 m (1,480 ft), with a capac
ity of 900 people.[13] The upper observatory features a spiral, glass-covered sk
ywalk in which visitors ascend the last 5 meters to the highest point at the upp
er platform. A section of glass flooring gives visitors a direct downward view o
f the streets below.[14]
Earthquake resistance[edit]
The tower has seismic proofing, including a central shaft made of reinforced con
crete. The main internal pillar is attached to the outer tower structure for the
first 125 meters (410 ft) above ground. From there until 375 meters (1,230 ft)
the pillar is attached to the tower frame with oil dampers, which act as cushion
s during an earthquake. Additional resilience is achieved through an "added mass
control mechanism" (or tuned mass damper) - a damping system which, in the even
t of an earthquake, moves out of step with the building's structure, to keep the
center of gravity as central as possible to the tower's base.[15] According to
the designers, the dampers can absorb 50 percent of the energy from an earthquak
e.[16][17]
Colour[edit]
Iki
Miyabi
The exterior lattice is painted a colour officially called "Skytree White". This
is an original colour based on a bluish white traditional Japanese colour calle
d aijiro (???).[18]
Illumination[edit]
The illumination design was published on 16 October 2009. Two illumination patte
rns Iki (chic, stylish) sky blue and Miyabi (elegance, refinement) purple will b
e used, alternating daily. The tower is illuminated using LED lights.[19]
Naming and height[edit]
The cross-section of the tower forms an equilateral triangle on the ground, grad
ually rounding to become circular at 320 m elevation.
From October to November 2007, suggestions were collected from the general publi
c for the name to be given to the tower. On 19 March 2008, a committee chose six
final candidate names: Tokyo Sukaitsuri (?????????, "Tokyo sky tree"), Tokyo Ed
o Tawa (??EDO????, "Tokyo Edo tower"), Raijingu Tawa (?????????, "Rising tower")
, Mirai Tawa (???????, "Tower of the future"), Yumemi Yagura (???????, "Dream lo
okout"), Raijingu Isuto Tawa (?????????????, "Rising east tower"). The official
name was decided in a nationwide vote, and was announced on 10 June 2008 as "Tok
yo Skytree". The name received around 33,000 votes (30%) out of 110,000 cast, wi
th the second most popular name being "Tokyo Edo Tower".[20]
Since the name was decided in Japanese, which has no spaces between words, it is
not possible to say whether it was intended to be "Tokyo Skytree" or "Tokyo Sky
Tree". The official website states "TOKYO SKYTREE" (all caps) as a registered t
rademark in English, but the version in the logo is clearly "SKY TREE". English-
language publications are divided between the two versions.
The height of 634 m (2,080 ft) was selected to be easily remembered. The figures
6 (mu), 3 (sa), 4 (shi) stand for "Musashi", an old name of the region where th
e Tokyo Skytree stands.[21]
Broadcasting use[edit]
Tokyo Skytree is used as a radio/television broadcast and communications tower.
Television broadcasters[edit]
Channel Channel name Callsign Signal power ERP Broadcast area
1
NHK General TV JOAK-DTV 10 kW 68 kW Kanto region
2
NHK Educational TV JOAB-DTV
4
Nippon Television JOAX-DTV
5
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV
6
TBS Television JORX-DTV
7
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV
8
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV
9
TOKYO MX JOMX-DTV 3 kW 11.5 kW Tokyo
Radio broadcasters[edit]
Frequency Station name Callsign Power ERP Broadcast area
81.3 MHz J-Wave Tokyo JOAV-FM 7 kW 57 kW Tokyo
82.5 MHz NHK FM Broadcast Tokyo JOAK-FM
90.5 MHz TBS Radio Sumida South Kanto region
91.6 MHz Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Sumida
93.0 MHz Nippon Broadcasting System Sumida
Timeline[edit]
2008[edit]
