"Is it not the famous Tokyo Skytree(R)? Built in 2012, Tokyo’s newest radio tower boasts an astounding height of 634 meters. The observation deck at the top offers a beautiful view over Tokyo, and on clear and sunny mornings, even Mount Fuji can be spotted in the distance. Both international and Japanese tourists flock to Tokyo Skytree(R) for this breathtaking view, and it has yet to fail to impress. There also is a shopping mall on the foot of the tower and as you stroll along the shops, the clicking of camera shutters will follow you along the way. Tokyo Skytree(R) truly is one of Tokyo’s prime sightseeing spots.

“Tourists from all over the world have come to take in the sights of Tokyo Skytree(R) today as well. I hear excited voices coming from the Dome Garden...”

Female tourist: “Should we go inside the tree?”
Male tourist: “Uh, wait, let’s take a photo in front of Skytree first!
Female tourist: “Oh yeah right, great idea!”

Male tourists: “Ugh, I can’t quite get it right.”
Female tourist: “You can barely see Skytree on it...”

Male tourist: “Should we ask that guy over there if he can take a picture of us?”
Female tourist: “Oh, yes. People seem nice around here, so let’s.”

Female tourist: “Excuse me, but would you mind taking a photo of us?”
Japanese man: “Oh, sure! No problem.”
Male tourist: “Thank you so much!”

Japanese man: “Well then. Say chee~...”

Japanese man: “...~se?!”

Japanese man: “B-behind you! There’s a weird guy!”

Female tourist: “Huh?”

Male tourist: “Woah!!”
Japanese man: “Eh?! It’s that shady butler guy! Why did you show up again?”

Butler: “Ahem. Calling me shady is quite rude, you know.”
Japanese man: “What are you doing here?”
Butler: “I could ask you the same thing. You sure seem to have a lot of free time on your hands...”
Japanese man: “Tch.”

Butler: “I am a humble butler helping those in need. Forgive my interrupting, but you seemed a bit lost regarding the sights of Tokyo Skytree Town(R).”

Female tourist: “Well, yeah, actually...”
Male tourist: “Can we first take our commemorative Skytree picture, please?”

Butler: “By all means. Please, leave it to me. Allow me to be your guide for today.”

Male tourist: “Oh nice, really?”
Female tourist: “That’s great! This place is huge, so we really didn’t know where to start.”

Japanese man: (Again. They’re trusting that butler guy again, just like that!)

Butler: “Well then, allow me to show you around.”

Female tourist: “Thank you so much! My name is Michelle and this is my little brother. We’re from America and now exploring Japan together.”
Male tourist: “I’m George.”
Butler: “A pleasure to meet you. Shall we-“

Japanese man: “Wait! Wait up! Let me join as well!”
Butler: “...again? Lady Michelle, Sir George, what do you say?”
Michelle & George: “Sure! It’s going to be fun, so let’s go together!”
Japanese man: “Thank you! My name is Igarashi. I’m looking forward to today. (And today is the day on which I will find out that butler guy’s real identity!)”

Butler: “Shall we, Lady Michelle, Sir George? And Mister Igarashi, I suppose...”

Igarashi: (Why am I being treated so differently?!)

Butler: “Firstly, I would like to show you the observation deck.”
Igarashi: “Really? But the ticket counter is really crowded.”

Butler: “About 12,000 people visit Tokyo Skytree(R) every single day, so a certain crowdedness is to be expected. However, the Fast Skytree Ticket available at this counter right here offers extra convenience. These tickets are restricted to tourists visiting Japan from overseas. This service started in 2015 to accommodate visitors who are only in Tokyo for a certain time. The waiting time is shorter than at conventional ticket counters.”

George: “Oh great, we barely had to wait! I want to use my time in Japan as best as possible, so the less waiting, the better!”

Igarashi: “Huh, that means I can’t buy my ticket here?”

Butler: “Sadly, Mister Igarashi will have to go to the regular counter... is what I would really like to say, but since you are an accompanying person, even you as a Japanese person can use the Fast Skytree Ticket Counter."

