A discharge tube is provided inside an outer tube. At least a pair of electrodes is arranged inside the discharge tube, and at least mercury is sealed into the discharge tube. The electrode includes an electrode pin and a metal pipe that surrounds the electrode pin. Because a contact area of the electrode pin and the inner surface of the metal pipe is sufficiently maintained in a stable manner, a tip temperature of the electrode pin can be lowered sufficiently without a variation. As a result, it is possible to obtain a high pressure discharge lamp that has excellent lifetime characteristics and can considerably reduce the variation of the lifetime characteristics between lamps.