Nagoya’s Iconic TV Tower

Japan’s first commercial radio broadcasters began not in Tokyo nor in Osaka, but in Aichi Prefecture’s capital city, Nagoya! Now almost every Japanese city has an iconic broadcast tower, and it all began with Nagoya’s centrally located TV Tower in the city’s Hisaya-odori Park. Nagoya TV Tower, Japan’s first multi-wave capable radio and TV broadcast tower was completed in June of 1954, 4 years before the now famous Tokyo Tower. At the time it was an engineering marvel for a Japan still emerging from the ashes of WW2.

The all steel Nagoya TV Tower, said to have been designed with Paris’ Eiffel Tower in mind and once destroyed in a classic Godzilla movie, stands 180m high and along with Nagoya Castle, is probably one of the best recognized landmarks in Nagoya. A sightseeing spot with more than 50 years of history, Nagoya TV Tower is a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The tower was renamed Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER on May 1, 2021.