Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower's alternative to the ubiquitous summer beer gardens is welcoming the outdoor drinking season with a double dose of whisky highballs. In addition to the regular terrace at the base of the tower, where a lengthy menu of highballs is combined with a variety of drinking snacks (think karaage and grilled bacon), it also operates a meatier option on the roof of the Tower Foot Town building, offering Jingisukan, the Hokkaido-born lamb barbecue named after the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan. Two hours of all-you-can-drink alcohol and limitless jingisukan can be had for ¥5,000 (teens aged 13-19 ¥3,000, primary school students ¥2,000, children aged 4-6 ¥1,000, all with non-alcoholic drinks, of course). Just keep an eye on the weather forecast, as both terraces close in the case of heavy rain. The Tokyo Tower Cho-Ten Highball Garden at the base of the tower is open until October 2, from 4pm-8.30pm (until 9.30pm in June) on weekdays and 12noon-10.30pm on Sat, Sun & holidays (until 9.30pm in June). The Tokyo Tower Rooftop Highball Garden is open until October 10, from 5pm-10.30pm daily (until 9.30pm in June). Make your reservations here.

Enjoy a late night stroll under an artificial Milky Way at Tokyo Tower’s main deck. As an alternative solution for constellation lovers, Tokyo Tower has recreated the Milky Way using 21,000 LED lights, so you can gaze up at the (artificial) stars in the middle of the city. Every 15 minutes the blue LED lights that represent the starry sky turn pink and gold, while the Milky Way changes from white to a rainbow of seven colours. This optical special effect makes the Tokyo skyline look even more mesmerising, as if our beloved city is under a magical starry night. The event takes place daily from 9.30am until 10pm (until 10.30pm on Sat).