, now officially renamed Nidec Kyoto Tower, is an observation tower located in Kyoto, Japan. The steel tower is the tallest structure in Kyoto with its observation deck at 100 metres (328 ft) and its spire at 131 metres (430 ft).

History

Kyoto Tower was proposed in the early 1960s, and it was planned to be constructed and completed in time to correspond with the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Construction began in 1963 on the former site of Kyoto's central post office and was completed near the end of 1964. a doctor of engineering at Kyoto University, Kyoto Tower was built to withstand the forces of both earthquakes and typhoons. The head of the tower's business division, Tsuyoshi Tamura, claims it can withstand winds of up to 201 mph (90 m/s) and survive an earthquake of far greater magnitude than that of the Great Hanshin or Great Kantō earthquakes. Within its first year of opening, 1 million people visited the tower's observation deck. Throughout the years, the tower's draw as a tourist attraction has diminished. By 1999, observation deck ticket sales dropped to less than 400,000 a year, or about 1,100 a day.

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File:Kyoto Tower at Night.jpg|Kyoto Tower lit up at night: taken on 28th of February 2020

File:Kyoto Tower - 2023 Aug 16.webm|thumbtime=16|Several scenes around Kyoto Tower, 2023

File:Kyoto Tower Hotel.jpg|Kyoto Tower well lit-up at night on 24 December 2016.

File:Flickr - yeowatzup - Kyoto Tower, Kyoto, Japan.jpg|Kyoto Tower reflected in the north facade of Kyoto Station

File:Observation deck at Kyoto Tower with staff cleaning the windows, Japan.jpg|Observation deck with staff cleaning the windows

File:Kyoto 16-10-2007 7-30-41 PM.JPG|Night scene from Kyoto Tower, 2007

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See also

  • List of towers

References

  • Kyoto Tower official site
  • Kyoto Tower Hotel official site