The dome of the Subaru Telescope protects the telescope from the effects of airflow along the surface of the earth and atmospheric disturbance of the stellar images. Its design, a dome covered by aluminum plates, is the product of repeated experimentation.

The height of the dome is 43 m. Atop the dome is a rotating section weighing 2,000 t. This section rotates in sync with the telescope along a 40m-diameter rotation rail.