Fukuoka Tower

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Fukuoka Tower in winter

Fukuoka Tower (福岡タワー, Fukuoka Tawā^?) is a 234 metre tall tower located at Fukuoka, Japan. It is the tallest seaside tower in Japan. Fukuoka Tower was started in 1989 and finished in 1991; taking a total of 14 months to build with a cost of ¥6,000,000,000. It was designed by Nikken Sekkei. It was built on reclaimed land out of Hakata bay.

Fukuoka Tower has three observation decks; one at 116m, a café/lounge deck at 120m and the highest at 123 metres above the ground. The tower also has a triangular cross-section which is covered with 8000 half-mirrors. Because of this, it has been given the nickname 'Mirror Sail'. The underground weight of Fukuoka Tower is 25,000 tons; though it's above ground weight is only 3,500 tons.

The tower is designed to withstand magnitude 7 earthquakes and winds of a speed up to 65m/s. Despite this, the strongest recorded earthquake has been only magnitude 5, and the strongest winds being at 49m/s. The tower is located at 2-3-26 Momochihama, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka

The tower was a major feature in the 1994 Japanese film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.