The Kuchu Teien (“Sky Garden”) links the twin towers of the Umeda Sky Building at the very top, more than 170 meters above the ground. Its futuristic architecture and appearance are designed to inspire visitors to “look to the stars.”

Journey into the Sky

The Kuchu Teien experience begins at the Departure Gate on the third floor of the Umeda Sky Building, where the walls are covered with quotations about the sky from classical literature—ranging from the Rig Veda and Gulliver’s Travels to Miyazawa Kenji’s Night on the Galactic Railroad. The first elevator ride takes visitors to the building’s 35th floor, adorned with cloud-covered “sky walls.”

Next come the tube escalators, ultramodern corridors of steel and glass that are visible from the ground far below. They cross some 40 meters of open space between the towers to reach the restaurants, bars, and souvenir shop of the 39th-floor Sky Lobby.

Above the Sky Lobby on the 40th floor is a circular gallery with 360-degree views of Osaka. Visitors can stroll around the gallery to find their preferred angle, then take a seat and admire the view. A cafe on this floor serves light meals, fresh-roasted coffee, and a wide selection of beers.

Finally, on the rooftop is the Sky Walk, an open-air circular gallery with the best views of all. To the north lies the Yodogawa River and an expanse of city that stretches to the mountains beyond. Osaka Bay to the west is especially picturesque at sunset, and Osaka’s bustling southern neighborhoods light up the scene after dark with their neon nightscapes.

From a Shining Future . . .

Futurism is the dominant theme throughout the upper reaches of the Umeda Sky Building. The inner walls of the 40th-floor gallery explain the philosophy behind the building with panels that trace humanity’s dreams of the sky, from ancient ziggurats and pyramids up to modern times and beyond. The Sky Building itself, completed in 1993, is positioned just two-thirds of the way through the timeline, which continues with space elevators, orbiting habitats, and finally, self-supporting cities in the sky.

The observatory section at the top was hoisted up from the ground on four wire ropes, a never-before-attempted construction method. Its open inner circle is lined with gleaming panels of glass to evoke the space left by a departing starship. This hypothetical interstellar vehicle is never depicted in any of the concept art, but there is related imagery throughout the Kuchu Teien interior, even on individual light fixtures, that hints at a possible design.

. . . to a Fondly Remembered Past

By contrast with the forward-looking Kuchu Teien, the basement of the Umeda Sky Building holds a nostalgically reenacted slice of the past called Takimi Koji (“Waterfall-Viewing Alley”). This retro restaurant row is modeled on the 1920s ambience of Hozenji Yokocho, a well-known backstreet in southern Osaka’s Dotonbori district. Eye-catching memorabilia like an early three-wheeled car and a life-sized diorama of a classic 1950s living room set the stage for establishments serving typical Osaka cuisine. Even the restrooms recall the past: they are modeled after traditional-style public bathhouses, complete with paintings of Mt. Fuji on the tiled walls.

The neighborhood around the base of the Umeda Sky Building is of particular interest to architecture buffs and urbanists. Just northeast of the building stands the Wall of Hope, a 78-meter-long, 9-meter-high block of leafy foliage designed by renowned contemporary architect Ando Tadao. West of this, to the building’s north, is New Satoyama, a native-species-only concept garden with small patches set aside for local kindergarten and elementary students to grow their own vegetables and rice. Southeast of the building, the Island Garden is designed to serve as a “natural oasis” amid the high-rise architecture, with sights including a small “reverse waterfall” that flows from bottom to top and a larger waterfall that can be seen from inside Takimi Koji.

Information

• Name

  Kuchu Teien Observatory, Umeda Sky Building

• Address

  Umeda Sky Building, 1-1-88 Oyodonaka, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka 531-6039

• Business Hours

  9:30-22:30 (last entry 22:00)

• Holiday

  No fixed holidays

• Telephone

  06-6440-3855

Hozenji Yokocho (“Hozenji Temple Alley”) is a quiet cobblestoned backstreet of muted red lanterns and stylish kappo restaurants, just around the corner from the bright lights and bustling crowds of the Dotonbori district.

The alley extends west from the northwest corner of the Sennichimae district, which lies south of the Dotonbori Canal. “Sennichi Temple” was a nickname for Hozenji Temple, referring to the belief that daily prayer there for a thousand days (sennichi) would lead to requests being granted, and “Sennichimae” means “In front of Sennichi.” For many centuries, Sennichimae was a gloomy neighborhood dominated by a cemetery and execution ground, but around 1870 these were moved to other sites. The vacated space quickly filled with movie theaters, rakugo storytelling houses, and cheap restaurants catering to students and laborers. Soon Sennichimae became the more casual and inexpensive alternative to the kabuki theaters closer to the Dotonbori Canal.