Igarashi: “Pff, you could have told me earlier...”

Butler: “Now, as everyone has a ticket, let’s continue on to the entrance gates."

Butler: “A special elevator will take us right to the observation deck.”
Michelle: “Even the inside of the elevator is really beautiful!”
George: “This pattern... are these cherry blossoms?”

Butler: “There are four types of elevators that take you to the top, fashioned after the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. We happened to step into the spring elevator, which is decorated with Japan’s symbol of spring, cherry blossoms. Another highlight is the summer elevator, adorned with a fireworks pattern of Edo Kiriko glass. It is very beautiful.”

Michelle: “Wow. I feel like this is one of those precious “Only in Japan” moments.”
George: “Just by stepping into an elevator, I really got excited!”

Igarashi: “You really forget the time just by looking at the interior. Huh, we’re already there.”
Michelle: “Aw, I wanted to look at it a bit longer.”

Butler: “Everyone, please take in the beautiful view over the city.”

Michelle: “Amazing! Even the large buildings look so small.”
George: “The sunny weather makes for a fantastic view.”

Butler: “Early in the morning, you can even spot Mount Fuji from here.”
George: “Even Mount Fuji? The scenery really is breathtaking.”

Butler: “The daytime view is remarkable, but the night view after sunset also is a fantastic experience.”
Michelle: “The night view, eh? Sounds like a wonderful idea for a date.”

Butler: “A date? Hm. Certainly, when gazing over a sea of glittering lights together, the bonds of love are sure to grow stronger...”

Igarashi: (This guy. He’s in his own world again, eh.)

Butler: “Ahem. My apologies. Did you enjoy the view? I would like to take you out to lunch next, if you please.”

George: “I was starting to get hungry.”
Michelle: “What kind of food can we eat here?”

Butler: “A variety of restaurants can be found in Tokyo Solamachi at the foot of Tokyo Skytree(R). There are cafés serving coffee, tartes, and other snacks, but also real restaurants offering dishes like tonkatsu, eel, beef tongue, or okonomiyaki. The choice is yours to make, but today, I would like to invite you to my personal Only in Japan recommendation.”

Butler: “This is ‘Edo Tokyo Sushitsune,’ located on the seventh floor of Tokyo Solamachi.”

Michelle: “Sushi!”
George: “Wow, Japanese food!”
Igarashi: “Yay! I love sushi as well!”

Butler: “Edo Tokyo Sushitsune prepares Edomae-style sushi right in front of your eyes but is very reasonably priced. It is so popular, there are sometimes fairly long queues during lunch time.”

Butler: “Please, come in.”

Butler: “I prepared seats at the counter so that you can watch the sushi masters at work.”

Michelle: “I’d like salmon.”
George: “I’ll have tuna.”
Igarashi: “Ikura for me!”

Butler: “One after another, please.”

Michelle: “Wow, this is the first time that I’ve seen sushi being made up close.”
George: “Prepared with skill and affection. Just as you’d expect from a master.”

Chef: “This one’s for the lady.”

Michelle: “Thank you!”

Butler: “The first order is all done, so by all means, dig in!”

Everyone: “Itadakimasu!”

Michelle: “Mmh, this salmon is delicious! Very flavorful and it practically melts on your tongue.”
George: “The tuna is really good as well. I could eat twenty more of those...”
Igarashi: “That ikura hits like a punch! Mmm, so delicious!”

Butler: “You all seem very pleased with your order. What you absolutely need to try, however, is this...”

Michelle: “Wow, that is huge!”
George: “Amazing!”

Butler: “Ahem. That is rather big.”

Igarashi: “Wait, Mr. Butler, weren’t you the one ordering this? How can you be surprised?!”

Butler: “Hah, my apologies. This is the special cho-kaisendon, or super seafood bowl, only available at Tokyo Solamachi. Prawns, crab, ikura, tuna, there are all sorts of fresh seafood varieties in it, arranged to resemble Tokyo Skytree(R) itself. It is rather famous.”

Igarashi: “That’s a serving for two to three people, right?”

