I wrote this post last December showing photos I took of the construction so far at that point of the Tokyo Sky Tree tower, which will be the tallest tower in Japan and the second tallest in the world (click here for the post I wrote about the “world’s tallest tower”).
I also wrote this post when the construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree reached 30%.
And this post that I wrote almost two years ago is the first one I wrote about the Tokyo Sky Tree tower.
Well, today the Tokyo Sky Tree reached a height of 338 meters tall. It is now taller than the Tokyo Tower which stands 333 meters tall.
The Tokyo Sky Tree is now 338 meters tall...the tallest structure in Japan.
When it’s completed, the Tokyo Sky Tree will stand 634 meters tall.
There is a reason that this height was chosen…the Tokyo Sky Tree is being built in a “blue collar” area of Tokyo that was called 「武蔵の国」 (“Musashi“).
And the numbers six-three-four (as in 634 meters) can be pronounced “Mu-sa-shi” in Japanese.
I think “Musashi Tower” would have been a better name than “Tokyo Sky Tree” for this tower.
A artist rendition of the Tokyo skyline after the "Tokyo Sky Tree" tower is completed in 2011 December.
Tokyo Five 
hey I was looking around and I found this image of Bruce Kulick and I noticed he had your image on his shirt, what does that character mean? Does it mean Tokyo?
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I met Bruce Kulick (and Eric Carr) of the band KISS in Tokyo a couple times.
On my “main” website, I have a couple interviews that I did with him…and I put a photo that I took in Tokyo in which he is wearing that same T-shirt.
It’s on my site, here.
>what does that character mean?
It’s not so easy to explain clearly, but I’ll try.
The reason I use a black 「力」 symbol inside a white circle with a red ring around it, and Bruce Kulick has it on his T-shirt, is because it’s a semi-official KISS logo.
The Japanese character (「力」) is pronounced “Chikara” and means “Power”. Nearly every KISS fan knows about it. In fact, KISS has a Japan-only greatest hits album titled “Chikara”.
This character can be seen on the cover of KISS’s second album “Hotter Than Hell” and it is also on the cover of “Crazy Nights”…as well as the late-Eric Carr’s “Crazy Nights” era drum kit.
I have a “Crazy Night” KISS tour T-shirt from their show that I saw in Florida before I came to Japan and the shirt has the character on it as well.
What is difficult to explain is why KISS uses the character for “Power”. It’s because their original record label was “Casablanca Records”, which in Japanese is written 「カサブランカ・レコード」.
Since KISS’s image is heavily Japan-inspired (from Kabuki), they decided to make the cover of their second album look Japan-inspired too. There is a lot of Japanese writing on the cover of “Hotter Than Hell” (albeit with many errors).
And they put a katakana 「カ」 (“Ka”) inside a circle on the cover to symbolize “Casablanca” (“Kasaburanka”)…and somehow KISS began to use that symbol as their own—I think someone mistakenly told them it was the similar-looking 「力」 (“Chikara”).
Many KISS fans (including myself, before I could read Japanese) mistakenly think that that character means “KISS” in Japanese.
Understand?
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I feel enlightened now.
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Did you understand my explanation?
I think it’s difficult to understand if you don’t know about Japanese culture and the Japanese writing system.
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no, I understand
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OK. Good.
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>the Sky Tree looks a little out of place…at least in the picture
That artist’s rendition makes it hard to appreciate what Tokyo actually looks like.
>I guess Japan is the place to be for modern stuff right?
One thing that makes Tokyo unique is how the ultra-modern can be right next to the ancient-traditional.
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yeah, the tallest building besides it is the one right by it
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There are many tall skyscrapers in Tokyo.
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any get close to this?
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No, when complete, the Tokyo Sky Tree will be the tallest structure in Japan.
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the bottom picture reminds me of Iron Maiden’s Bave New World
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Is this your image of Tokyo?
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yes, but that is London, but the tower reminds me a lot of something from the album cover
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>the tower reminds me a lot of something from the album cover
The Tokyo Sky Tree is futuristic looking.
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There is even a river in the image of the sky tree just like the album cover, I wonder if modern cities will actually resemble that album cover in the next decade or so.
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>I wonder if modern cities will actually resemble that album cover in the next decade or so.
Modern-day Tokyo is often the “model” for a “futuristic city” in many movies…for example, the U.S. movie “BladeRunner” is in a futuristic city based on Shinjuku, Tokyo.
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I haven’t seen that movie, I have seen othe movies like Artifical Intelligence which seems to be in a really modern city.
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>I haven’t seen that movie
Well, not only “Blade Runner“, but a number of Hollywood movies set in the future have used modern-day Tokyo as the template for their “futuristic” city.
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Yeah I guess so, the Sky Tree looks a little out of place with no other towers around it (or at least in the picture which makes it look like Brave New World just not developed, I guess Japan is the place to be for modern stuff right?
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I like the old Tokyo Tower, it is such a wonderful landmark. The tower is the same even though its surroundings have changed so much
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Tokyo Tower is an important landmark in the Tokyo skyline since it was built 52 years ago…but I like the design of the Tokyo Sky Tree better.
(BTW, I had to remove the link to put in your comment, as it was a “dead link”.)
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I can’t wait for this to be completed. I’m looking forward to checking the view from both the 350m and 450m observatories. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve gone to the observatories in Tokyo Tower, Landmark Tower and Tokyo Metropolitan Gov’t Building. First time for all 3 in nearly 4 years.
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It’ll be a great view, I’m sure.
Do you plan to still be in Japan in 2012?
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I’ve been here 5 years. No plans to go back to Canada yet. I’ll be here.
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>I’ll be here.
Me, too.
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Don’t forget about the Ropongi Towers…..52 stories up and a 360 of Kanto.
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I think you mean the “Mori Tower” in Roppongi Hills. (I believe it’s actually 54 stories tall).
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Thanks for the update. I read that lots of people are already visiting the site (so it is already a tourist attraction, no?). I haven’t seen this in person, so I’ll have to make my way one of these days.
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You live near Tokyo Tower.
In 1958, Tokyo Tower was the tallest tower in Japan and it’s “uptown”.
Tokyo Sky Tree is now the tallest tower in Japan but it’s in a part of the city I like more…downtown.
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It’s kinda obnoxious.
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Do you think so?
To me, it’s just another of the many amazing structures in this city.
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And this’ll probably give tourism a boost, as well.
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Yes, they’re counting on it. Just like Tokyo Tower.
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I think this a serious waste of money.
Tokyo could work at planting some more real trees, instead of naming towers after them…
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This tower is needed because, as I wrote in this earlier post, Tokyo Tower has become dwarfed by the skyscrapers in Tokyo and can no longer function as a radio / TV transmission tower.
Besides, they will be planting Sakura trees near the new tower.
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Seanna…..if you had spent ANY time in Tokyo, or anywhere else in the Kanto Region, you would know that there are trees aplenty. Get off your Earth First kick and do some research….better, go to Japan and see for yourself. I’ve been to Japan 45 times since 1983…..I see more and more trees each time I walk in and around Tokyo….and, maybe you should actually investigate how many jobs, better access to TV/Phone/Data and other benefits the Japanese people will have….did you know that there is to be at least one restaurant about a third of the way up? Just so typical.
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Dutchman,
I agree that Tokyo has a lot of nature for a major metropolis (and other less urban areas of Japan have much more)…but even though I don’t agree with Seanna that the Tokyo Sky Tree is a “waste of money”, I can agree that there is never too many trees.
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