Tokyo city views from the Mori Tower

The Tokyo City Views lounge is located on the 52nd floor of the Mori Tower

The observatory deck is located in the stylish Roppongi Hills area, unlike typical observatory decks, this lounge features minimalistc architectural style and interior design. Inside the observatory the location offers plenty of negative spaces, shades, lines, silhouettes, and compositions, creating numerous photography opportunities from the observatory deck itself to a 360° view of Tokyo.

The weather during my visit was grey and cloudy, and I arrived around lunchtime, not ideal lighting conditions for cityscape photography. However, when you're doing travel photography, you work with the time that you have.

Inside the observatory I deliberately used a wide-angle lens (Sony GM 14mm f/1.8) to take advantage of the interior's negative space, creating contrast between the exterior lights and views and the silhouettes of the visitors. While photographing Tokyo's cityscape I switched to a Sony GM 28-70mm f/2, while still using the wide-angle lens to capture the vast skyline, focusing on compression shots of the urban architecture, and the Tokyo Tower.

In post-production, due to the moody and dark weather I applied a muted dark style, enhanced a balanced symmetry between dark and light elements, as well as between people, space, and views. For the cityscape shots of Tokyo, I applied the same approach, using a wide-angle lens to capture the city's vastness and 28-70 lens for urban compression. This technique emphasises how even major landmark like the Tokyo Tower appear small against the endless expanse of houses, streets, and buildings.

While it's difficult to say which Tokyo observatory offers the best view, the Mori Tower stands out for its exceptional minimalist architectural design. This observatory is  unique and well worth visiting, especially for architectural photographers. Rarely can one find such a nicely designed observatory deck to photography Tokyo's magnificent urban cityscape.

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