Since we arrived in Tokyo last summer, I’ve seen quite a bit of the city from the ground, trotting alongside a few thousand of my closest friends on city sidewalks. I’ve also watched it roll by, from a story or so above the ground, as our trains have pulled into stations. But until we took our three-day mini-break in central Tokyo in late March, I had yet to see it from a truly high vantage point.
I think the 450th floor of a sky scraper counts as a high vantage point, right?
Tokyo Skytree, a broadcasting tower completed in May 2012, rises to a dizzying height of 634 meters. It’s the tallest structure in Japan and was the second-tallest in the world when it was completed. I could spew a lot of facts at you, but suffice it to say, it’s a popular tourist destination these days. Even on a gray Tuesday, both observation decks at 350 and 450 meters respectively, were filled with a generous mass of visitors. To get to those decks, we crammed ourselves into space age, or at least high-speed, elevators that smoothly defy gravity.
Looking out, attempting to find a recognizable landmark, I finally spotted the pointed roof of Sensojii Temple, which we visited back in September. The temple seemed huge from the ground but from up high, it looked dwarfed by the tall structures surrounding it. Perspective matters.
I continue to be amazed that I live in a city that is as huge as Tokyo, with its population of roughly 35 million. At Skytree, you get to view the city from every direction. No matter which way we looked, all we saw was an urban jungle, stretching out to the horizon.
It’s humbling. Perspective does matter. I’ve lived my entire life surrounded by a majority of people who think, eat, live, worship and talk in ways that are familiar and comfortable to me. (Our time abroad in England wasn’t as foreign as living in Asia, although there were certainly some profound cultural differences.) Here, every day I encounter people for whom my life in the U.S. would appear exotic and odd. My normal is abnormal here. Or, should I say my abnormal is normal here? Normal for millions and millions and millions of people. We all know the world is big and that the U.S. is just one of hundreds of nations on Earth, but those foreigners stop being just abstractions when you find yourself living in one of their cities.
It’s hard to say what goes on in that little head of his, but our 5-year-old son, Liam, seemed to really enjoy his views of this vast metropolis. He saved his biggest burst of joy for the sighting of window washers. (I can’t even fathom the bravery that goes into having a job where you work so high above the ground. I’d get dizzy washing the upstairs windows of my house.) The two men were calm and relaxed, cheerfully waving at the little crowd that gathered in front of them.
We had an easier way to descend. After a while, we took the smooth elevator back down to floor 350, where we treated ourselves to coffee and cakes with a view at the Skytree Café. It was the perfect spot to just sit and relax with the entire city of Tokyo displayed before us.
IF YOU GO: A special Fast Skytree ticket is now available for international visitors. The fee is higher than the standard admission, but you bypass the long line. For info on the fast ticket, and regular admission, visit Tokyo Skytree’s official site: http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/index.html.