Tokyo Metropolitan Office

As a tourist this is a good place to go if you want to have a view of Tokyo. The best part is that is just right next to the metro so you dont have to walk a lot and get lost… Well, actually the best part is that the entrance to the observatory is free. They are open until 9:30 PM with last entrance to the building at 9:00 PM. I would highly recommend for you to go at night time as the view is so much nicer.

Another great observatory location in Tokyo. Learned about this place from a family friend. It is FREE to go up. We arrived in the later afternoon during Golden Week and there was a line, but it moved pretty quick.
There is a restaurant and booths selling souvenirs, so space upstairs isnt great. Due to the time that we went, the glare and lighting for photos wasnt great, but we were able to watch the sunset which was great.
Unlike the Sky Tower, here you get city city view as you are closer to other commercial buildings. There arent the digital sign boards for you to interact with, but they have maps that pinpoint the main landmarks from each window.

One of the tallest skyscraper in Japan, but city hall of Tokyo. They have observation deck inside the building open to public with free admission. Designed by Kenzo Tange.

This is a go to location for skyline views of Tokyo particularly for its free entry, but also for its incredble 360° views. There’s the option of two towers to choose from most days unless one is closed for elevator maintenance for example. The north tower has a very nice restaraunt that overlooks the Shinjuku city side, while the south tower has some really wonderful shots looking back at the city of Tokyo. The assortment of crazy Japanese specialtiy items are a great way to blow funds to take home with you. On some days you can see as far as Mount Fuji if you’re particularly lucky.

Great view of the city at the free observatories! It’s worth it to go in the daytime and in the nighttime — if you want to see both views. Note that usually only one observatory is open in the nighttime.
When we went a couple months ago in May, the South Tower has booths with snacks from all around Japan and potential view of Mt Fiji. (Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see it that day — even when you see very low cloud cover percentages, they usually hover around Mt Fiji.) There is also a bombin’ bakery where we treated ourselves to incredible cake — cheesecake and tiramisu (both known for being very signature in Japan). There were stellar reviews of the building’s cafeteria but we couldn’t get access, so this was the closest thing to try out some of the food.
The North Tower, which we visited at night, has bar with good view of the city (500 yen cover fee) and Hakuhinkan toy store!
Note that the glass does refract, so it’s hard to get a good picture.

Awesome view at the free observatory! From there, you can see the Tokyo Tower and Skytree! On a clear day, you might even catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. I believe they close at around 5:30pm though, so hustle on over!
There was a north and a south tower, and I believe the south tower has a view of more of the iconic landmarks. The observatory was very well maintained and even has plaques with descriptions of the landmarks. There was also a gift shop and a couple vending machines (of course)!

Pro: Zugang zur Besucherterasse ist kostenlos, außerdem ist die Aussichtsplattform eine der höchsten in Tokyo und bei klarer Sicht ist ein sehr guter Blick auf den Fuji möglich. Zudem hat man eine tolle Aussicht auf das umliegende Nishi-​Shinjuku mit all seinen Ende der 80er/​Anfang der 90er gebauten Wolkenkratzern am Schluss der japanischen Boom-​Ära.
Contra: Der Besucherandrang ist oftmals nicht zu unterschätzen, da es keinen Eintritt zu zahlen gibt. Vor allem abends sollte man sich daher auf etwas mehr Wartezeit vor den Aufzügen einrichten.
Die Sicht auf Downtown und die eigentliche Skyline von Tokyo in Marunouchi und Akasaka ist zwar gegeben, doch ist man relativ weit weg vom Geschehen am Westrand der Yamanote Line.
Zudem ist auf einem der beiden Türme auf der Seite mit der Sicht zur Innenstadt ein Café gebaut, in das man natürlich nur kostenpflichtig hineinkommt.
Wenn man eine möglichst gute Aussicht innerhalb der Innenstadt haben möchte, ist der Tokyo Tower meiner Meinung nach besser geeignet. Oder besser noch das «Seaside Top» Observation Deck auf dem World Trade Center in Hamamatsucho. Genau wie auf dem Tokyo Tower wird eine kleine Gebühr fällig, aber durch die Lage ganz in der Nähe der Bucht sowie die Nähe zum Tokyo Tower hat man eine wirklich grandiose Aussicht auf Tokyo.