Tokyo / Roppongi & Azabu / Viewpoint

Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple

東京タワーと増上寺 とうきょうたわーとぞうじょうじ

The orange tower of 1958 rising directly behind the Tokugawa family temple — the city's most beloved contradiction.

EssentialView · History · Photogenic · Free · With children

Tokyo Tower was built thirteen metres taller than the Eiffel Tower to broadcast television and became the symbol of the postwar city; the Skytree took the height record but not the affection. Its 150-metre deck is enough — the city is closer, the Bay and Rainbow Bridge nearer than from the Skytree. The tower stands in the grounds of Zojoji, the great temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, six of whom are buried behind the main hall; the 1622 gate is the oldest wooden structure in Tokyo. The view of the black temple roof with the orange tower behind it is the picture of Tokyo, and it is free from the temple courtyard.

Don't miss

Map of central Tokyo Tokyo Ueno Akihabara Shinjuku Shibuya Shinagawa Ikebukuro Shimbashi Kabukiza Theatre Chuo-dori and the Sunday promenade Ginza Six Ginza Itoya Hama-rikyu Gardens The Ginza gallery walk Tsukiji Hongwanji The Ginza bar streets Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building Imperial Palace East Gardens Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum Marunouchi Naka-dori KITTE and the rooftop garden Idemitsu Museum of Arts Nihonbashi Bridge Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store The old shops of Nihonbashi Artizon Museum Fukutoku Shrine and the Coredo lanes Nihonbashi river cruise Sensoji Temple Kappabashi kitchen street Sumida river water bus The craft and coffee streets west of the temple A kimono day in Asakusa Tokyo Skytree Asakusa Shrine and Sanja Matsuri Tokyo National Museum National Museum of Western Art Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond Yanaka Ginza and the Yanesen lanes Nezu Shrine Ameyoko market street Asakura Museum of Sculpture Akihabara Electric Town Jimbocho book town Kanda Myojin Shrine Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikolai-do) Kanda's old noodle houses Yushima Seido and the Confucian hall Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View The National Art Center, Tokyo Tokyo Midtown and the Suntory Museum of Art Azabu-Juban shopping street Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple Roppongi after dark Nezu Museum The Omotesando architecture walk Aoyama Cemetery Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue The Aoyama and Minami-Aoyama back streets Meiji Jingu Yoyogi Park Takeshita Street and Cat Street Ota Memorial Museum of Art Togo Shrine Shibuya scramble crossing and Hachiko Shibuya Sky Nonbei Yokocho and the Shibuya alleys Udagawacho record shops and Shibuya vintage Tomigaya and Kamiyamacho Live music in Shibuya Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories Golden Gai Omoide Yokocho The Isetan food hall Hanazono Shrine Tsukiji Outer Market Toyosu Market and the tuna auction teamLab Planets The Tsukiji-to-Ginza walk The Meguro River cherry trees Daikanyama T-Site Daikanyama's low-rise streets Ebisu Garden Place and the Ebisu restaurant streets Nakameguro's back streets Kagurazaka's stone lanes Akagi Shrine Dining in Kagurazaka Zenkokuji Bishamonten Ryogoku Kokugikan and sumo Edo-Tokyo Museum Kiyosumi Garden Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) The Kiyosumi-Shirakawa roasters Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple
A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Skip the tower's Top Deck; the Main Deck is the classic and the courtyard view is the one you keep.
Best time
Dusk from the temple; after dark from the deck.
Allow
90 min
Station
Akabanebashi (Oedo line), 5 minutes; Onarimon (Mita line), 6 minutes
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.tokyotower.co.jp · Map

In this area: Roppongi & Azabu

Museum Essential

Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View森美術館と東京シティビュー

Contemporary art on the 53rd floor, a 360-degree view on the 52nd, and an open-air roof above them both.

150 min · Roppongi (Hibiya line, exit 1C; Oedo line, exit 3)
Museum Worth it

The National Art Center, Tokyo国立新美術館

Kisho Kurokawa's wave of glass — no collection, only exhibitions, and a restaurant on an inverted cone.

90 min · Nogizaka (Chiyoda line), exit 6, direct; Roppongi, 5 minutes
Museum Worth it

Tokyo Midtown and the Suntory Museum of Art東京ミッドタウンとサントリー美術館

A garden of a daimyo estate, a museum of lacquer, glass and tea utensils, and the design galleries around it.

120 min · Roppongi (Oedo line, exit 8, direct; Hibiya line, exit 4a)

All places — Roppongi & Azabu →