Boarding Gate 101

Looming like a giant mechanical beanstalk from where I stayed in Asakusa is the Tokyo SkyTree. It's something that I felt that I must not pass up in visiting simply because of its claim to fame: the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure, bested only by that building in Dubai.  I set aside half a day to visit the tower, which also meant venturing across the river from Asakusa, leaving behind the 6th-century temples to see the gleaming tower of the 21st century, The Tembo observation deck I left the hostel to find some breakfast first then I navigated to the subway to reach the complex. It wasn't that far from Asakusa, only two hops to Oshiage station. From the station I went inside the building, going through a maze of shops first. I actually got distracted from all the cool stuff that I see; I wandered around for a few minutes, making mental notes of which shops I'd visit again. I got to the fourth floor where I lined up to buy the tic...