Public Observatories in the Tokyo Area were mostly established in the 1990s for the first time in history. There are currently 9 such observatories, and they are the subjects of this paper. Some of the profit-making observatories are also called public observatories, but they are actually not. They are established for business purposes in high-rise buildings to provide panoramic scenery. The total volume of free space in the public observatories is small, considering the huge Tokyo area. It was found in this study that while the number of such observatories are limited, they provide precious public space and valuable scenic views to the public. We carried out this study on public observatories and panoramic scenery using the following three perspectives.<br> 1. Its location in an urban setting, 2. Spatial design within the building, 3. Panoramic scenery seen from the observatories<br> 1. Public observatories were established on the top floor of the high-rise complex building situated in the areas with high potential within the city, as status symbols of many high-rise buildings. Once established, they become the highlight of the area. Public observatories provide panoramic views of the city, and the public can follow the transformation of the city's scenery from these vantage points. The creation of public observatories however, has never been the main objective in construction projects. For almost all projects, the main focus was the outside appearance of the architecture. This became clear from the official minutes of the various assembly meetings.<br> 2. Free and open public observatories are valuable spaces and provide great scenic views. The total amount of such free space is not much considering the huge Tokyo area however. It is difficult to create free public spaces with observatories for a few reasons, namely limited floor volume and competition with other facilities. Almost all 9 public observatories discussed in this paper were constructed in the 1990s during the so-called Bubble Period. The space secured for free open public spaces was limited since the intention was to make various functions coexist with each other in the limited floor space available, such as eating and drinking areas run by businesses. There are a few cases, such as the Tokyo City Government building and the Ichikawa city's I-Link-town building, which provide expansive, comfortable public spaces for visitors.<br> 3. Panoramic views from perfect circulation are 2 examples only. Other examples are partly and divided by other use. Scope of panoramic View is limited by planning with other use. The value of panoramic scenery seen from public observatories had not been thoroughly discussed in the process of each project. There are only a few documents that discuss this aspect of the value of public observatories. The panoramic scenery viewable from public observatories is worth considering as a valuable public asset. Historically, it has always been difficult for the public to have a chance to view the city as a whole.<br><br> From these three points of view, it became clear that the value of public observatories is difficult to be understood and the opportunity to view panoramic scenery has been hard to secure throughout the history of Tokyo. Nine public observatories were established in high rise architectures between the years of 1980 and 2000. Many of them , free spaces, were poorly planned, with limited space being divided among varying functions. Highrise buildings and its tops were realized as symbols of each area. Symbolism of outside and business of other use are main focus. Public observatories inclouded in highrise buildings were not main theme of the projects. They were almost realized without discussing about value of free space and panoramic view in this city.