Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building - Andrea Klein

Today we traveled around Tokyo in our small groups.  The first place we went was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.  It was built in 1990 for about one billion US dollars.  It replaced what was known as the Tokyo City Hall, which was built in 1957.  This building was the tallest in Tokyo at 273 meters or 797 feet, until 2006 until the completion of the Midtown Tower at 294 meters.  The Midtown Tower is known for its large variety of shopping stores and resteraunts.

From the observation deck on the 45 floor, you can see the entire city of Tokyo.  The elevator ride up to the 45 floor takes only fifty seconds  In the distance on a good day, you can also see Mt. Fuji, which


it was for us!   If you look in the background of this picture, you can see a white mountain whichis Mt.Fuji!!!
The view from the top was amazing!!!  
While we were on the observation deck, I found a penny press machine!  For those of you who don't know what that is, you put a penny in  the machine with a dollar and choose a design to have imprinted on the flattened penny.  The design is of the place you are visiting.  I thought this was great because I have collected these since I was a little girl and what better to have one from Japan?!?!

This was a great start to our busy day as we had continued traveling around Tokyo and experienced the metro system. It was a new experience for all of us which we all enjoyed!