The operator of Tokyo Sky Tree on Tuesday explained how the world’s second-highest building will survive the strong earthquakes that regularly shake Japan when it opens to the public next month. The Tokyo Sky Tree is constructed with state-of-the-art Japanese technology and it will not fall, said Yoshihito Imamura, deputy manager of Tokyo Sky Tree Town. When an earthquake hits, the central concrete pillar and the outer structure of steel pipes will sway in opposite directions because of the difference in weights and this can offset up to 50% of the energy that will hit the tower. Yesterday the 634-meter tower, topped by a communications mast, was opened for the first time to media, attracting around 1,000 domestic and foreign journalists.
Journalists were taken inside the central pillar, where an emergency staircase with 2,523 steps connects the top of the tower to the ground. When the tower opens to the general public on May 22, the main attraction will be the two observation decks at 350 meters and 450 meters above ground. There is a restaurant and two cafes on the observation decks, and a vertigo-inducing glass floor that allows visitors to look straight down.
From the top observation deck, visitors will be able see the entire Tokyo region and also the curvature of the earth. The Tokyo Sky Tree tops the 600-meter Canton Tower in China’s Guangzhou and the 553-meter CN Tower in downtown Toronto. It is the world’s second-tallest man-made structure, beaten only by the 828-meter Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
