Day and Night in Osaka

During my recent visit to Osaka with my friend, we were able to go to the Umeda Sky Building, one of the tallest buildings in Osaka. It is just ten minutes walking distance from the Osaka train station.

The 173-meter spectacular high rise Umeda Sky building was completed in 1993 and was designed by Hiroshi Hara, the Japanese architect who designed the modern Kyoto Train station. 

The Umeda Sky Buildiing, a landmark building in Osaka, was
 designed by Hiroshi Hara.

The escalator surrounded by glass, gives a good view
of the city as one goes up to the observatory of Umeda Sky.

Osaka City view from the  top floor of Umeda Sky building

Osaka City view from the  top floor of Umeda Sky building

Osaka City view from the  top floor of Umeda Sky building

On the 39^th floor of the Umeda Sky Building, one can get a 360-degree view of Osaka city and even see far away Awaji Island. The donut shaped and unobstructed observatory is referred to as the “Floating Garden Observatory” but note that there is no actual garden set-up on the said top floor of the building. It is funny that when my friend asked the Japanese security guard on the observatory where the floating garden is he just smiled and said that “floating garden in the observatory is imagination”… ha ha ha.

Before leaving the building, one can get a glimpse of the greenery outside the ground floor of the Umeda Sky Building though since it has an an urban garden with walking trails and water features.

An interesting place we discovered at Umeda Sky building’s basement floor is the Takimi-Koji retro restaurant mall, which has a Taisho Roman atmosphere that was inspired from the 1930s through the 1960s. The gourmet area is a replica of the Japanese streets during that time with interiors and fashion images that is reminiscent of Japan during the Showa period.

The Daihatsu Midget is post war, three-wheel vehicle that was
 used for the delivery of food and small parcels  before.

Nipper, the fox terrier, hears the voice of his deceased
owner on a gramophone. This is the classic
image used as the trademark of JVC.

Narrow streets that leads one to the restaurants

The interiors gives an old Japanese village feel

A hand-powered water pump is featured. It was
 a standard fixture in every home during the late 1930s

Vintage Japanese posters can be seen on the walls 

One of the small restaurants  in Takimi Koji

The Grand Front Mall in Osaka which is walking distance from Umeda Sky Building and Osaka Train station is also a nice place to visit. The mall has interesting shops such as the Mercedes Benz showroom which has a cozy cafe called Downstairs and a big Muji store that has a cafe and bakery.

Grand Front Mall

source: www.japan-guide.com

After our Umeda Sky and Grand Front mall visit, we took the train and went to Shinsaibashi shopping arcade.

Shinsaibashi Suji, one of Osaka's oldest and busiest shopping destinations is a covered shopping arcade which runs about 600 meters in length. It features brand name shops, chain stores, independent boutiques and a variety of restaurants.

Shinsaibashi shopping arcade

source: www.japan-guide.com

After Shinsaibashi we took the train and went to the Namba area.

The Namba river at night

Namba is the downtown area of Osaka. It is where the famous Glico running man and the Kani Doraku crab signages are found.

The Glico Running man signage in Namba

Kani Doraku crab signage 

Osaka's Namba and Dontobori are busy areas filled with a lot of tourists and locals going to the various food outlets and shops. It made us realize that Osaka's downtown area is certainly busy especially at night.