There are many activities to do at Tokyo Skytree Town, you can go to the top of world’s tallest tower, try one of many delicious restaurants, or check out the cool and unique Japanese products in the shops.
As we continue our Tokyo Travel series, we’ll revisit Tokyo Skytree, where we first visited as a family in 2014. Our children were still young then so after waiting for 1.5 hours to go to the top of Tokyo Skytree and spending some time enjoying the views of Tokyo, we were ready to call it a day.
This time around as our children are older, we could actually browse through the restaurant floor and unique shops they had at Tokyo Skytree Town. Ready to tour Tokyo Skytree? Let’s go! I’ll cover Tokyo Skytree first and then Tokyo Skytree Town.
Tokyo Skytree 東京スカイツリー
Tokyo Skytree is very close to Asakusa (1 station away), if you are planning a day trip to Asakusa and surrounding areas, take a few hours from your trip to enjoy Tokyo Skytree Town.
Tokyo Skytree was built as a television and radio broadcast tower, taking over responsibility from the older Tokyo Tower which is now surrounded by skyscrapers and not as effective as delivering the signals.
The tower was completed in 2012 and is currently the world’s second tallest building and tallest tower (as of 2018). There are 2 observatory decks you can visit, and you will need to purchase an additional ticket to visit the higher observatory deck (Tembo Galleria) at 450 m (1,480 ft). The elevation of the lower deck is 350 m (1,150 ft).
We visited on a warm Saturday afternoon around 2 pm. The tower itself is in a plaza called Skytree Town, which also include an aquarium, dome theater, offices, gift shops, and restaurants in addition to the broadcast tower.
When we found the line for the observatory, the sign at the end of the line said 90 min wait. It almost made us give up but since we were there already we decided to grind through it and wait it out, just in case the sign was wrong. When we got in line to wait, it actually extended to the outside of the building.
After 10 minutes or so, we finally entered the building. As we looked around, we could see the beautiful display of Super Craft Tree by designer Yukio Hashimoto.
You can also see the steel structure that’s supporting the tower from the large windows surrounding room.
What seemed like an eternity has finally passed, we could hardly conceal our excitement to finally see the ticket counter. After purchasing the tickets to visit both observation decks, we thought the lines has ended. Not quite, there’s a another short line to wait for the elevators.
Tokyo SkyTree – Tembo Deck & Tembo Galleria
As we enter the elevator and it started to ascend, the lights inside darkened and the ceiling of the elevator had beautiful Japanese patterns that changed colors and brightness. Everyone in the elevator was entertained by the changing lights during the quick ride.
The first stop is the Tembo Deck at Floor 350, which also includes with ticket booth to Tembo Galleria and a cafe. There are 2 more levels, Floor 345 and 340 within the Tembo deck which houses the gift shop, Sky Restaurant, and a cafe. You’ll go through these lower levels as you return to the lobby.
We went ahead and purchase the tickets to Tembo Galleria (Floor 445 and 450)to enjoy the breathtaking view. The elevator to the Tembo Galleria is quite thrilling, as you can see through the glass panel doors and ceiling.
As we exit the elevator at Floor 445, the children squealed with delight and enjoyed the views. The elevator leads to a ramp to Floor 450.
![By Tamaru (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.justonecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Skytree-ramp-800x536.jpg)
Sceneries from Tokyo Skytree
From the top of the tower and along the ramp, visitors get the unobstructed view of Tokyo.
It’s incredible as all the tall buildings now look like as if they were made of small Lego bricks.
You can see Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea in the direction of Chiba City. Other recognizable structures we could easily see are Tokyo Dome, Tokyo City Gov’t Building, and Tokyo Tower.
After spending some time seeing the different sights, it’s time to head down. One of the coolest features as you journey towards the lobby is the glass floor on Floor 340. It’s a bit nerve-wracking but definitely very cool to be able to look down.
It was a memorable experience and we had a great time despite the super long wait.
Tokyo Skytree Town
The purpose of our visit this past summer (2018) to Tokyo Skytree Town is so we can eat at Toriton sushi. It’s a Kaiten sushi (sushi boat) restaurant that’s from Hokkaido. We had such an amazing meal in Sapporo years ago we couldn’t wait to go back when we found out it opened in Tokyo. Sushi at Toriton is not “fine dining” sushi but it’s very affordable and tasty.
Kaiten Sushi Toriton トリトン
Toriton is a sushi chain and they have 13 restaurants in Hokkaido and 2 in Tokyo. The quality of their seafood is much better than most conveyor belt sushi restaurants and the ratio of fish to rice is very generous.
