Visit Tokyo: Tokyo Skytree

We ended our first day exploring Tokyo with a visit to the Tokyo Skytree - a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo.  It is the tallest free-standing tower in the world at 2,080 feet and opened in 2012, making this year its 5th Anniversary.

I planned for us to visit early evening so we could catch a view of the sun setting over Toyko's buildings.  Since I forgot to bring our passports with us and I didn't make an online reservation beforehand, we waited in the same day ticket line for about twenty minutes.  International visitors can bypass the same day ticket line, but need to present their passport.  Admission is more expensive with this option. 

Once we got our tickets, it was a brief wait for the elevator to take us to the main observation deck on Floor 350.  We got to see amazing 360 degree views from 1,150 feet up!  You can also purchase tickets for the upper deck to the Skytree's highest point on Floor 450.      

Sunset in Tokyo

Kids play at an interactive map

Tokyo's night lights

Looking down a glass floor!

My kids were pretty tired from our day, but were powered by the thought of visits to the Hello Kitty Store and the Pokémon Center in Tokyo Solamachi - a large shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located at the base of Tokyo Skytree.  We ended the night with shopping and a yummy dinner. 

At the Pokémon Center at the Tokyo Solamachi