Hidden away off the main thoroughfare, Hozenji Yokocho evolved into a placid retreat for a more refined clientele. As popular tastes shifted increasingly to movies, the alley’s two rakugo theaters quietly upheld traditions that had entertained generations of Osaka citizens with verbal virtuosity. In the bars and restaurants of Hozenji Yokocho, rakugo storytellers mingled freely with patrons of their art, along with actors from the theaters of Dotonbori.

Classic Hozenji Yokocho restaurants feature kappo “cut and cook” cuisine, which offers the culinary sophistication of traditional multi-course kaiseki-ryori in a more intimate, less formal atmosphere, usually with counter seating.

Mossy Statue, Handwritten Signs

As Dotonbori businesses became known over the decades for extravagant, eye-catching signage, Hozenji Yokocho embraced a more understated aesthetic, remaining an alley of wooden storefronts and unobtrusive red lanterns instead of neon signs.

At the western end of the street, outside the temple, stands a statue of the Buddhist guardian deity Fudo Myo-o (Acala), covered with a thick coat of green moss. This moss is kept fresh and healthy by a steady stream of worshipers who scoop fresh spring water onto the statue before praying for success in commercial endeavors.

The east and west entrances to Hozenji Yokocho are marked by large wooden signs in calligraphy by local luminaries—to the east, rakugo master Katsura Harudanji III; to the west, Fujiyama Kanbi, comic actor of stage and screen. Fujiyama’s sign is famous for a missing stroke in the character for zen (meaning “good”), and many explanations have been offered for why. Some say it tacitly urges patrons to ask their bartender for “one more!” while others claim that Fujiyama himself cheekily remarked, “I’m not that good” as he took up the brush. The true reason is lost to history.

Information

• Name

  Hozenji Yokocho

• Address

  Near Namba Icchome, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi

• Business Hours

  Varies by store

• Holiday

  Varies by store

A cruise up and down the Dotonbori Canal provides an eye-opening look at the popular shopping and dining district from a nostalgic, pre-automobile perspective.

Osaka has been a nexus for transport and trade since ancient times, connecting sea and overland routes near the center of the Japanese archipelago. Its natural river system has been augmented over the centuries by a network of canals to move goods and people more smoothly. By early modern times, Osaka was known as the “city of 808 bridges.” Its waterways bustled with barges and pleasure craft well into the twentieth century.

With the rise of motorized transport after the end of World War II, much of this traffic shifted to the road system, and Osaka’s waterways lost their place at the heart of civic life. To reverse this trend and reclaim Osaka’s heritage as Japan’s “water capital” (suito), the city launched a campaign in 2001 to revive the pleasures of waterfront life for visitors and residents alike.

Metropolis from the Waterline

A short river cruise reveals the Osaka cityscape from a fresh point of view. By day, the rivers and canals sparkle in the sun. As night falls, the waters take on an air of mystery, reflecting the streetlights and neon signs of the city or the reds and golds of sunset in the harbor.

There are chartered cruises along the shores of Nakanoshima and its iconic architecture, around Osaka Bay, and past Osaka Castle further inland. One popular option runs along the Dotonbori Canal, under Ebisu-bashi Bridge, and past landmarks like Glico’s “Running Man” sign, led by a guide who keeps up a steady commentary in Osaka-ben dialect.

Bridges of Dotonbori

A Dotonbori Canal cruise reveals the great variety of the canal’s bridges. Apart from Nippon-bashi Bridge, which was built by the Tokugawa shogunate as a public works project in the early seventeenth century, every bridge across the canal was originally constructed by a private citizen hoping to transport goods or attract customers more efficiently.

Ebisu-bashi Bridge was originally built around the same time as the canal, which was completed in 1615. The bridge appears regularly in sightseeing guides and illustrations from the early modern period and remains the neon-lit hub of the district today. In 2007, it was rebuilt with a circular plaza at the center to accommodate the huge volume of visitors—and, in a nod to Osaka’s foodways, the railings are shaped like okonomiyaki spatulas.

Ukiniwa-bashi Bridge, on the other hand, is a recent addition: a pedestrian span built in 2008 to connect the Horie district to the canal’s southern shore. “Ukiniwa” means “floating garden,” and the bridge is covered with vines and other plants, a quasi-park suspended above the water.