We arrived at Toriton at 11:30 am and the restaurant was already completely full and there were about 10 people ahead of us in line. Luckily we were able to get seated in about 15 min.
If you’re not familiar with conveyor belt sushi restaurants (aka sushi boat restaurants), they are all over Japan and prices are affordable compared to traditional sushi restaurants. Each plate range from $1.50 – $6 dollars depending on the type of fish or food. You can read more about conveyor belt sushi restaurants here.
You can select the premade sushi you want off the conveyor belt or order what you like on a small slip of paper from the staff directly. The newer sushi boat restaurants have a digital menu on iPads and you can even select the language of your choice, whether you want wasabi or not, and whether it’s for children. If you select the children’s option they’ll cut each sushi in half.
The sushi quality was outstanding and we were stuffed. The cost came out to $15 a person for our family which is much cheaper than eating sushi around San Francisco.
Solamachi Dining at Tokyo Skytree
Not a fan of raw fish? No problem there are a ton of dining options to choose from.
Besides Toriton, there are many other popular restaurants in the same area, including sukiyaki, shabu shabu, gyoza, and unagi restaurants.
There’s also a branch of Ginza Tenryu Chinese restaurant which we tried in Ginza.
Japanese Souvenirs at Tokyo Skytree
Besides the many yummy restaurant selections, on the 4th floor, there’s a selection of shops that carry unique Japanese souvenirs.
One of the shops even sells replica food, similar to what you would find in Kappabashi Dogugai.
How about bringing home a cardboard statue of Godzilla and other ceratures?
Besides restaurants, you can also shop for food, clothing, fashionable goods, etc in Tokyo Skytree Town.
Sumida Aquarium
Lastly, if you have little ones who are bored from all the sightseeing, they might be interested in the Sumida Aquarium. It is not large compared to other aquariums in Japan but should keep younger children entertained for hours. Our son especially loves aquariums and we try to visit them whenever we go to a new city.
Thank you for reading our Tokyo Skytree Guide and hope you find it helpful and entertaining. Many of my friends are not able to fit in their itinerary when they go to Japan but I hope you can stop by to check out this really cool area. If you are interested in the rest of our 2018 Tokyo Series, here are the links below.
- Shinjuku 新宿
- Meiji Jingu 明治神宮
- Harajuku and Omotesando 原宿・表参道
- Shibuya 渋谷
- Roppongi 六本木ヒルズ
- Tokyo Tower (update) 東京タワー
- Ginza 銀座
- Imperial East Garden 皇居東御苑
- Akihabara 秋葉原
- Ueno 上野
- Kappabashi かっぱ橋道具街
- Tokyo Dome City 東京ドームシティー
- Asakusa (update) 浅草
- Tokyo Sky Tree (update) 東京スカイツリー
- Odaiba お台場
If you want to check out our travel tips, read 8 Top Travel Tips for Your First Time Visit to Japan.
Thanks for the visual treat, Nami.. I feel as if I am walking over the Tokyo Skytree.. Looks more like a 3D effect.. Amazing photos
Thanks so much Farha! 🙂
I loved seeing Skytree photos again! We were there in October of last year and got almost the same photos as you. The glass floor was the big attraction–some students were jumping on it! Yikes!
Donna, I think you have better photos than me – it was pretty hazy that day (as you see) but at least it wasn’t raining. 🙂 Glass floor is very attractive. My knees got strange when I looked down! xD
Honestly this is my next vacation stop, Tokyo.
I always dreamed of visiting that place since I was a child
I think you’ll love Tokyo! And I even love it if you recreate many of dishes you try in Japan. 😉
Love the photos! Feel like I was there myself. 😉 Too bad about all that dust, but it’ll be so worth getting new ceilings!
Thank you John! Wish you were there with us too! 🙂 The ceiling without popcorn is NICE. Much cleaner look. Now upstairs bedrooms are getting painted. They are looking nice. I can’t wait to put our clothes back in our closet. 😀
Hello Nami! We visited the Skytree on our Tokyo trip in October of 2014. I thought it was one of the coolest sights to see and loved every moment. When the elevator doors opened on the Tembo Deck and we walked out to the windows, I felt like we were on an airplane that had taken off! I am amazed at the engineering involved and that the design is so attractive as well.
While up on the Tembo Deck, walking up the the top, we heard a series of announcements on the PA in Japanese. I didn’t understand any of the words and no one around us looked concerned so we just kept walking. Eventually an English announcement came on and kindly let us know that the fire alarm was a false alarm and there was no fire. Whew!
