The Red Lattice Tower After Dark: Tokyo Night Hours and Lights

The decks, their hours and what they cost

The tower is 333 m tall and has two observation levels. The Main Deck is at 150 m. The Top Deck Tour takes you up to 250 m as well, as a guided visit with its own ticket. Here are the tower's own hours and fares.

Two notes from the tower itself. The Main Deck's last entry can move earlier when it is busy, so do not plan on arriving at 22:29. And the Top Deck Tour can be stopped for bad weather, so on a windy night check its status before you go.

How long the lights stay on

The tower is lit every evening from sunset to 22:00. Because sunset moves through the year, so does the start of the light-up. In early December the sun sets at 4:28pm, and the tower is lit for 5 hours 32 minutes. At the turn of June and July it sets at 7:01pm, and the tower is lit for only 2 hours 59 minutes.

So a late visit has one catch. From 22:00 to 23:00 the deck is still open and the city is still lit below you, but the tower's own lights are off. If you want to photograph the tower lit, be outside it before 22:00. The design of the lights changes with events and seasons, so the colours you see may differ from other people's photographs.

Timing the deck for dusk

The best half hour on the Main Deck is the one around sunset, when the city below switches on and the sky is still blue. Because sunset moves through the year, that half hour moves too. On the 15th of the month the sun sets at about 4:51pm in January, 6:14pm in April, 6:57pm in July and 5:06pm in October. Arrive twenty minutes before it, and you watch the change from the deck instead of from a queue.

On a clear winter evening you can also stay on: the deck is open for more than six hours after sunset in December. In summer you have about four. The month-by-month sunset times are in when it gets dark, month by month, and the weather for each month, with the rainy season, is on Tokyo weather at night.

Getting there after dark

The tower sits in Shiba Park, in Minato. The nearest station is Akabanebashi on the Oedo Line, about 5 minutes on foot from its Akabanebashi exit. These are the tower's own walking times:

• Akabanebashi (Oedo Line), Akabanebashi exit: about 5 minutes.
• Onarimon (Mita Line), exit A1: about 6 minutes.
• Kamiyacho (Hibiya Line), exit 1: about 7 minutes.
• Shibakoen (Mita Line), exit A4, or Daimon (Asakusa Line), exit A6: about 10 minutes.
• Hamamatsucho (JR), north exit: about 15 minutes.

If you come by car, there are car parks next to the tower. They charge ¥800 for the first hour and ¥400 for every 30 minutes after, and they close at 23:00 with the deck. Each evening's start point in the city is on the meeting-point map.

The evening drives that stop outside

Many evening drives stop at the tower for photographs, not for the deck. The listings are clear that the deck ticket is not in the fare. Here is how long each gives you there.

• The car-meet drive with hotel pickup makes a photo stop of about ten minutes on the evening run.
• The 7pm car-meet drive from Shibuya gives you about 20 minutes, and entry to the tower is not included.
• The private driver-guided evening and the customizable private drive each stop for about 20 minutes, the deck not included.
• The five-hour drive from Shibuya stops for about half an hour, and the deck tickets are extra.

Half an hour is enough for photographs from the foot of the tower, not for the deck. To add the deck to an evening out, look at the yakatabune cruise on the bay: one of its options includes a Main Deck ticket. The other drives are compared on the private night tours page.

Other decks open in the evening

The tower is not the only view. Tokyo Skytree, the broadcast tower in Oshiage, closes its decks at 22:00, with last entry at 21:00, and its lower deck costs from ¥1,800. The south observatory of the Metropolitan Government Building in Nishi-Shinjuku is free and open until 22:00. Shibuya Sky, the rooftop deck on Shibuya Scramble Square, is open until 22:30, with last entry at 21:20.

The tower's Main Deck stays open latest of them all, until 23:00. That makes it the one to keep for the end of an evening out. The decks are compared side by side on Tokyo Night attractions.

A plan for one evening at the tower

• Before 22:00. Photograph the tower lit from the park or from the street below.
• Then the deck. Go up before 22:30 and watch the city from 150 m.
• After the deck. The nearest stations are a few minutes away; check the last train before you go up. Getting back after the last train has the options.
• On a drive. If a drive stops outside, use the stop for photographs and come back another evening for the deck.

Evening temperatures for your month are on Tokyo weather at night, and the FAQ answers the rest.

Evenings with a stop at the tower

Private Tokyo Night Driver-Guided Tour

Four hours in a private vehicle for up to nine, picked up anywhere in Tokyo, with a driver-guide and stops from the bay to Asakusa. Tell the guide early which stops matter most.

From $488 per group (up to 9)

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Tokyo Night Tour Customizable

Four hours by private car for up to five, from your hotel or from Haneda Airport, with eight lit stops and the drop-off inside the time. The tower stop does not include the deck.

From $318 per group (up to 5)

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Tokyo Yakatabune Cruise: 400yr Edo Tradition & Odaiba Route

Ninety minutes on the bay on a tatami-floored houseboat, with beef sukiyaki, unlimited soft drinks and live shamisen. One option adds a ticket to the lattice tower's Main Deck.

From $100 per person

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