The view from the top

On Thursday, I had a few hours in the morning to do some more sightseeing, so I caught the subway down to Japan's answer to the Eiffel Tower: the Tokyo Tower. Nearly identical in shape and height, what sets it apart is the orange and white paint job required by civil aeronautics codes.

Unlike the Eiffel Tower, there is virtually no line to get in, at least when I arrived at 9:00 AM. The central elevator speeds to the top, and the view is predictably great. However, Tokyo's skyline is not like Paris--skyscrapers vie for attention all around the horizon. In fact, they threaten the Tokyo Tower's primary use as a broadcasting antenna. A taller version is planned.

In the meantime, I took the lightening tour of the attractions in the current tower: the wax museum, the Guinness World Records, and the Tricky Art Gallery, full of optical illusions.

You could find a new escape route from the gallery like this women, except the door is just painted on. What's more, so is the woman. Consider your mind blown.