Yokohama Landmark Tower

The centrepiece of the Minato Mirai waterfront, Yokohama Landmark Tower opened in 1993 and was for years the tallest building in Japan, reaching 296 metres over 70 floors. Its stepped, faceted form anchors a redeveloped harbour district of malls, gardens and a preserved dry dock, a short train ride south of Tokyo.

The Sky Garden observatory occupies the 69th floor at about 273 metres. It is served by one of the fastest lifts in the country, which climbs at a speed that noticeably presses passengers into the floor and reaches the top in under a minute. The 360-degree gallery looks over the Yokohama bay, the Ferris wheel and amusement district below, the port's cranes and container terminals, and, on clear days, the distant cone of Mount Fuji rising beyond the city.

Its engineering answered a demanding brief. Standing in an earthquake-prone bay, the tower was fitted with a sliding pendulum damping system and a flexible frame designed to absorb seismic motion, and the record-setting lift required careful pressure control to keep passengers comfortable during the rapid ascent.

Planning a visit. The observatory charges an admission fee, stays open late, and is entirely step-free by lift, with sunset a favoured slot for catching Fuji before the light fades and then the harbour lights. The tower sits within a large shopping and hotel complex linked directly to the railway, so it is easy to combine with the waterfront parks and the historic ship moored nearby. Winter afternoons, when the air is coldest and clearest, give the best odds of a sharp Fuji silhouette on the horizon. Interpretive displays on the deck point out the port's working cranes and the preserved sailing ship below, tying the panorama to the city's maritime past.