Due to my work I’ve traveled a few times to Tokyo recently. I had never been to Japan before and it is a wonderful opportunity for which I feel enormously fortunate.

I’ve recently read that the Tokyo Sky Deck has closed permanently in 2024. Very sad news because even though I have visited amazing locations in Japan this one felt especially symbolic. That is why I would like to make this little post as an ode to this place and to remember this experience in the future.

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The Sky Deck was an open-air observation deck on top of the Mori Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo located in the Roppongi Hills complex. This skyscraper has on its top floors the Mori Art Museum and two observation decks: Tokyo City View (interior) and Sky Deck.

When you’re researching places to visit in Tokyo you can feel overwhelmed because you don’t know when you’ll have the chance to return and it really is an infinite city. Personally, I think that the observation decks are a very interesting visit to better understand the context of the city you’re in. It’s especially advisable to be a little before sunset to see a a wide spectrum of lighting.

Many tourist guides recommend other places to enjoy views of the city, such as the Tokyo Skytree or the new Shibuya Sky (the only open-air observation deck left after the closure of the Sky Deck). However, I have read few recommendations about the top of the Mori Tower.

Something I particularly liked about this place was how well located it is. On one side you have the Tokyo Tower very close (which you can also visit, but you know: if you want a photo of Manhattan with the Empire State you don’t go up the Empire State, but the Rockefeller), if you looked to the other side you could see Yoyogi Park, Shibuya, … and of course if you were lucky enough to go up on a good day you could see Mount Fuji keeping an eye on Tokyo.

The first time I traveled to Japan I did it alone and it was an extremely enriching experience on a personal level. I had never made such a long trip alone before, and the fact that my professional career had taken me there made it even more special.

I’ll share more experiences in other texts, but getting to the top of this building and seeing the sunset light bathing Tokyo with Mt. Fuji in the background (and a soundtrack fitting the moment) was a kind of culmination and somehow a confirmation that I was doing things right.