Apr 20, 2016
Japan’s Observation Decks and Towers
An observation tower is usually on the ‘to do’ list for any visitor to Japan, or domestic traveler within. Japan has plenty to offer in this field, ranging from proper ‘old skool’ shorties through to the latest swanky corporate behemoths. Some of them are free, some of them are, for want of a better term, a rip off. Ultimately though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we’ll let you decide how much the views are worth.
Just as Japan’s observation towers are scattered around the nation, so too are they scattered around the web. Hopefully with this resource we’ve managed to collate most of the standouts into one convenient place. Please note, that some of these locations stretch the meaning of 'tower' somewhat. In some cases as far as ferris wheels, castles, and museums. We have, however, restricted this list to man-made structures. There are no hills or mountain view points here.
We’ve separated them into region/city and have listed them according to cost (it’s City-Cost for a reason)!
Those that are highlighted (*) are observation towers the details of which remain ‘unofficial’ (no homepage available/homepage illegible/Internet rumours).
Prices are listed in ‘yen’, from adult downwards (usually adult / high school / jr high / elementary / infant ). There will be discrepancies, but we just want to give an idea of the costs.
Where ‘observation spaces’ have been capitalised, is when it seems to us that the space has an actual name.
Central
(image: Tokyo)
Tokyo
| Name | Price 1 | Price 2 | Height | Hours |
| Tokyo Sky Tree | Tembo Deck 2,570 / 2,060 / 1,540 / 930 / 620 | Tembo Galleria (+) 1,030 / 820 / 510 / 310 | 350m / 450m | 8:00am - 9/10pm |
| Mori Tower, Roppongi | Tokyo City View 1,800 | Sky Deck 2,300 | 52F / roof (54F bldg) | 11:00am -8:00pm |
| Sunshine 60, Ikebukuro | Sky Circus (opens April 21, tickets now online) 1,800 / 1,500 / 900 / 500 | 251m | 10:00am - 9:00pm | |
| Tokyo Tower | Main Observatory 900 / 500 / 400 | Special Observatory (+) 700 / 500 / 400 | ~145m / ~ 250m | 9:00am - 11:00pm |
| Tokyo World Trade Center, Hamamatsucho | Panorama Room 620 / 360 / 260 | 152m / 40F | 8:00am - 10:00pm | |
| Fuji TV Bldg., Odaiba | Hachitama Spherical Observation Room 550 / 300 | 25F | 10:00am - 6:00pm | |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Gov. Bldg. Observation Decks, Shinjuku | South Tower - free | North Tower - free | 202m (45F) | South 9:30am to 5:30pm / North 9:30 to 11:00pm |
| Shin-Marunouchi Bldg., Marunouchi | 7F Terrace (view to Tokyo Station) - free | 7F | Restaurants typically open until ~ 11:00pm | |
| Bunkyo Civic Center, Bunkyu ward | Shisetsu Lounge - free | 25F | 9:00am - 8:30pm |
| Carreta Shiodome | free (on the restaurant floor) | 46F | Restaurants typically open until ~ 11:00pm |
| Shinjuku Sumitomo Bldg. | free | 51F | 10:00am - 10:00pm |
| Tokyu Plaza Ginza | Kiriko Terrace - free | roof top (13F bldg) | 11:00am - 9:00pm |
| *Ebisu Garden Place Tower | free | ? | 10:00am - 11:00pm |
| *Shinjuku NS Bldg. | No view according to building's homepage | ||
| *Carrot Tower, Sangen-jaya, Setagaya-ku | free | 26F | 9:30am - 11:30pm |
| *Shinjuku Center Bldg. | free | 52F | 8:00am -11:00pm |
| *St. Luke's Tower | free | 32F / 47F | ? |
| *Dentsu Bldg., Shiodome | free | 46F / 47F | 7:00am - midnight |
| *Shinjuku Nomura Bldg. | free | 50F | some restaurants until 11:30pm |
Yokohama / Chiba / Ibaraki / Shizuoka
(image: Yokohama)
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| The Landmark Tower | Sky Garden 1,000 / 800 / 500 / 200 | 273m (69F) | 10:00am - 9:00pm |
| Yokohama Marine Tower | Observation Deck 750 / 500 / 250 / free | 30F | 10:00am - 10:30pm |
Act Tower, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | observatory 500 / 300 | 145m | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
| Chiba Port Tower, Chiba | View Promenade 420 / 200 | 113m | Jun - Sept 9:00am - 9:00pm / Oct - May 9:00am - 7:00pm |
| Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki | observation room 200 / 100 | tower - 100m | 9:30am - 7:00pm |
Nagoya and around
(image: Nagoya)
