While I was cycling near Minowa (三ノ輪), spotted this tall structure far away, the under construction Tokyo Sky Tree (東京スカイツリー).
I've read about this building which will soon take over Tokyo Tower as the tallest building in Japan. It's located in the Sumida ward (墨田区) which is just adjacent to my Arakawa ward (荒川区). Since it's visible from some distance away so I've set my new target and cycle all the way towards the Tokyo Sky Tree.
Half-way through I paused the journey for awhile to visit this shrine (forgotten the name) to check out folks praying for the new year. It's one of the many shrines in Asakusa (浅草) btw.
The glimpse of the tower reminded me what's my original plan of the day.
The tower's just located across the Sumida river.
Panoramic shot of the riverside. Click to see the larger details.
The view while passing through the Sakura bridge (桜橋), another panoramic shot.
So far these 2 panorama pics are being edited with additional programs so it look much better than those auto-generated by Windows Live Photo Gallery itself.
Passing through the Sakura bridge, took this pic which now is set as my desktop wallpaper.
Too bad the weather is cloudy and the trees are bald. Few more months later (early April) and this scene will be filled with the beautiful Sakura flowers, which will make a great wallpaper. Too bad it's kinda unlikely to move back to the same spot and take the pic again by that time.
The Tokyo Sky Tree is getting closer now....
Closer to the base now.
Now let's zoom in to have a peek what's on top.
The plan for the Tokyo Sky Tree project.
Currently around 250m mark.
Trivial fact about Tokyo Sky Tree:
1) The basic structure itself is just 470m high, but added with the antenna it'll be 634m high when completed.
2) Started construction on July 2008, and expected to be opened on Spring 2012.
Zoom into the details to see the cranes.
Complementary pic lol.
Current height, stated clearly at 254 m.
Noticed some old buildings are being torn down. I guess old buildings had to be sacrificed to make way for the new building.
The base....
...and the tower it hosts.
The tower from the other side.
I took a stroll at nearby Oshiage (押上) area. Nothing much to see as most shops are still closed for the New Year holiday.
Luckily there's a Sukiya nearby so I settled my dinner there. This is the first time I dine inside Sukiya.
Sukiya (すき家) offers quite a lot of dishes compared to Matsuya (松屋) & Yoshinoya (吉野家).
This is my Braised Pork Stew (豚とろ角煮丼) with miso soup and salad.
The pork is cooked like the Chinese braised meat (卤肉), but the taste isn't strong enough and the quantity is questionable. It lacks the braise soup too!
Anyhow, it still tasted OK and I'm looking forward to try out Sukiya again next time.
I thought I would get lost to ride back to the hostel but turns out to be kinda easy and straight forward, I'd just need to cycle about 30 mins only! That's much closer than I initially thought!
I'd love to visit the Tokyo Sky Tower again in few year's time, to witness it's full glory when it's completed. :)
That's really cool! I have a pic when the tower just started getting built. Cant wait to see the finished product
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