Tokyo Sky Tree and Return of the Odaiba Gundam

2012 is a year for some nifty things to happen in Tokyo.

The first big event is grand opening of the the Tokyo Sky Tree to the general public.  I hear that small group tours are already being booked to go up.  The second big event is the return of the 1:1 scale Gundam RX-78 Gundam to Odaiba.  You get to go up the tallest tower in the world and see the world's biggest Gundam model.  The Sky Tree is a whopping 634 metres high, while the 1:1 Gundam robot statue is about 18 metres (not too bad for an anime only manifestation in reality). In 2009, the Gundam was only up for a month, which I missed, but this time it is supposed to be up for a whole year from the spring of 2012 till March 2013.

Tokyo Sky Tree opens on May 22, 2012 and is located in the Narihirabashi/Oshiage area of Sumida Ward (near Asakasa - across the river) of Tokyo.  It is the tallest man-made structure in Japan and will be acting a powerful digital TV broadcasting tower, replacing much of the functionality of the shorter Tokyo Tower.  The views from it should be pretty spectacular.  I wonder which of the new anime will feature the Sky Tree and when the next Godzilla movie will knock it down.

http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/english/
http://tokyoexcess.blogspot.ca/p/my-sf-writing.html

Also, to give you an idea of the size of the Sky Tree, here is a comparison chart.
Wikimedia Commons













So until the Sky Tree opens, and even after it does, here are some other nice sky high viewpoints to see the Tokyo Skyline.

The number one famous landmark for views would be the Tokyo Tower.  Featured in numerous anime, including Cardcaptor Sakura.  This tower is a big favorite with the Japanese too.  It is still very pretty and lights up nicely at night.
My favourite sky high view is the Mori Tower City View located in Roppongi Hills.  Wonderful Panoramas and huge viewing windows.
Sunshine 60 in Ikebukuro is also another place with a nice high observation deck.  This place is near Otome Road, the ladies Akihabara.
Address: 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku

There are also numerous hotels and bars with fantastic skyline views of Tokyo. Just Google it!

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