Tokyo Sky Tree

The tallest freestanding tower in the world opened on May 22 this year, rising to a height of 634m over the Sumida-ku skyline. While its main function is as a broadcasting tower, offering considerably improved television reception, the Tokyo Sky Tree is also angling to become one of the capital's go-to tourist destinations. The area around its base will provide a home to Tokyo Sky Tree Town, a complex boasting 310 shops and restaurants, plus designated school and office space. (Yes, a Sky Tree school...)

Such is the anticipated popularity of the place that for the first month and a half, the Sky Tree's observation decks will be visitable by reservation only. Families looking for a cheap day out might have to content themselves with Tokyo Tower for the foreseeable future: the total cost for an adult to visit the the Sky Tree's 450m observatory is a wallet-worrying ¥3,000, meaning that a family of four could end up paying as much as ¥10,600.