Higashiyama Sky Tower

Higashiyama Sky Tower is an observation tower in Higashiyama Park in Chikusa Ward, Nagoya. It is 134.0 meters tall and stands on an 80-meter hill, so its top is 214.0 meters above sea level. Its official name is "Higashiyama Park Observation Tower," and it opened on July 11, 1989 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Nagoya's municipal status.

The building has seven floors above ground and is built with steel and steel-reinforced concrete. It was designed by the Nagoya City Architecture Bureau's Building Repair Division and the Nagoya branch of Nihon Sogo Architects, and built by Kajima, Taisei and Tokura Construction. Besides being an observation tower, it serves as a relay station for the disaster-prevention radio system, with 14 parabolic antennas, a radio equipment room and high-altitude surveillance cameras. It does not transmit broadcast signals. Since the opening of Tokyo Skytree it has sometimes been mistaken for "Higashiyama Skytree," a mix-up the facility itself plays on.

The observation room is 100 meters above ground, or 180 meters above sea level. From here you can look out over JR Central Towers at Nagoya Station, Nagoya TV Tower and Nagoya Dome, and on clear days Mt. Ontake, the Suzuka Mountains, Mikawa Bay and the Japan Alps are also visible. The fourth-floor observation room has a "Compass of Love," around which visitors can hang heart-shaped straps. The tower has also been designated a "Sanctuary of Lovers."

The tower was selected as a "Japan Night View Heritage" site in July 2004 and as one of the "100 Best Night Views" in August of the same year. It also received the Nagoya City Urban Landscape Award for fiscal 1991 and was chosen as one of the "20 Townscape Designs" in 2013. The casual Italian restaurant MOET & DINING Sky Tower on the seventh floor lets you dine while looking out over the city.

The tower stands very close to the Sky Tower Gate of Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and a combined ticket with the zoo is available, so the two are easy to visit together. There is parking for 282 cars.

By subway, it is about a 15-minute walk from either Higashiyama Koen Station (Exit 3) or Hoshigaoka Station (Exit 6) on the Higashiyama Line. Together with the nearby zoo, it fits into a day exploring eastern Nagoya.