The world is about to bestow a lot of attention on the city of Paris as it hosts the 2024 Olympic games. Its most famous sight, the iconic Eiffel Tower will no doubt be an ever-present feature in the background of live TV presentation as well as some of the sports themselves. The 330 metre tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Expo in 1889 and it was the inspiration for the construction of Tokyo Tower in 1958. Is it the only tower in Japan that was inspired by the one in France though? No, there is another!!

Paris lies about 9,700 kilometres away from Tokyo but there’s no need to go that far when one is located in Saga Prefecture on Japan’s most southerly main island of Kyushu. Admittedly, it is still a fair distance from the Japanese capital (over a thousand kilometres away!) but it’s still an easier trip. As it was, I was already in Tosu on a three day trip which was built around watching Kashiwa Reysol play at Sagan Tosu, and seeing the Eiffel Tower of Saga (to give it, its full title!) was basically the warm up for that match.

About an hour south-west of Tosu station on the Nagasaki Line is Igaya; the closest station to the tower although a 30 minute walk is then necessary too. Unbelievably, on a very wet and rainy day it was pretty much dry for the duration of my time in the region. This is a very rural area but passing through all the beautiful rice fields was quite the delight for this city boy. Eventually, I got to Prefectural Route 48 and was a bit surprised that I hadn’t seen it looming large in the distance yet. There was a reason for that!

The Eiffel Tower of Saga is in this picture, I promise! 

Eventually I could see a light brown steel tower on the horizon but as you will have noticed it’s not the biggest structure! That is because it’s a 1:20 scale sized replica which was completed as a hobby in 2001 at a cost of 17 million yen. This mini Eiffel Tower was the brainchild of Kenji Baba; the President of the sheet metal company Baba Body. He was so impressed with the one in Paris that he started this one in Saga to test his sheet metal skills.

Standing at 20 metres tall, this Eiffel Tower was constructed using more than 50 tons of steel, and has supposedly become something of a landmark in Kanzaki city. However, in May 2013 it disappeared with just the base remaining and local residents were up in arms. It was just dismantled for maintenance though and did eventually reappear in its full glory.

I labelled them just in case you weren’t sure which was which!!

The two small towers on both wings are said to have been the result of a visionary remodelling plan based on the blueprints for the Paris one. The French one has vehicles driving under it but the Saga one just has a few too many cars parked at the foot of the tower which are a little annoying for photo opps.

Once I was passed them though there were a couple of signs telling visitors to feel free to take photos, and to turn off the engines of your vehicles whilst parked up at the sight.

There is no entrance fee and no fence at this sight so you are free to do as you want including taking a couple of ladders up the tower to two platforms. There was no way I wasn’t going to take advantage of such an opportunity.

It’s not one for people with a fear of heights for sure. The lack of safety railings and the windiness won’t exactly put their mind at ease. However, you are rewarded with some wonderful views of fields stretching into the distance as well as the construction and architectural work itself.

Presumably, the Olympic rings are a fairly recent addition to tie in with the Paris games but they are very welcome and add to the quirkiness of this place which has featured on Japanese TV. The weak yen means overseas travel is not an ideal option these days but who needs to see the real thing in France when you’ve got this slightly scaled-down version in Japan?!!

• Eiffel Tower of Saga is located at 312 Kanzakimachi Osaki, Kanzaki, Saga-ken. It is open 24 hours a day.

Click here to read ‘Getting Ready For The Paris 2024 Olympic Games At This Qualifying Event In Tokyo (+ Ice Hockey In Yokohama)’

Click here to read ‘What It`s Like To Be A Spectator At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics’

Click here to read ‘At The Velodrome For Two Days Of Live Track Cycling At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics’

Click here to read ‘Euro Trip 2008/09 Pt I – Paris (France)’