I told myself that I won’t sleep while in Japan. I’m absolutely serious. We only have three days in Tokyo and the first and last days of those three aren’t even whole days. Time is of the essence and I probably won’t die of sleep deprivation if I forget about closing my eyes for two nights. Err… I wouldn’t, right?

I originally planned on walking all the way to Shibuya where Tokyo’s iconic crossing is on my first night in Japan but the sky was foreboding of rain. The megalopolis that is Shibuya is about an hour away by foot so I scrambled for a Plan B.

Earlier that day, a friend told me that Japan’s iconic Tokyo Tower was just a few minutes away from our lodging, Hotel Okura. We tried to reach the tower but failed. The skeletal steel frame of Tokyo’s landmark was almost within reach but we had to turn back since I have to be back at the hotel for our traditional Japanese dinner at Sakura Jaya.

I was thinking of going back to the tower a few hours before dawn but decided to rearrange my schedule. I will shoot Tokyo Tower now and worry about Shibuya’s famous crossing later.
Shining like Paris’ more famous Eiffel, Tokyo Tower rises as the second highest structure in Japan. It has a similar shape to its European counterpart but stands 13 meters higher at 333 meters. Tourists frequent the tower for its observation decks where one can view a breathtaking panorama of the city.

And so we walked. It was almost midnight and frost was coming out every time I tried to breath through my mouth; the evening was crisply cold. The heavens still looked pregnant with rain and no one in the group thought of bringing an umbrella. Genius us.

We were halfway across the tower when it started drizzling.

But even without umbrellas, rain wasn’t going to stop us. We can now see the lighted beacon of the tower. We forged on, drawn by the towering light like moths to a deadly flame. We rushed as the tower came closer.
The Tokyo Tower at last came into view. Everyone whipped out their cameras oblivious to the steady drizzle. I’m gonna take my shirt off to cover my camera while doing long exposures if needed; it was gonna be now or probably never.

Tokyo Tower
Address: 4-2-8, Shibakōen, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Contact Number: (03) 3433-5111
Open Hours: 9:00AM to 10:00PM Daily
Entrance Fee: ¥820.00 Main Observatory
                     ¥1,420.00 Special Observatory

GPS Coordinates: 35.658473,139.745278
View Location on Google Maps: Click Here