14 July 2008: A ceremony was held at the site to mark the start of construction.
[22]
2009[edit]
Skytree foundation
153m on 18 Sept. 2009
6 April 2009: The foundations for the three main legs were completed.[23]
7 August 2009: The tower reached a height of 100 m.[24]
16 October 2009: The projected height was increased from 610 m to 634 m to make
it the highest self-supporting[further explanation needed] steel tower. Also, 6-
3-4 is Mu-sa-shi in Japanese wordplay goroawase.[25]
10 November 2009: The tower reached a height of 200 m.[26]
2010[edit]
Tokyo SkyTree under construction in August 2010
16 February 2010: The tower reached a height of 300 m (980 ft).[27]
29 March 2010: The tower reached a height of 338 m (1,109 ft), becoming the tall
est structure in Japan.[4]
24 April 2010: A 1:25 scale model of the Tokyo Sky Tree was unveiled at the Tobu
World Square theme park in Nikko, Tochigi.[28]
30 July 2010: The tower topped 400 m, reaching a height of 408 m (1,339 ft).[29]
11 September 2010: The tower reached 461 m, becoming the tallest structure ever
built in Japan, surpassing the dismantled Tsushima Omega tower of 455 m.[citatio
n needed]
23 October 2010: The tower reached a height of 497 m (1,631 ft), and assembly of
the main tower section was completed.
20 November 2010: Two tuned mass dampers with a total weight of 100 tons were te
mporarily placed on the tower tip at 497 m.[30][31]
1 December 2010: The tower topped the 500 m (1,600 ft) mark and reached a height
of 511 m (1,677 ft), beating Taipei 101 (509 m (1,670 ft)). A lightning conduct
or and two tuned mass dampers were docked to the gain tower, which was gradually
lifted within the central shaft.[32]
16 December 2010: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications approved NHK a
nd five TV key stations in Tokyo's plans to install their broadcasting facilitie
s on the tower.[33]
18 December 2010: The transmitting antenna for digital terrestrial television be
gan to be installed.
2011[edit]
Under construction (at the back) in January 2011 with the Tokyo Tower at the fro
nt.
Comparison of the Tokyo Skytree with the world's seven tallest towers
Tokyo SkyTree in October 2011
1 March 2011: The tower topped the 600 m (1,969 ft) mark and reached a height of
604 m (1,982 ft), surpassing Canton Tower (596 m (1,955 ft)) and becoming the w
orld's tallest tower.[34][35]
12 March 2011: The tower reached a height of 625 m (2,051 ft). A full inspection
was made, looking for possible damage by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and its aft
ershocks.
18 March 2011: The tower reached its final height of 634 m (2,080 ft) at 1:34 pm
JST.[36]
23 May 2011: Dismantling four tower cranes continues till mid-July.[37]
7 June 2011: Announced public opening date of Tokyo Skytree Town and entrance fe
e (Adults: 2,000 yen to 350 m (1,150 ft) level; extra 1,000 yen to 450 m (1,480
ft) level) to observation floors.[38]
17 November 2011: Guinness World Records certified the Tokyo Skytree as the tall
est free-standing tower.[39]
2012[edit]
16 February 2012: The roofs of warehouses close to the tower were damaged by fal
ling snow and ice from the tower.[40][41]
29 February 2012: Tower construction was finished. Completion was delayed two mo
nths from the original schedule because of a shortage of supplies due to the eff
ects of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.[42]
2 March 2012: A ceremony was held to celebrate the completion with a kannushi pr
iest and 70 people from Tobu Group, construction, broadcasting and other compani
es.[43][44]
6 March 2012: First Light-up during the Tokyo Hotaru Festival
26 April 2012: The Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan inspected the To
kyo Skytree Tembo Galleria.[45]
22 May 2012: Public opening
1 October 2012: Channel 9 Tokyo MX start transmission from Tokyo Skytree with co
ntinuing transmission from Tokyo Tower in simulcast manner.[46]
2013[edit]
16 January 2013: Snow falling from the tower knocked a hole in the roof of a nea
rby house. No one was injured.[47]
13 May 2013: Tokyo MX continued transmission from Tokyo Skytree and stopped tran
smission from Tokyo Tower with a gradual decrease in power since 12 November 201
2.[48]
31 May 2013: On 9:00 a.m., formal transmission of broadcast in channel 1 to 8, e
xcept 3, start from Tokyo Skytree after number of test transmission with off for
minutes to hours from Tokyo Tower since 22 December 2012.
Opening[edit]
Main Pod
View of Skytree from Asakusa side in 2016
As the Skytree's opening approached, people reportedly waited in line for a week
to get tickets. By the opening, trips up the tower were fully booked for the fi
rst two months of operation.[49] The opening day drew a crowd of tens of thousan
ds, despite rainy conditions which blocked the view from the tower's observation
deck. Strong winds also forced two elevators to be shut down, leaving some visi
tors briefly stranded on the observation deck.[50]
According to Tobu, 1.6 million people visited Skytree in its first week. Local r
esidents reported that the influx of visitors disturbed the peace of their commu
nity and had, so far, generated little economic benefit for the local area.[51]
Gallery[edit]