FEATuRE sushi EXpLAiNED - IBUKI Magazine

motion has been unleashed. You name it, Skytree is on it: tchotchkes
and charms you can hang from your cellphone or you backpack, shot
glasses, beer steins, commemorative plates, pot holders and other
kitchen ware … even Skytree-shaped kids’ growth charts in case you
want to see how your junior measures up against Skytree.
Apart from all the Skytree stuff you can buy, the tower itself has become
a must-see tourist destination and a huge economic injection
for the neighborhood. The neighborhood near the Oshiage (now Skytree)
train station was once a sleepy old-fashioned shitamachi old-style
downtown district. Now with well over 10,000 visitors a day, local businesses
are cleaning up. In less than two months after Skytree’s opening,
more than a million people visited it.
At first, there was such a long waiting list to visit that people had to
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wait several months to ride to the top of the tower. But recently, Skytree
decided to make some unreserved tickets available every day. Be sure
to show up early as they sell out fast. If you do miss your chance, there’s
plenty to do in the large Solamachi Mall at the base of the tower. Here
you’ll find the raucous World Beer Museum, a large beer hall that even
has Pike Place Ale on tap, and Rokurinsha, a satellite operation of one of
Tokyo’s best ramen joints. This is just the tip of the iceberg of food options.
Plus there’re plenty of shopping and kid-friendly places to be found on its
eight floors.
Skytree’s a pretty wonderful place.
Take it from a former skeptic.
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