Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower's formal name is the 'Nippon Television City Tower'; it was completed on 23 December 1958 (Showa 33), designed by Tachu Naito—known as 'the father of earthquake-resistant architecture in Japan'—and founded by the press magnate Hisakichi Maeda. At 333 metres, it stands 21 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and in its day it was the tallest building in Japan and the tallest free-standing steel tower in the world; the orange-and-white paintwork is in fact an aviation obstruction marking. Its real purpose was to gather the scattered broadcasting masts of the various stations into a single integrated transmission tower, with observation decks set at 125 metres and 223.55 metres above ground. Today most visitors only take photos at its base, yet within the tower's frame lie steel salvaged from tanks, a young designer, and a shrine—the highest in Tokyo's 23 wards—well worth a look inside.
Japan · 7 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Digital Terrestrial Transmitters
Tokyo Tower was not only a tourist landmark but also the core of Japan's digital terrestrial broadcasting. To handle the switch to digital, the tower added transmitters and antennas for digital terrestrial broadcasting in 2001, increasing its weight by 420 tons. The added load led to structural reinforcement between 2003 and 2005, including steel-plate strengthening and new concrete pile foundations to keep the structure safe. Hidden inside the tower, this work is a key witness to its role as a broadcast transmission site.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Digital Terrestrial Antenna
Between the special observatory and the analog antenna, at a height of about 260 to 280 meters, Tokyo Tower carries a cylindrical antenna 13 meters in diameter and 12 meters tall, dedicated to digital terrestrial broadcasting. Adding it increased the tower's total weight by 420 tons, so to keep the structure safe, the tower was reinforced with steel plate between 2003 and 2005, and each of its legs received two additional concrete piles, 3 meters in diameter and about 18.5 meters deep.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Analog Broadcast Antennas
For decades, a dense array of analog television antennas crowned Tokyo Tower's mast, each assigned to one broadcaster in strict vertical order: NHK General and NHK Educational at the very top, followed downward by TV Asahi, Fuji TV, TBS, Nippon TV, TV Tokyo, and the University of the Air. At full power the signal reached as far as Nasu-Yumoto in Tochigi Prefecture, 160 km to the north. The antennas were designed by a team of young engineers at Denki Kōgyō — all newcomers — led by Suzuta Toyoji, who was just 25 at the time. To meet the physics of the broadcast wavelengths, each antenna was welded from stainless-steel rods only 17 cm in diameter: slender and precise.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
FM Broadcast Antennas
Tokyo Tower's working antennas today are FM radio transmitters. TOKYO FM occupies the topmost position at 333 m, taking over the spot once held by NHK's analog television antenna; NHK-FM sits just below as a backup transmitter; and InterFM's antenna is mounted closer to the Special Observatory. The arrangement did not start this way — InterFM launched later and initially had to make do with an antenna above the Main Observatory at just 150 m, sharing the tier with a Radio NIKKEI relay, a comparatively low position.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
FootTown
FootTown is the five-story commercial complex sitting directly beneath Tokyo Tower, renamed and extensively renovated in 2005. Before the remodel it housed a wax museum, an aquarium, and a science museum; the renovation brought in chain food and retail tenants: a FamilyMart on the first floor, the Guinness World Records Museum and hologram gallery Gallery DeLux on the third. The second-floor dining area was entirely replanned, and multiple souvenir shops were merged into a single zone called Tokyo Omiyage City. As of 2026 the regular tenants include MOS Burger, Baskin-Robbins (31 Ice Cream), Lawson S, Pizza Hut, and RED° Tokyo Tower, which occupies several floors.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tokyo One Piece Tower
Tokyo One Piece Tower was an indoor theme park that opened inside FootTown in 2015, built… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
RED° Tokyo Tower
RED° Tokyo Tower opened inside FootTown in 2022, taking over the space vacated by Tokyo On… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Tokyo Tower?
Digital Terrestrial Transmitters, Digital Terrestrial Antenna, Analog Broadcast Antennas and more — 7 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Tokyo Tower guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 2 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).