Tokyo Skytree Celebrates 2nd Anniversary; Operator Puts Priority On Safety

Above, the Tokyo Skytree. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Tokyo Skytree is celebrating its second anniversary today and the operator is not afraid to shut down the elevators to the observation decks for safety reasons.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun:

Tokyo Skytree, one of the metropolis' signature landmarks, turned two years old on May 22 -- and crowds of visitors showed up at the tower in the Oshiage district of Tokyo's Sumida Ward to help celebrate its birthday. 

As of the end of March this year, more than 11.7 million people had visited the observation deck of the 634-meter-tall tower during the past two years -- a figure that rises to some 84 million when including Tokyo Solamachi and other parts of the Tokyo Skytree town located at its base. 

The tower had to close down early a total of 15 times during its first year of operations -- a figure that more than doubled to 40 total closures last fiscal year.

Because of factors that make safety management of the soaring tower a difficult challenge -- including the fact that weather tends to vary greatly between its upper and lower tiers -- a substantial amount of observational data has been collected during the past two years.

Tower managers have shown that when necessary, they are not afraid to put safety first.

 To read more, including plans for celebratory festivities, go here.