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Wednesday, 30th May 2012
In Japan Travel News,
Tokyo Sky Tree proving too popular
Following a hugely successful opening weekend for the world's tallest tower, officials say that more than one million visitors have now experienced the 634m-tall structure.
Following its grand opening on May 22nd, 564,000 people headed to the attraction on its opening weekend as the good weather helped drive attendance beyond initial expectations.
Daily visitor numbers have since been around the 200,000 mark and its popularity meant that the one millionth person to attend arrived two days earlier than estimated.
However, the Yomiuri Daily reported that the huge success of the Sky Tree has not gone without a hitch, as the large number of people eager to take in the sights from its viewing platforms were forced to wait in lengthy queues as operators struggled to cope with demand.
The tower has two viewing areas at 350m and 450m above ground level, and people looking to climb to the highest must buy their tickets for the second leg of the journey once reaching the 350m platform.
But queues of 50 minutes to buy tickets once reaching the first level have put some people off.
"I gave up going up to the second deck because I would've had to wait 50 minutes to buy a ticket," a 27-year-old woman told the news provider.
"As visitors are limited by reservations, I was sure I'd be able to go up."
Meanwhile, local shop owners who thought the tourist attraction's arrival would boost their sales have also been disappointed as the majority of visitors throng around the tower and its neighbouring commercial centre without venturing into the nearby areas.
In spite of this, authorities in Japan believe that the tourist attraction will become one of Japan's biggest and could help generate as much as 88 billion yen (£713 million) for the local economy each year.
Across the world there is only one building taller than the Sky Tree, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai which measures 829.84m from tip to toe.
Written by Graham McPherson