I can’t wait to visit the Skytree again and look forward to getting to explore more of Japan outside of Tokyo. Thank you for sharing as always.
Hi Todd! It’s great that you two could visit Tokyo Skytree! We had fun, and it was nice for kids to see the city of Tokyo from up high. Haha, how funny the announcement was about false fire alarm! Good thing it wasn’t the real fire. I can’t imagine how we would escape… I would be too scared to go down with stairs!! Leaving for Japan in 2 weeks. Can’t wait to share more of our Japan adventure with you!
Here are my favorite shots from the Skytree. I hope it’s ok to post some photo links here.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152700792683955&set=a.10152700823303955&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152700793048955&set=a.10152700823303955&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152700792373955&set=a.10152700823303955&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152700791828955&set=a.10152700823303955&type=3&theater
Hi Todd! Sorry the your comment was in the spam (because of the links). Just checked your photos! You take GREAT pictures, Todd! Thanks for sharing! I like the unique effect – so cool. Shen and I need to improve our photography skills beyond food photography. 😀
Renovating is always so exciting but oh the mess! I know it will be so worth it for you in the end, Nami. That’s a very long wait to go up into the tower but the view certainly makes it worthwhile. It is true that the buildings down on the ground really do look like lego bricks xx
Thank you Charlie! I agree – so much white dust… upstairs rooms are getting painted this week, so I can’t wait to unpack and put all the stuff back into where it belongs… I’m glad we’ll be in Japan when we do demolition and renovation and don’t have to deal with the dust again… 😀
Hey, you were in Japan! I hope you had a nice visit. Awesome photos! I hope you didn’t forget to stock on yuzu kosho.
Hi Margot! This was from last June… I know it took me FOREVER to write this post… >_< I'll be in Japan in 2 weeks. Yes, so many things to stock up!
Gorgeous clicks! I do hope to visit this beautiful country:)
Thank you Asmita! Visit when I’m there! 🙂
I can only imagine how beautiful this is in person!
What a fun thing to do and the view is simply gorgeous. You made me want to visit Japan again! My last visit was many years ago and I always wanted to go back again!
What a building! The engineering to build such a thing is incredible. Thanks for the tour! Oh those darn popcorn ceiling – so ugly and what a mess to get rid of. I’m bet you’re glad to see it gone.
I’ve never been to Tokyo and I very much enjoyed these photos. Thanks. GREG
How did the popcorn ceiling removal go? I can’t wait to hear about your new kitchen. You so deserve an upgrade. Will you be installing a fish oven? I loved that when we lived in Japan, you just put a little water in the pull out tray and it steams at the same time it grills the top of the fish, loved that little device. Great photos of the tokyo skytree! I can’t believe the difference in the smog levels from my photos 7 years ago. Must be coming from my neck of the woods… LOL Good luck with your renovations and take care.
Thank you for one more Tokyo touristic episode. I had a choice: go to Tokyo Skytree or to the Moomin café… I chose of course Moomin café 😉 and haven’t been back in this part of Tokyo since then… I see I must go back! The view seems amazing.
Finally getting a chance to go thru your recent posts on you trip to Japan and pinning them for future reference. ? I love reading about your trips!
Thank you so much for reading my travel post, Patty! 🙂
I live right under Sky Tree, just two blocks south in a large apartment complex. Sky Tree is all lit up for Christmas these days, so pretty! I enjoy your blog and recommend it to my US friends. Thanks!
Hi Ann,
Thank you for reading our blog, any neighborhood gems in the area not in guidebooks you would recommend to JOC readers?
I wish your family a joyous Christmas time. Lucky you, being in Japan for the festivities.
I will be there in Jan for the Quilt Show in Tokyo, my 4th trip and wishing to be able to stay longer than a long week.
I live in Woodland and would like to know if you ever do public appearances. SF is not that far away, or might you consider a class at Food Coop in Davis?
Hi Marlene! I just found your comment today by accident, and I’m sorry we somehow lost your comment notification at first place. We had a wonderful holiday time with my family in Japan. Hope you had a great holiday too!
Were you at the International Quilt Festival (Tokyo Dome)? My mom is a quilter too and her quilts have been there a few times (not this year). 🙂
I am not very good at public presentation etc in front of big crowds (even YouTube has been quite a challenge!), but if you ever plan to come to SF or Peninsula where I live, please let me know. I’ll be happy to meet you for a coffee!