by Robert Quihuis
| February, 1, 2024
By Robert Quihuis
While wandering Roppongi and the neighboring areas I was always able to get my bearings by looking up at that colossal orange beacon, the Tokyo Tower. I made it a point to make my way to the landmark to check it out up close and personal. Inside the bottom floor or the tower is a mini-mall complete with a food court, sweet shops, and various souvenir shops with all sorts of tower themed items, from 3D puzzles to tower shaped water bottles. I walked into the lobby and, although the place was lively, there was no line to purchase my ticket to the top. They handed me my ticket and a map and informed me that there were two ways to the top, the elevator or the 600-stair challenge. Of course, in the spirit of adventure I took the latter option – challenge accepted!
When I approached the bottom of the stairs I noticed a Tokyo Tower photo prop along with a camera stand to make sure everything is framed just right. Once again there was no line so I took my time taking the perfect selfie. I then exchanged my ticket for a card sized “ Tokyo Tower Challenge” certificate and started to make my way up. I found that it only takes around twenty five steps for me to begin to feel a bit winded but I pressed on, after all there were only 575 left to go. Along the way there are posters with cute chibi characters doing silly stair related stuff. I cannot read Japanese but I liked imagining they were saying something profound and inspirational, cheering me on as I made my way to the top.
After what seemed like a very, very, very…very long time, I had finally reached the observatory. There was another photo station so I took some very sweaty post-climb selfies. The view was incredible! The city sprawled into the distant fog and beyond into the mountains. It seemed almost never ending, like no cityscape I’d ever seen before. The skyline was a backdrop of skyscrapers and in the foreground there were ancient temples and cemeteries alongside neon billboards and lights glittering throughout the city. I took my time photographing the view before scurrying tentatively across the glass bottom floor with the harrowing top to bottom view before heading back down the stairs.
After all those stairs I had worked up a bit of an appetite. I had been on a pretty consistent diet of ramen or raw fish thus far so I decided to go with a bit of good ol’ American comfort food at McDonalds. When I got there I noticed all the different menu items that I couldn’t get back home. Being the curious sucker I am, I ordered one of each of them. There was a Samurai burger, a teriyaki burger, a sweet shrimp burger and some different flavored shakes. Nothing stood out as something that I would order back home. The burgers were good enough. Generally, it was the same as burgers we get in America with the addition of a soy based sauce. To be honest I left feeling a bit gross as I suppose anyone who just ate three large fast-food burgers in one sitting would. But then again, I earned it!