What's up there. The lifts leave from Foot Town, the building at the tower's base, and arrive at the Main Deck (150m). Main Deck 1F has the Skywalk Window, a glass floor looking straight down 150 metres, plus Café La Tour, Club333 and the top of the open-air stairs. Main Deck 2F has the official shop, a small shrine (Tower Daijingu), a postbox and the Top Deck Gate, where the tour to 250 metres begins. Both levels are indoors, behind glass.
The tickets. Tokyo Tower prices by age: adults, high-school students, children (primary and junior high) and preschoolers aged 4 and over. The official fee page lists:
Main Deck (150m): ¥1,500 adults, ¥1,200 high school, ¥900 children, ¥600 age 4+. One price, online or at the counter.
Top Deck Tour (150m and 250m): ¥3,300 adults online, ¥3,500 at the counter. High school ¥3,100 / ¥3,300, children ¥2,100 / ¥2,300, age 4+ ¥1,500 / ¥1,700. Includes the Main Deck.
Tokyo Diamond Tour (150m, 250m and a lounge): ¥7,000 adults, ¥6,500 high school, ¥4,700 children, ¥3,300 age 4+. Limited to 70 people a day, departing on the hour from 12pm to 6pm; buying online guarantees your place.
What the Top Deck Tour is. It's a short guided tour rather than a second lift ride. You show your ticket at the Foot Town 1F lifts, change lifts on the Main Deck, and go to the Top Deck Gate at your booked time. An attendant takes you up, with a drink and a photo card included, and the 250-metre deck is lined with geometric mirrors and LED lighting. Tours run in 15-minute slots, from 9am to 9.15am until the last at 10pm to 10.15pm. It, and the Diamond Tour, can be cancelled for bad weather.
Buying. Tickets are sold on the official site and at the ticket counter on Foot Town 1F; there's no phone booking. Web tickets take credit cards only (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners); pay cash at the counter. Bring one ticket or QR code per person, printed or as a screenshot. Tokyo Tower also sells set tickets with a bungee VR experience, a tea ceremony on the deck, teamLab Planets or a subway pass; see the official ticket page for those.
Hours. The Main Deck is open 9am to 11pm, last entry 10.30pm, which can come earlier when it's crowded. The Top Deck Tour runs 9am to 10.45pm, last entry 10.15pm. There's no time limit once you're up, but there's no re-entry. The official site posts the day's status on its home page.
The open-air stairs. About 600 steps climb from the roof of Foot Town to the Main Deck, open to the air. The climb is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 9am to 4pm, and takes about 12 to 13 minutes; you get a certificate at the top. The stairs down are open every day, 9am to 8pm. You need a normal Main Deck ticket. Both close in rain, storms or heat alerts, and you can't switch to the lift partway.
Bags, prams and rules. Coin lockers on Foot Town 1F cost ¥100 to ¥300 (9am to 11pm, following the tower's hours). There are stairs inside, so the official FAQ recommends leaving prams at the Foot Town 1F operation centre. Tripods are fine on the Main Deck but not on the Top Deck. The decks are no-smoking, and pets other than assistance dogs aren't allowed.
Accessibility. The route from the entrance to the Main Deck lift is step-free, and the lift arrives at Main Deck 2F; ask staff if you want to reach 1F. Tokyo Tower has five wheelchairs to borrow and recommends booking one (+81 3-3433-5111). There are accessible toilets on Foot Town 1F and 2F and Main Deck 2F. Holders of an original Japanese disability handbook, plus one carer, pay half (Main Deck ¥750 for adults; Top Deck Tour ¥1,650 web). The official list names only Japanese documents.
Getting there. Official walking times: Akabanebashi (Oedo Line, Akabanebashi exit) 5 minutes; Onarimon (Mita Line, exit A1) 6 minutes; Kamiyacho (Hibiya Line, exit 1) 7 minutes; Shibakoen (Mita Line, exit A4) and Daimon (Asakusa and Oedo lines, exit A6) 10 minutes; JR Hamamatsucho (north exit) 15 minutes. From Tokyo Station, the Tokyu bus 東98 from the Marunouchi South exit takes about 20 minutes to the Tokyo Tower stop, 2 minutes from the tower. The tower's car parks charge ¥800 for the first hour, then ¥400 per 30 minutes.
When it lights up. The tower has two lighting schemes. The everyday Landmark Light is warm orange in winter (from early October) and silver-white in summer (from 7 July). The Infinity Diamond Veil runs on Mondays and Thursdays, 8pm to 10pm, in a colour for each month: Maple Red in November, Forever Green in December, Reborn Yellow in January. From sunset to midnight, the tower also sparkles pure white for two minutes on the hour. Special lighting can replace any of these without notice.
