Kyoto Tower, Observation tower in Shimogyō-ku, Japan.
Kyoto Tower is a 131-metre structure in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, formed of a nine-storey base building topped by a 100-metre tower. The tower is a welded cylinder of steel plates 12 to 22 mm thick, painted milky white with red on the observation deck and upper section. The deck, an oval two-level space at 100 metres, is reached by elevators and holds free binoculars.
The structure was completed in 1964 following designs by Mamoru Yamada as a symbol of postwar modernization in Japan. Its opening coincided with the Tokyo Olympics, a period of economic growth across the country.
The tower's intended motif is a lighthouse, with the tiled roofs of Kyoto's houses likened to waves, though guidebooks have long spread the idea that it resembles a candle, nicknamed "Otōsan's candle" for its proximity to Higashi Hongan-ji. The commercial complex on the lower floors, KYOTO TOWER SANDO, takes its name from the approach path (sandō) to a shrine.
The observation deck can be reached by elevators that ascend directly from the ground floor. Morning and evening hours offer clearer views over the city, while daytime visibility varies depending on weather conditions.
The tower's shaft is built without a steel frame: rings of 12–22 mm steel plate were welded together, and semi-automatic carbon-dioxide welding was used on this scale in Japan for the first time. The 800-ton tower rests on the nine-story building below, which holds the hotel and shops.
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