Gakusei Travels

スカイツリーに行こう！

The last time I was in Japan, one of the things I didn’t get to do was visit the Sky Tree, so I decided to go see it this time. One of the reasons why I wanted to go was actually because on TikTok, I saw that there was a collaboration event with Blue Lock. So I definitely had to go see it.

The Sky Tree is all the way in Sumida, so from my hotel, it was about an hour train ride. I got there about an hour after they opened. Immediately, when you see it from a distance, a sense of awe kind of washes over you. It’s so tall, and I had to crane my neck all the way back to see it. Outside of the building leading up to the observatory, there were several decals with the Blue Lock characters promoting the collab.

So you can buy your tickets online or in person. I’d recommend doing so online, because you could save a few dollars. In person, the tickets were about 3,100 yen to just go up to 350 meters and I think 4100 yen if you wanted to go all the way up to 450 meters. I initially only bought the 350m ticket, not realizing that the Blue Lock exhibit was on the top floor. But once you’re up there, there is another kiosk to buy the ticket if you want to go up higher.

Going up the elevator was so cool. It went up so fast, so the entire ride lasted less than 30 seconds. But because of the speed and the height, my ears started to pop.

The view from the top is honestly so cool. You can look out all across Tokyo. I wasn’t really sure which area was which but the staff can point you to which direction you want to see, say if you’re looking for Shinjuku. They even offer to take a commemorative photo for you for free, but it’s only like 1000 yen if you wanted a physical copy. For the Blue Lock exhibit, even the elevators were decorated. There were stickers of the characters on the outside, and the inside shows scenes from the anime. And it’s actually Ego Jinpachi, the man who is actually running the Blue Lock Program in the anime, that is welcoming you to the exhibit over the audio.

The first thing you see when you walk off is Ego’s chair. I asked one of the workers to take a photo for me when the screens were playing more scenes from the anime. Then, as you walk around, the entire wall is decorated with pictures and quotes from the anime, there’s individual profiles from some of the main characters, and there’s another set of chairs for you to sit and “cheer on the team.”

My favorite part of the exhibit was a set of standees of the main six: Isagi Yoichi, Rin Itoshi, Bachira Meguru, Nagi Seishiro, Reo Mikage, and Chigiri Hyoma. When you push each of their buttons, the exhibit lights up and there will be some quote of the character speaking before they make a goal or something. It’s pretty cool. And the staff was amazed at my Japanese when I asked if they could take my photo haha.

Do note though, that once you go back down stairs, they won’t let you go up again unless you buy another ticket. So I had to make sure I got my Blue Lock fill before I left. Once back down stairs, I went to the gift shop they had. Of course, there was some exclusive merch for Blue Lock. I ended up getting a mini standee, a keychain and a button. The button and standees were like blind boxes, so you didn’t know what was inside until you opened it. My favorite character is Nagi, but Reo is definitely a close second, so I was hoping for either of them. But I ended up getting Bachira for the standee and Isagi for the button, so I couldn’t complain. I did end up buying one of the Nagi keychains. Surprisingly, Nagi and Reo didn’t seem to be the most popular characters. Most of the merchandise for the others were sold out. So idk if I should’ve been happy that there was more for me or sad that my two favorite characters were not as popular haha.

The last thing I did before leaving was go to the Cafe. Much like the exclusive merchandise, there were limited edition foods for the event, and the entire cafe was decorated with Blue Lock. The counters had little cutouts of the characters. There were decals on the walls and tables. And the anime’s opening and ending songs were playing over the cafe speaker.

A few of the food items were sold out, and there were also some character themed sodas and parfaits, but I just stuck with having lunch. I ended up getting the Nagi and Reo Spicy Black Curry. The curry itself wasn’t that spicy in my opinion. The black curry was pretty good, but the purple curry was okay. It was definitely sweeter, but it tasted better when mixed with the black curry. I also kind of wished there was more chicken. For ordering a Blue Lock themed meal I got a free mystery coaster and guess who it was?

*drum roll*

Nagi!

So needless to say, I was pretty happy.

By the Sky Tree, there is also a large shopping mall connected with several stores, such as ones that sold Japanese souvenirs, to the Pokemon Center and Jump Comics sore. The Sumida Aquarium was over here as well, but I really didn’t have time to see it, so next time.

The Blue Lock exhibit will last until July 6, so if you’re in Tokyo before then, be sure to check it out!