Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower (東京タワー, Tōkyō Tawā; pronounced [toːkʲoː taꜜɰᵝaː] ), also known by its official name Japan Radio Tower (日本電波塔, Nippon denpatō) is a communications and observation tower in the district of Shiba-koen in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, completed in 1958. At 332.9 meters (1,092 feet), it was the tallest tower in Japan until the construction of Tokyo Skytree in 2012. It is a lattice tower inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations. The tower's main sources of income are antenna leasing and tourism, and its five-story base building FootTown houses a number of restaurants, gift shops, and other attractions. Departing from it, guests can visit two observation decks: the two-story Main Deck at 150 m (490 ft), and the smaller Top Deck at 249.6 m (819 ft). The tower is repainted every five years, the process itself taking a year to complete. In 1961, transmission antennas were added. They are used for radio and television broadcasting and now broadcast signals for media outlets such as NHK, TBS Television, and Fuji Television. The height of the tower was not suitable for Japan's planned terrestrial digital broadcasting planned for July 2011, and for the Tokyo area. A taller digital broadcasting tower, known as Tokyo Skytree, was completed on 29 February 2012. Tokyo Tower has become a prominent landmark and frequently appears in media set in Tokyo.