Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatories

Before you go

• The two observatories keep different hours and different closing days: the north takes its last visitors at 17:00 and shuts at 17:30, while the south admits until 21:30 and closes at 22:00. The south is closed on the first and third Tuesday of the month, the north on the second and fourth Monday, though a public holiday pushes that closing day on to the next day; both close from December 29 to 31 and on January 2 and 3. Check which room is open for the day and the hour you are going, because on the Tuesdays the south is shut the north takes over its late hours instead.
• Both nearby stations look connected underground, but those passages come down to stairs with no elevator, so a stroller is stopped partway. Come up at Tochomae exit A4, which has an elevator, and cover the last stretch outside at street level; on weekends and holidays the second-floor door is shut as well, so go in at the main entrance on the first floor.
• The observatory elevator is narrow enough that families fold the stroller and carry the child in, and nothing can be left downstairs, so the folded stroller comes up with you. The ride is 55 seconds to 202 meters, which can be enough to make small ears pop, so have a drink ready at the top.
• On the 45th floor both the north and south sides have an accessible restroom with a changing bench, wide enough to wheel a stroller into. Nursing and hot water are a separate trip, though: the Akachan Flat room is in the basement of Tomin Hiroba, so you go down to the first floor, out of the building and down again, and parents say it is hard to find even then.
• No outside food comes in and eating is confined to the places set aside for it, so a packed lunch is not the plan here. Each side of the floor has its own cafe or shop, though the restaurant has no children's menu, so feed a small child before you join the line.
• The entry line runs 20 to 30 minutes as a rule, and it is longest at night and on weekends, when it can reach out of the building; one family gave up on it and came back on a weekday. The official page shows the wait as space available, moderately busy or busy, and the observatory's X account posts the sudden closures that bad weather brings.
• The piano can only be played at set hours, which the city gives as 10:00 to 12:00, 14:00 to 16:00 and 19:00 to 21:00 on days the South Observatory is open. Travel listings print shorter windows than that, so check before you go if the visit is being built around it; nothing here is booked in advance, neither the observatory nor the piano, so you queue on the day either way.