Kingdom Hearts III launches tomorrow in Japan, and Square Enix is celebrating in a rather unique way.
The publisher launched a rather spectacular exhibition near the top of Tokyo Skytree. If you’re unfamiliar with this relatively new landmark opened in 2012, it reaches 634 meters into the sky, making it the world’s tallest tower.
It’s also the world’s second-tallest man-made structure behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The exhibition is located at the Tembo Galleria, which is the highest point you can visit, and a scenic sloped walkway between 445 and 451.2 meters into the sky.
Obviously, the view over Tokyo from such a crazy height is truly stunning.
The exhibition, titled “The Tower of Light and Darkness” is pretty much like the strawberry on top of a delicious shortcake.
As soon as you exit the elevator, which isn’t just decorated with Kingdom Hearts’ characters, but it’s also the fastest in Japan, reaching 600 meters per second, you’re greeted with a themed throne for your selfie-taking needs.
Of course, I couldn’t resist being King Giuseppe for a few seconds, before the line of tourists started giving me the evil eye.
Proceeding along the sloped walkway, you have the beautiful view of Tokyo from above on one side, and Kingdom Hearts content on the other, starting with pretty much the whole cast of characters, and continuing with the worlds included in the series.
After a look at three Keyblade props that you can manhandle while making funny expressions for the joy of the locals, you can continue up the slope finding a map of the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Birth By Sleep.
Since pictures say more than a thousand words, you can check out a metric ton of photos I took for you in the gallery below.
At the end, you can enjoy by a collection of memorabilia, culminating with two more keyblades. One opens a “door” to a mini-trailer to get you hyped as soon as you grab the hilt, while the second is a special one inspired by the Skytree itself.
Now, given that many of you probably won’t have a chance to visit Tokyo before the exhibition’s end on March 3, you can watch a video tour below.
If you actually can make it to the exhibition, there’s also plenty of Kingdom Hearts merchandising that you can purchase. It’s Japan, after all.
Do keep in mind that reaching the event isn’t exactly the cheapest of experiences, so budget accordingly. Since it’s located at the highest reachable point of the tower you’ll need two separate tickets.
The first to the Tembo Deck (350 meters high) will cost you 2,060 yen. You’ll then have to purchase a second ticket to the Tembo Galleria for 1,030 yen. The whole trip will require a budget of 3,090 yen. That translates into roughly $28 at the moment of this writing.
Yet, if you’re a true Kingdom Hearts fan, this is a pretty unique experience.
Kingdom Hearts III will finally be released on PS4 and Xbox first in Japan tomorrow, Jan. 25. Western gamers in North America and Europe will get to play the game on Jan. 29.
If you want to see more, you can enjoy the brand new gameplay trailer released today.
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