Tokyo Tower is Way Over-Priced and, Frankly Speaking, Boring.

Today, I took my son and wife to Tokyo Tower.

My wife said that it was the first time in her life that she has ever visited Tokyo Tower. I told her that I had been there at least three times and it was pretty boring. Little kids seem to like it. That's why we went.

One visit to Tokyo Tower if definitely enough. My wife said, "Yeah, you are a foreigner so you've been to Tokyo Tower. Japanese people don't go to Tokyo Tower."

Come to think of it, she's right.

Inside of Tokyo Tower was basically just foreigners; mostly westerners and Chinese folks. As well as a handful of students. The parking lot was basically empty and there was no line to get in...

But that's not why I am writing about Tokyo Tower... It is boring and way over-priced. Including parking, for the three of us, it cost over $70 (US) for less than an hour.... Tokyo Tower has the feel of a place that is going bankrupt.

Next year, the TV stations will all stop renting space on Tokyo Tower for broadcasting antennas. That is hurting their income....

It is also rumored that Tokyo Tower management lost a hundred million dollars on investing in golf club memberships in the late 1980's.

Today the management of Tokyo Tower is trying to do something to breathe life back into that place, but it just isn't happening. The place feels dusty and is dirty. It definitely has the feel of being rundown.

The shops and restaurants inside of Tokyo Tower were pretty second rate and, judging from the list of stores and restaurants, I gathered that their flagship shops were a Family-Mart convenience store and McDonald's... The McDonald's, I might add, was empty.

But the worst sign that Tokyo Tower is in desperate straits were two things that just shocked me:

They had a flea market inside the building on the very first floor, in front of the entrance selling junk! A flea market!? Are you kidding me? What would you think if you went into Disneyland and saw a flea market? You'd think the place was on their last legs! And, on the wall, there was a sign that said, "Shop and tenant space available. Tenants wanted."

You know, that's pretty bad.

When a tourist trap has no customers, no Starbucks, no quality dining, is advertising for tenants and actually allows a flea market on their first floor in prime space, then they are heading down the toilet really fast.

When Tokyo Sky-Tree opens up next year (Sky Tree is about twice as tall as Tokyo Tower) and it captures the people's imagination and becomes the symbol for Tokyo, then Tokyo Tower is done... Especially when it becomes Sky Tree and not Tokyo Tower being kicked over by Godzilla in the movies, then it probably will be time to rip Tokyo Tower down and sell it for scrap to China.

Go visit Tokyo Tower, while you still can.... Nah, on second thought, don't bother.

Sky Tree's Observation floor is more than four times higher than Tokyo Tower's

Marketing Japan: What Will Happen to Tokyo Tower?

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I just got a photo sent to me of the new Sky Tree Tower that is nearing completion in Tokyo. The Sky Tree Tower was originally to be called the "New Tokyo Tower" but Tokyo Tower owners did not like that at all and protested so the name was rejected. You'll understand why when you've finished reading this article.

Wikipedia says this about Tokyo Sky Tree:

The project is being led by Tobu Railway and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters (headed by public broadcaster NHK). Construction of the tower is scheduled to be completed by December 2011, with the public opening in spring 2012.

The Tokyo Sky Tree will be taking over basically all of the broadcasting duties for all major Tokyo broadcasting stations. This is because the Tokyo Tower, which was built in 1958, is not tall enough to handle digital duties as there are too many tall buildings around it. Tokyo Tower is 333 meters tall and a landmark of Japan. The Sky Tree tower is almost twice as tall at 638 meters! The Sky Tree not only dwarfs the Tokyo Tower in height but will also dwarf it in revenue. Tokyo Tower has been losing money for years now, I think Sky Tree will be the final nail in the coffin. (Read more about the digital conversion and how that will kill off some major Japanese broadcasting stations here and here.)

According to Wikipedia, the Tokyo Tower's main sources of revenue are antenna leasing for broadcasting stations and tourism. They claim that over 150 million people have visited the tower since its completion. 

Considering that the Tokyo Tower is vey conveniently located in Tokyo, near tourist trap Roppongi, they might still be able to do some tourism business, but I think that's a pretty poor business for them. The last time I went there, the shops were deserted and the place definitely felt run-down.

I also heard some insider information about Tokyo Tower management that I wasn't supposed to tell to anyone, so I will write it down here for you. In the 1980, during the massive growth that was the Japanese bubble economy, the management of Tokyo Tower put millions and millions of dollars into very poor investments and now those bad investments have come back to bite them in the ass. Some of the worst - and stupidest - investments were spending tens of millions of dollars on, are you ready for it? Investments in golf club memberships!

In the heyday of the bubble, people would buy golf club memberships as investments, and many made good money off of them. But, as with any Ponzi scheme, when the scam runs out of suckers, the ones left holding the bag lose their shirts. Unfortunately for them, it seems that Tokyo Tower was one of the last into the game so they were left holding millions of bags. 

Now those investments are now worthless.  

I hate to keep saying doom and gloom for many Tokyo companies but, once again, I predict that after the digital conversion in July, 2011, Tokyo Tower will be insolvent within a very short time.

Who knows what will happen to it after that? One thing is certain, in future Godzilla movies, you won't be seeing Godzilla kicking over Tokyo Tower anymore. It will be Sky Tree... And in that symbolism there will be volumes spoken about what has happened to Tokyo and Tokyo Tower.

Thanks to:  Tatsuyaman

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Keywords: Tokyo, Tokyo Tower, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers, Sky Tree, Tokyo Sky Tree, Mike in Tokyo Rogers