Osaka

Japan, Osaka

Dec 132023

December 11 and 12, 2023

Osaka is a 28-minute train ride from Kyoto, and yet it is a world away. This was a quick trip to Osaka to see the illuminations and try the street food. It was also my first trip to Osaka, and I was blown away. It is a vast and dense city, the second largest in Japan, and yet it is comfortable, people-scaled (despite the hundreds of very tall skyscrapers), and a real joy to walk around.

Umeda Sky Building

There is so much construction happening in Osaka around the Umeda Sky Building that this was the best I could capture of the whole building.

It was a surprise to me that the Umeda Sky Building is only the nineteenth-tallest building in Osaka. Nonetheless, it is Osaka’s most recognizable landmark. 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.

Looking up the middle from the ground.

The building was designed by Hiroshi Hara and completed in 1993. The observatory, which sits on the top between the two towers, was largely assembled at ground level before being hoisted up 568 feet and fixed into place.

To get to the top, take a glass elevator from the third to the thirty-fifth floor and ride up these 147-foot-long escalators.

Views from the Umeda Sky Building

Osaka Bay and the Yoda River

Chapel Goedele

That is the Chapel Goedele sticking out from the Monterey Hotel. It is a perfect re-creation of the 14th-century church that still stands today in Bruges, Belgium. This is in keeping with the hotel, whose interior is designed to resemble that of the Schönbrunn Palace of Vienna, despite being built in 2009. The hotel is owned by Hotel Monterey Group, and their corporate concept is that each hotel will re-create the history and charm of various cities from around the world.

Inside the Chapel

Gate Tower Building

The Gate Tower Building

In the late 19th century, a wood and charcoal business called Suezawa Sangyo purchased the property rights to this plot. Over the years, their buildings on the land fell into disrepair. When they finally planned to redevelop the area in 1983, a new exit ramp connecting the Hanshin Expressway to downtown Osaka was already set to pass through. The landowners and the highway department fought for five years until they ultimately reached a solution – a traffic tunnel that goes through the building.

The tunnel through the Gate Tower Building

A Little History – Osaka Castle

Osaka had a population of 3,252,340 in 1940. It was the most important industrial area in the Far East as one of the principal centers of heavy industry. It was noted for its shipbuilding, iron, and steel works.

The first allied bombing raid on Osaka resulted in 3,987 dead and 678 missing and destroyed 8.1 square miles.

During World War II, Osaka Castle was turned into a munitions factory and became one of the largest military armories in Japan, employing 60,000 workers. American bombing raids targeted the castle and destroyed 90% of the arsenal, killing 382 people working there.

The current castle building is a modern reconstruction completed in 1997. The exterior is a faithful reproduction, the interior is a modern museum and not a castle.

Theater

In the Shinsekai area is this somewhat deco building. It is the Kokusai movie theater. It is plastered with hand-painted movie posters that rotate every few weeks, a rarity nowadays. Upstairs are second-run Hollywood movies, while the space downstairs screens X-rated films. The structure was built in 1930 and originally functioned as a playhouse before being converted into a theater in 1950.

Around Town

Ted Ibert by Ted Huber in front of the Grand Front Osaka Shopping and Business Mall near the Umeda Tower. He usually sits alone and is dressed seasonally.

Osaka, Japan, will be the site of the 2025 World Expo, and they are already gearing up with advertising and manhole covers.

As I mentioned, I was here for the Illuminations and the food. Here is a very small collection of illuminations from Osaka Castle. The food will be another post.

A Shachihoko

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The Food and Osaka

Japan, Osaka

Dec 132023

December 2023

Long-standing stereotypes about Kansai (Western Japan) folks run as follows: Kyoto-ites spend their money on clothes, Kobe people on shoes, and Osakans blow all their cash on food.

If this trip is any indication, that is very true. There are several food areas in Osaka, and they are as entertaining as they are filled with delicious food.

The signage is as delicious as the food.

Shinsekai

Shinsekai is a very old neighborhood in the “Minami” area of Osaka. It was created in 1912 with New York (specifically, Coney Island) as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. Luna Park amusement park operated here from 1912 until it closed in 1923. The centerpiece of the neighborhood was and is Tsutenkaku Tower, the “tower reaching to heaven”.

There are several of these “Billiken” all throughout the Shensekai food district of Osaka.

Billiken is a ‘god’ – specifically, he’s the ‘God of the Way Things Ought to Be.’

The reason for this “god” is mired in the unknown. The figure was originally created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz of Kansas City, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream. It’s said that the first Billiken came to Osaka as an exhibit representing America in the Luna Park theme park that was built in Shinsekai in the early 1900s. From there, the trail is murky at best, but you will find them everywhere in Shensekai.

Tsutenkaku Tower

The current Tsutenkaku tower is the second to occupy the site. The original tower, patterned after the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, was built in 1912 and was connected to the adjacent amusement park, Luna Park, by an aerial cable car.

The original structure suffered a fire in 1943, which severely damaged it, and rather than repair the structure, it was disassembled, and the steel was used for the war effort.

This area is edgy but safe. It is considered the most dangerous area in Osaka if there even is such a place in Japan. However, it is where Japanese homeless men, running away from the stigma of homelessness in their own hometowns, do tend to congregate.

Taking pictures of food has never been my thing, but if there’s one food that’s entirely associated with Osaka, it’s the fried and diced octopus balls known as takoyaki.

The best way to understand and enjoy the food of Shensekai is a food tour. There is just too much to take in on one’s own.

As I mentioned, I am not one to take photos of food, but the signage and the street life are another thing.

Dotonbori

Dotonbori is known as one of Osaka’s principal tourist and nightlife areas. The area runs along the Dōtonbori canal from Dōtonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge. Historically a theater district, it is now a popular nightlife and entertainment area characterized by its eccentric atmosphere and large illuminated signboards.

Ebisu Tower

Ebisu Tower is a Ferris wheel built into the facade of the Dotonbori Don Quijote store. Don Quijote stores are an experience of cheap goods, overwhelming music, lights, action, and insanity. Ebisu is the god of fishermen and luck.

This is the home of the famous kushikatsu, (deep-fried skewered meats and vegetables. Their mascot is Daruma an ‘angry’ man holding two skewers in the shape of an X. Crossing your arms like an X is a Japanese way of signaling the word “no”. The angry man is telling all of his customers the cardinal rule of eating kushikatsu: under no circumstances should you ever double-dip your skewer into the tangy black sauce.

A long line for Takoyaki