First Trip to Japan
Tokyo | Japan
10 Dec 2019 | Tue
Day 05 of 07
City Walk | Asahi Building & Tokyo Skytree
While on top of the observation deck at Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center we decided to walk over to the Tokyo Skytree (16 minutes walk).
Asahi Building
Along the way, we also passed by the famous Asahi Building known for its large, gold sculpture on its roof.
The 22 stories Asahi Beer Tower (on left) was designed to look like a large mug of beer with a foam head. The Asahi Beer Hall (on right) was designed to look like a large beer glass. On top of this “glass” is the Flamme d’Or, or “Asahi Flame” – a large 360-ton golden artwork that has been said to represent the “burning heart of Asahi beer”. They were designed by French designer Philippe Starck and built in 1989.
But with art being subjective, these buildings have also captured the unflattering side of opinions, with many referring to the flame as “the Golden Turd” or the “the Poo Building”.
Tokyo Skytree
Located in Sumida, the Tokyo Skytree is an actual broadcasting and observation tower and is the tallest tower in the world (634 m/2,080 ft), and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa (829 m/2,722 ft).
It was a bit cloudy so we did not go up in the tower but we did walk around the huge shopping complex (Tokyo Solamachi) at the base of the tower.