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Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Japan


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Umeda Sky Building is a landmark building and observatory in Osaka. The Umeda Sky Building is also know as the Floating Garden Observatory.The observation platform of this observatory is a bridge connecting the two towers of the Umeda Sky Building, whose roof features a doughnut shape that provides an unobstructed 360-degree view. While enjoying the breathtaking sights you can also directly feel the wind—which at 170 meters off the ground can get quite strong. From this observatory you can not only see all of Osaka but as far away as Awaji Island. The basement of the Umeda Sky Building houses the Takimi-Koji gourmet street with old fashioned images of Osaka from the 1920s.The futuristic Umeda Sky Building in Osaka Japan is a great place to view the Osaka skyline, but its unusual design makes it a sight worth seeing itself. Escalators in suspended tubes guide visitors up to the observation deck and the "Floating Garden Observatory" where, high above the ground and out in the open air, Osaka almost seems peaceful.

Located in the Umeda district of Kita-ku in northern Osaka, the building was designed by Hiroshi Hara and was constructed by Takenaka Corporation. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The escalator ride is an event in itself as it feels like you are floating up into the sky.

Once inside, you pay 700 yen (a little under $6) for a ticket to take the glass elevator up to nearly the top. Then you take the famousescalator to the top, which is surprisingly underwhelming. It’s not all that scary as your view is really blocked quite a bit going up, so you don’t really get a great sense of being suspended 550 feet in the air on a moving staircase. At the top, it’s your standard observation deck, with binoculars that let you zoom in on places of interest.

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I'am currently a student of Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University (UIN) Malang on Architecture Department

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