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Nagoya Midland Square | Sky Promenade 750 / 500 / 300 | 220m (44-46F) | 11:00am - 10/11:00pm |
| Nagoya Port Building | Observation Deck 700 | 53m (7F) | 9:30am - 5:00pm |
| Nagoya TV Tower | Skydeck 600 / 500 / 300 (covers both decks) | 90m / 100m | 10:00am - 9/10:00pm |
| Yokkaichi Port Building, Yokkaichi | observation floor - 300 | 14F | 10:00am - 5:00pm |
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Gifu City Tower 43, Gifu | Sky Lounge - free | 43F | 10:00am - 11:00pm |
| *Ishikawa Prefectural Office, Kanazawa | Observatory Lobby - unknown | 19F | Unknown |
Kansai
(image: Osaka)
Osaka
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Abeno Harukas | Observatory 1,500 / 1,200 / 700 / 500 | ~300m (Sky Garden 58F / Observatory Gallery 60F) | 9:00am - 10:00pm |
| Floating Garden 1,000 / 700 / 500 / 200 | 39F | 10:00am - 10:30pm | |
| Tsutenkaku Tower | Observation Platform 700 / 500 / 400 / 300 | 87.7m | 9:00am - 9:00pm |
| Cosmo Tower | Osaka Pref. Gov. Sakishima Building Observatory 700 / 400 / 400 | ~252m (53F) | 11:00am - 10:00pm |
| Tempozan Ferris Wheel | 800 | 112.5m | 10:00am - 10:00pm |
| Osaka Castle | Observation Deck (+ museum) 600 (15yrs +) / free | 50m | 9:00am - 5:00pm |
| *Osaka Museum of History | Upper floors of museum (Museum entrance) 600 / 400 | Unknown | 9:30am - 5:00pm |
| *Rinku Gate Tower | Rumours of something on 26F and 54F but no information on official website | 26F and 54F (?) | Unknown |
Kyoto / Kobe
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Kyoto Tower | 770 / 620 / 520 / 150 | 100m | 9:00am - 9:00pm |
| Kobe Port Tower | Observation Deck 700 / 300 | ~100m | Mar-Nov 9:00am - 9:00pm / Dec-Feb 9:00am - 7:00pm |
| Kyoto Station | free | rooftop (11F building) | |
| *Kobe City Hall | Observation Deck (building #1) - free | 24F | Weekdays 8:15am - 10:00pm / Sat, Sun, Hols 10:00am - 10:00pm |
South
(image:Fukuoka)
Kyushu / Shikoku
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Fukuoka Tower, Kyushu | Observation Room 800 / 500 / 200 | 123m | 9:30am - 10:00pm |
| Seto-Ohashi Tower, Kagawa, Shikoku | 800 / 750 | 108m | 9:00am - 5:00pm |
| Kaikyo Yume Tower, Shimonoseki | Observation Deck - 600 / 300 | 143m | 9:30am - 9:30pm |
| *B-Con Plaza, Beppu, Kyushu | observation deck - 300 / 200 | 100m | Mar-Nov 9:00am - 9:00pm / Dec-Feb 9:00am - 7:00pm |
| *Mojiko Observation Deck, Kitakyushu, Kyushu | Observation Deck - 300 | 31F | 10:00am - 10:00pm |
| Hakata Port Tower, Kyushu | Observation Deck - free | 73m | unknown |
| ACROSS Fukuoka, Kyushu | Step Garden Rooftop Observation Deck - free | rooftop (14F building) | generally 9:00am - 6:30pm |
| *Sunport Takamatsu, Shikoku | Symbol Tower - free? | 29F / 30F | unknown |
North
(image: Sapporo)
Sendai / Iwate / Niigata / Aomori
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Aomori Tourist Information Center (ASPAM) | Observation Platform (includes entrance to theater) 800 / 600 / 400 | 13F | 9:00am - 6/7:00pm |
| AER Bldg., Sendai | Panorama Terrace - free | 31F | 10:30am - 8:00pm |
| Toki Messe, Niigata | The Befco Observation Deck - free | 125m (31F) | 8:00am - 10:00pm |
| *Malios, Iwate | Observation Room - free (?) | 20F | 9:00am - 6:00pm |
Hokkaido
| Name | Price | Height | Hours |
| Goryokaku Tower, Hakodate | Observatory 1F/2F 840 / 630 / 420 | 86m (1F) / 90m (2F) | Apr - Oct 8:00am - 7:00pm / Oct - Apr 9:00am - 6:00pm |
| JR Tower Sapporo | Observation Deck 720 / 500 / 300 | 160m (38F) | 10:00am - 11:00pm |
| Sapporo TV Tower | Observation Deck 720 / 500 / 300 / 100 | 90.38m | 9:30am - 9:30pm (some exceptions) |
| Okurayama Ski Jump, Sapporo | Viewing Lounge (lift round trip) 500 / 300 | (jump 90m) | 8:30am - 6:00pm (some exceptions) |
If you'd like to add any more of Japan's observation towers, decks, or platforms to this list, or feel any corrections feel need to be made, don't hesitate to leave your comments below.
Twitter: City_Cost_Japan
Images (cropped)
Takashi Hososhima Flickr License (Yokohama) / JahnmitJa Flickr License (Nagoya) / Andy Lamb Flickr License (Osaka) / veroyama Flickr License (Fukuoka) / Gilad Rom Flickr License (Sapporo)
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