Yes, President Obama has arrived in Japan (and apparently already enjoyed the legendary sushi at Sukiyabashi Jiro), and with all the buzz and tightened security accompanying his visit, it’s hard not to get a little excited. Well, it seems even one of the landmark symbols of Tokyo, the Tokyo Tower, is getting all dressed up to welcome Mr. Obama. For two nights only, the 333m (1093ft) tall tower will be illuminated in the red, white and blue colors of the American flag!

That’s right, in honor of the President’s visit, for the nights of April 22 and 23, Tokyo Tower will be lit up in bright Star-Spangled Banner colors from sundown (around 6:20pm) to midnight. Naturally, we wanted to get a look at the special red white and blue version of the tower, and take some pictures to share with you as well. We hurried off to the Tokyo City View Sky Deck in Roppongi, where we were able to take the pictures below:

▼ The Sky Deck is an open observation area on the rooftop of the Mori Tower building, where you can enjoy and take pictures of the panoramic view in the open air from a height of 270m (885ft).



▼ It does cost 2,000yen (US$19.50) to get up on the Sky Deck (1,500 yen to get to the general observation deck on the 52nd floor and an extra 500 yen to go all the way up to the roof), but the view is absolutely breathtaking.



▼ We may have the new Tokyo Skytree, but Tokyo Tower is still a magnificent symbol of the capital city.



We don’t know if President Obama will have a chance to see the specially illuminated tower, but we certainly hope he does, because it truly is a beautiful sight, and one that couldn’t hurt international relations between the U.S. and Japan. Kudos to the folks at Tokyo Tower for creating such a memorable and stylish tribute!

Source: Tokyo Tower official site via ITmedia (Japanese)

Top image: Tokyo Tower official site

All other photos: RocketNews24

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