The Fukuoka Tower

This gigantic tower was built in 1989. As aforementioned, this is Japan's tallest seaside tower. Roughly 770 feet tall at its antenna with the observation room and restaurant at 405 feet. Built to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and winds up to 65 m/s (largest recorded quake at 6.o and strongest winds at 49 m/s). The base of the building is 7 times heavier than the above ground tower. The engineers and architects knew what they were doing. I can say that, of course, until there is an 8.0 earthquake or Godzilla battles Space Godzilla...

Real poster. Real movie. Tower right between them. I gotta see it.

So how do I know the facts about this tower you ask? Well, I made a stop there on one of my many journeys through town when I learned that you can take an elevator to the top for a small fee of 620 yen (discounted price because I am a foreigner).

This is the view from the lobby where you wait for the elevator if you were looking directly above you.

Here it is, Fukuoka as seen from it's highest tower...

Of course it started to rain while I was up there. So, I guess this tower is nothing more than a 60 million dollar decoration because there really is nothing in it other than a couple cafes, gift shops, and a restaurant. Maybe it's main purpose is for the satellites on top of it.

At night time, the building illuminates designs on the sides of it. For July and August, it had the Milky Way illuminated on it. I went to take a picture of it but it was September 1st and it was over. During Christmas it will have Christmas trees illuminated on it and hearts for Valentine's Day.