Beppu Tower, Observation tower in Beppu, Japan.
Beppu Tower is a 100-metre steel lattice tower on a steel-reinforced concrete base, with a glass-panelled observation pod at 55 metres and a white antenna mast above it. The lattice shaft is crossed with diagonal bracing, and the 17th floor holds the observation deck, reached by lift. The tower stands in Kitahama, Beppu, near Beppu Station.
Beppu Tower was completed on 10 May 1957 as the Sightseeing Center TV Tower, the centrepiece of the Beppu Onsen Tourism Industry Exposition, though delays meant it missed the opening. It was designed by Tachū Naitō, and its 280 million yen cost was borne by Beppu Tourism Development. Renamed Beppu Tower in 1961, it was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2007 and reopened on 27 January 2023 after major renovation.
The tower's name changed from Sightseeing Center TV Tower to Beppu Tower on 1 January 1961. Its mascots, Beppu Santarō (2010) and Beppu Tower-chan (2019), have both been retired. A miniature used in Taguchi Kiyotaka's film Big Monster Bugon, with different neon wording, is displayed in the Beppu Art Museum on the second floor.
The tower stands at Kitahama 3-10-2, about a nine-minute walk from Beppu Station on the Nippon Line; buses stop at Beppu Tower-mae and Beppu Kitahama. The observation floor is at 55 metres, reached by lift, and looks over the city and Beppu Bay. The rooftop deck on the fifth floor holds a beer garden and sauna in season.
Beppu Tower is one of the six towers by structural engineer Tachū Naitō, nicknamed "Tower Doctor", after Nagoya TV Tower and Tsutenkaku. A miniature used in Taguchi Kiyotaka's monster film Bugon, with different neon signs, is displayed in the Beppu Art Museum on the second floor.
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