Chef: “Some of our international guests manage to eat one of those all by themselves.”

Everyone: “Wow!”

Butler: “Please enjoy this marvelous dish.”

Michelle: “Mmm, yummy! It looks cute and funny, but it is still really amazing sushi.”
George: “Wow, look at that huge piece of tuna!”

Igarashi: (George really seems to like tuna...)

Michelle: “But... yeah, there is no way I can finish this. I also have the sushi that I ordered. Mr. Butler, why don’t you have some?”
Butler: “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly...”
Igarashi: “Oh come off it, that’s what you always say. Just eat already.”

Butler: “Well then, itadakimasu.”
Michelle: “You can do it!”
Igarashi: (For a guy who pretends to refrain so much, he sure does eat a lot.)

Butler: “Mmm, the fish is so fresh and flavorful. And all of this has been prepared right in front of my eyes, and without any fishy odor whatsoever. The balance of flavors is just right as well. Ah, I could eat this all day, every day...”

Igarashi: (Off to his world again...)

Butler: “Ha~h, this makes me happy.”
Igarashi: “You like this, don’t you?”

Butler: “Ahem. Shall we go find a nice souvenir for the both of you, then?”

Michelle: “Yes, please! I want something that even Japanese people would buy.”
George: “Something that reminds us of our great time in Japan!”

Butler: “I know just the right shop.”

Butler: “This is the Nanoblock store, located on the fourth floor of Tokyo Solamachi.”
Michelle: “Nanoblock?”

Igarashi: “They’re miniature blocks and a popular hobby for adults. You can build things like world heritage sites and animals from them.”
George: “Oh I know those! They’re also fairly popular outside of Japan. You can rebuild all kinds of landmarks, a lot of them Japanese!”

Michelle: “You weren’t kidding! They’re all so detailed. These make for great souvenirs for people who like Japan.”
George: “Look, there even is the Tokyo Skytree(R). I think I’ll buy this as a souvenir to build it at home.”
Igarashi: “Combining buildings and animals seems nice, just like making your own little garden.”

Butler: “The hamsters and ragdoll cat (bottom right) are from the ‘mini collection series’ that has just been released in January of 2017. The Tokyo Skytree(R) (top right) is also part of this series and apparently is particularly popular among international tourists. There are other sets capturing the spirit of Japan as well, such as the samurai (bottom left) and Asakusa’s Kaminarimon (top left). Those are in quite a high demand, too.”

Michelle & George: “Nice!”

Butler: “What do you say, do you want to choose the one that you like best? I’d like to gift them to you.”

Michelle & George: “Hooray!”

George: “I really like Tokyo Skytree(R) best. It looks a bit complicated to assemble, but I’ll remember this great day while I have a go at it.”

Michelle: “I like the Burj Khalifa! It’s the highest building in the world, you know.”
Igarashi: “That has nothing to do with Japan anymore!”
Michelle: “Oops... hehe.”

Igarashi: “Mr. Butler has chosen one as well?”

Butler: “My favorite is Himeji Castle.”
Igarashi: “No one asked you!!”
Butler: “I have a bit of a connection to the Sengoku period...”
Igarashi: “Huh, what are you saying?”

Butler: “Did you all enjoy the day?”

George: “I really loved today! I thought the view from Tokyo Skytree(R) was the only thing to see, but it turned out that there are a lot more places to enjoy!”
Michelle: “The next time I want to come here during night time, on a date, and have dinner while enjoying the night view.”

Igarashi: “Oh, yes. We couldn’t explore everything in just one day, so I will surely come back. Enjoying the view, enjoying great sushi, and buying souvenirs... it surely is a great place, especially for tourists, I think. But even I had an amazing time.”

Butler: “Tokyo Skytree(R), one of the capital’s prime landmarks. Everyone, please experience this marvelous place for yourselves.”

In the elevator

With the cho-kaisendon

Enjoying tuna

On the observation deck

On the observation deck

Actor: Yūichi Itō
Written by: Dai Igarashi
Photos by: Yoshikazu Ishikawa