Ribon Brings Shoujo Manga Magic Sky-high [Photo Report @ TOKYO SKYTREE®]

Monthly shoujo manga magazine Ribon, the must-read romance bible for girls, has brought 10 iconic series 450 meters above the ground for an unforgettable 60th-anniversary collaboration with TOKYO SKYTREE®! Hearing that it would combine amazing views of Tokyo with the classic doki doki and kira kira every shoujo manga has, we couldn’t miss out!

Eager to begin, we ventured up to Floor 445 in a special elevator filled with the moments that set everything in motion. As we sped towards our destination, we couldn’t help but feel that just like these heroines, we were going to experience something very special…

As we stepped out, this colorful combination of Ribon covers immediately drew our attention. On the left is their 40th-anniversary cover, while the right one was created specially for this Ribon and TOKYO SKYTREE® collaboration.

It was also wonderful to discover the little details, like the “pages” found at the side of the magazine. They’re even colored differently for each series inside, just like the real thing!

We were then greeted with more key moments of each manga.

A definite highlight of this area was the "Telescopes of Romance" placed at each scene. Already feeling the thrill from being 450 meters up in the air, we walked slowly towards the eyepiece, held our breath and took a peek…

At this point, it was pretty difficult to say if our hearts were pounding from being so high up or because we were overcome by classic shoujo manga doki doki!

To calm down, we moved on to the Ribon Library, which just took our breath away all over again. It was here that we really grasped the history of 60 glorious Ribon years, displayed from its very first issue.

Having admired 60 years of shoujo manga, it was time for us to meet the ikemen of those stories - at the very summit! Normally a stage space where visitors can appreciate the sensation of walking in the sky, as well as the sheer size of TOKYO SKYTREE, Sorakara Point has been transformed into a "Handsome Boy Carnival"! Now, not only can visitors celebrate reaching the highest point a customer can climb up to, but they can also step into their favorite heroine’s shoes and hang out with their now life-sized love interest.

Next, we fell in love with this collection of supplements, or extra gifts that came with issues of Ribon. From calendars to stickers to letter sets, there was a positive treasure trove of bonus goodies!

To recover from all the excitement, we headed down to Floor 340’s Skytree Cafe to get a taste of some seriously sweet collab dishes. Admiring the contrast as we gazed at these key scenes upon the magnificent city view, our food seemed to come in no time at all.

We began with this unusual looking herb tea, its color inspired by the vampiric heroine of Tokimeki Tonight. Accompanied by a cookie printed with Ranze’s image, this “Vampire Tea” is a whole lot of fun to drink while pretending to be a blood-sucking creature of the night!

Next up was a chicken marmalade sandwich for Marmalade Boy. It seemed strange at first, but we ended up falling in love with the harmony of sweet and savory.

The finishing touch on our wonderful shoujo manga experience was this Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai dish. While marvelling over iconic author Yazawa Ai's unmistakeable style, we took pleasure in this parfait's sweet yet light combination of fruit, whipped cream and ice cream.

Each dish is also accompanied by a coaster corresponding to the series it was inspired by. There are three designs for each series, and while you can't pick one in particular, they're all so gorgeous that you'll be glad you didn't have to make the decision!

Although we were sad to leave this shoujo manga paradise, the excitement of seeing all of these scenes displayed with such love and imagination definitely stayed with us! If you haven't had enough of that sparkly shoujo goodness either, check below for our full album!

2.5 Million Maidens' Tokimeki Corridor at TOKYO SKYTREE®
Until Mar. 31
Opening hours: 8:00 am−10:00 pm (open all year round)
*Last admission at 9:00 pm.
Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida, Tokyo 131-0045
Official event site: http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/special/ribon2016/

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article with photography by Hara T.