Information

• Name

  Cruising the Dotonbori Canal

• Address

  Soemoncho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City

• Business Hours

  11:00-21:00 Departs every hour at 00 and 30 minutes

• Holiday

  Please check the facility website for the latest information.

Dotonbori is one of Osaka’s most celebrated dining and entertainment districts. Its restaurants cover the full spectrum of the city’s food culture, from regional favorites like takoyaki and kushikatsu to ramen, udon, and sushi in the local style. The vivid, eye-catching signage these establishments use to vie for attention has become an attraction in its own right.

The Kabuki Quarter

Dotonbori began as a seventeenth-century project to dig a new artificial canal. Several Osaka entrepreneurs pooled their resources for the project, including one Yasui Doton. Records are sparse, but it seems that the development was named in tribute to Doton after he died in the 1615 Siege of Osaka.

In 1626, Yasui Kyubei, one of Doton’s collaborators, was granted permission by officials to transfer a nearby theater district to the banks of the new canal. This brought immediate success. Theaters for entertainment, teahouses for private meetings, and dining options catering to hungry visitors of every appetite soon lined the canal and the streets that ran alongside it. Wealthy merchants would glide up the canal in their boats and dock directly outside their establishment of choice. For centuries, travel guides assured visitors that there was no theater district in all Japan to rival Dotonbori.

The largest and best-known theaters, which lined the canal’s southern bank, were known as the “Five Playhouses” (Goza). Of these, Naka-za and Kaku-za were the most prestigious, staging only kabuki performances. Benten-za began as the Takeda Theater, wowing audiences with intricate clockwork automata. Takemoto-za and Toyotake-za were bunraku puppet theaters whose fierce rivalry produced masterpieces like Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s Love Suicides at Sonezaki, which debuted at Takemoto-za in 1703.

During the twentieth century, the playhouses of Dotonbori struggled with the shift in public tastes with the onset of the age of cinema. Asahi-za converted itself to a movie theater, and other playhouses, out of desperation, began to show movies between dramatic productions. These changes were not enough, however, and one by one, the Five Playhouses closed their doors and new tenants moved into their iconic buildings. The last holdout was Naka-za, which staged its final performance in 1999. (Shochiku-za is a newer theater—it opened in 1923 as a movie and revue theater in the Art Deco style and pivoted to kabuki and traditional performing arts in 1999.)

Dine Till You Drop

Throughout this period of upheaval, the restaurants of Dotonbori continued to thrive and were augmented in the 1920s and 1930s by a wave of cafes that brought European sensibilities and American jazz to the neighborhood. Today, the Dotonbori area remains the standard-bearer for Osaka’s famous kuidaore (“dine till you drop”) culture. While the options are nearly limitless, the most popular Osaka specialties are kushikatsu, fried meat and vegetables on skewers served with tangy dipping sauce; takoyaki and okonomiyaki, hot off the griddle and generously topped with mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and nori sprinkles; and Osaka-style soft udon in mild dashi broth.

Signage and the Battle for Attention

Standing out is everything in a town built on art and commerce like Osaka. The restaurants of Dotonbori know this dictum well, competing for attention with a riot of neon signage and enormous 3D signs. Some of these signs have gained fame across Japan and even overseas, like Glico’s “Running Man” beside Ebisu-bashi Bridge, the enormous pincer-snapping crab on Kani Doraku’s facade around the corner, and Kushikatsu Daruma’s scowling chef, whose glare is a reminder to only dip your kushikatsu skewer once, before you take a bite. By night these signs are dazzling and intense, and in the light of day they add a note of cheer to the busy but friendly streetscape where there is something new to discover on every visit.

A Patchwork of Local Color

Every one of the streets and arcades that make up the Dotonbori district has its own character. The Kuromon Ichiba market is a spacious covered arcade where fresh fish and produce are always available. Ebisubashi-Suji is filled with fashion boutiques and shops selling sweet confections. Doguya-Suji, at the southern end of Sennichimae, is an entire neighborhood that caters to the needs of restaurateurs, with stores specializing in utensils, interior furnishings, and even plastic food samples.

South of Sennichimae lies the area known as Ura-Nanba. The narrower streets there create a more intimate, alluring atmosphere, and fashionable cocktail bars and retro izakaya pubs offer sophisticated, adventurous takes on Osaka cuisine.

Information

• Name

  Dotonbori

• Address

  Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka

• Business Hours

  Varies by store

• Holiday

  Varies by store