Part 3 – Tokyo Skytree<\/p>\n
It was my first full day in Japan. After walking around the neighborhood and visiting Kanda Miyojin in the early morning, it was time to go with the JapanBall group to Tokyo Skytree. For years, Tokyo Tower was the tallest structure in Japan. The new leader in that category, Tokyo Skytree<\/a>, opened to the public in May 2012. At a height of 634 meters, Tokyo Skytree<\/a> is the tallest tower in the world and the second tallest structure. The figures in the height 6 (“mu”), 3 (“sa”). 4(“shi”) stand for “Musashi”, the old name of the region where Tokyo Skytree stands.<\/p>\n I had hoped to visit Tokyo Skytree while in Tokyo, so I was happy when I found out this was a planned trip for the group. One of the great things about the JapanBall tour is that while you are a part of the group, you don’t always have to do things as a group. A lot of us made our way to the lobby and the snaking ticket line. It probably took about 15 minutes to get up to the ticket counter. When Tokyo Skytree first opened, you had to get your tickets a couple of weeks in advance. I’m glad the crowds were not as big today. Anyway, I paid my 2,000 yen for my ticket and headed to the elevators to the lower of the two observation areas, Tembo Deck<\/a>. Of course, lower is a relative thing as the “lower” deck is still 350m high, taller than the entirety of Tokyo Tower (315m).<\/p>\n I saw one of my fellow Japanballers, Lynn Struiksma, up there and we decide to stick together. (My theory is that if one didn’t come back, it wasn’t that big a deal; however, if two of us didn’t come back, they’d probably come looking for us.) There were quite a few people in the observation deck, so patience was required while waiting for some prime window spots to open up. The views of Tokyo from that high up were incredible. It was so interesting to just watch the city in action. Delivery trucks navigating busy streets. People on rooftop pools swimming laps. The shadows from the clouds as they moved across neighborhoods. Reminded me of when I used to play SimCity 2000.<\/p>\n After making our way all around the lower deck taking pictures, we decided we would pony up the extra 1,000 yen and take a ride to Tembo Galleria<\/a> the top observation deck 450m above Tokyo. You got the same great views from a different perspective. You actually start at 445m and walk around until you get up to the 450m level.<\/p>\n On the way out, we stopped by some of the shops located near Tokyo Skytree. We saw a Yomiuri Tokyo Giants team store. (I successfully communicated in Japanese for the first time there when I asked if the trophies in the display case were real or not. They were.) We saw some great little toy shops. We ate Taiyaki<\/a>. (Fortunately, we chose the cream filled one and not the one filled with red bean paste.)<\/p>\n The best shop there was the Ghibli<\/a> store. I would try later in the day to get a ticket to the Ghibli Museum, but it was sold out for the day I could go. This wasn’t quite the same, but it was still very cool. They had a lot of great items, but everything was so overpriced. I took a lot of good pictures in there.<\/p>\n Videos: The elevator ride to 350m<\/a>, Elevator from 350m to 445m<\/a>, A view from 450m<\/a>, Totoro and Mei<\/a><\/p>\n Coming up, time for my first Japanese baseball game.<\/p>\n