# Osaka, Japan



## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Let's see what happens to my photobucket bandwith :lol:

I will start with some pictures of the North Osaka skyline I took from the upper floors of buildings in the Osaka Station/Umeda area. 




















































































































































































































































































































































































Later I will show street level photos of this neighbourhood, and then other Osaka neighbourhoods.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Very nice photos from Osaka @HirakataShi


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## dutchmaster (May 23, 2007)

Very boring at this point of vieww..what about street level pics?!? 

[]'s


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Good overview of Osaka! It is interesting to see photos from above, just like it is interesting to see pictures from street level.


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## Munichpictures1970 (Aug 2, 2007)

Wow, interesting pictures. Thx for sharing!


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## Assemblage23 (Jan 6, 2008)

Great pictures.

I need to see more pictures of Japan's Second City. How is the streetlife there?


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Very interesting aerial shots there .


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## corredor06 (Oct 13, 2008)

Nice aerial shots


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## Parisian Girl (Nov 6, 2007)

Great shots! :cheers:

A friend of mine once described Osaka as the Sao Paulo of Japan.


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## rajesh jagetia (Aug 1, 2009)

Great skyline, nice city.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

I guess I'll start North and progressively move South. 

These are the street level photos of the Umeda/Osaka Station area.

This is the Umeda 2chome area - lots of designer brands, expensive hotels, and expensive restaurants.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

These are some street level photos of Eastern Umeda near the Hanshin and Hankyu Department stores.

This part of Umeda is more popular with youths and common folk - it too has a lot of shopping and dining, but is more affordable.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

South of Osaka Station


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## Pule (May 18, 2004)

Nice pics buddy, Osaka is really lovely.


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## Nick.Yeah (Dec 7, 2006)

Ah, Osaka, my favourite city. I miss it so much! Fantastic photos, mate.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

I guess we'll go east first before heading south. 

These are some pictures taken along the Okawa river between Kita-ku and Miyakojima-ku in North Eastern Osaka.

This area is maybe around a dozen kilometres east of Umeda.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2009)

WOW, Osaka is intense mate :nuts: AWESOME STUFF ! Welcome to Urban Showcase  btw - the pics are gr8


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

^^ Thanks. I wish more people would show this city some love. So here goes another batch of uploads.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Moving south of Umeda, here are some photos of the Nakanoshima area and Tosabori road. This area forms the border of the Kita(north) and Chuo (central) wards of Osaka.

*Looking North Toward Umeda.*










*All along the Tosabori river*




























































































*Side view of the Bank of Japan, Osaka Branch*










*Osaka City Hall*


























*










The Central Banquet Hall*



















*Now along Tosabori Road, from Yotsubashi to Tenjinbashi avenues, West to East*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

And some more Nakanoshima. The pictures above were mostly of the eastern part of the Island. 

Here are some photos taken from the western part.

*The National Museum of Art in Osaka and Osaka Science Museum*















































*The N4 - a new apartment on Nakanoshima island*




























*Some other apartments near the National Museum of Art and Osaka Science Museum*





































*Scrapers*























































*Sculptures*














































*More shots from along the Tosabori river*


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## Cartel (Aug 26, 2005)

I like! Thanks for all the pics man.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Up until now the pictures I've shown have been of the Northern *(Kita)* areas of Osaka. While Northern Osaka is dense, it isn't the main area of the city. Here I'll post pictures of the Financial District (from Kitahama/Yodoyabashi to Honmachi/Sakaisuji Honmachi - North to South). Later I'll show the Namba/Shinsaibashi areas, *(Minami)*, considered to be Osaka's main "downtown".

*Starting at Kitahama*

*Let's look North a few more times* -




























*And back down South to Central Osaka and the Financial District*










*The Osaka Securities Exchange:*




























*Kosei Securities*




























*Scenes of the Northern limit of the Financial District:*



















*Itochu - a major trading company:*




























*Further south in the Financial District*






















































































































*The Heart of the Financial District:*




































































































*Resona Bank*



















*Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation*




























*More Street Scenes*


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Amazing photos!


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Let's take a bit of a detour. Here are some pictures of the Bay Area. Most cities with bay views build luxury apartments and entertainment complexes by the bay. Historically Osaka's bay area has been strictly industrial. Over the last 5 years Osaka has tried to "correct" this terrible faux pas. This area is called "Cosmosquare". It is in the South West part of the city.

*Cosmo Square*








*
Looking toward the city from CosmoSquare*









*The area around the station:*

















































































*The Asian Trade Centre*






















































*
The World Trade Centre*


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2009)

Gr8 updates, I am glad to see that your perseverance is still intact  Japan fascinates me, especially from a design perspective. Thanks mate


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## pro77 (Nov 26, 2008)

Nice modern city!


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Back to the city proper. 

Nagahori dori is a major East-West street that separates the northern part of Osaka Proper (areas like Umeda and Honmachi shown already in this thread) from the southern part of Osaka Proper (Namba - which I will show later). Many retailers like Luis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Dunhill, and auto retailers like Audi, Fiat, Porsche etc... have shops along Nagahori dori. Here are photos of this major street, starting from the West moving to the East.

*
Nagahori dori and Shin Naniwa suji in the West-end*

The Ward office for Nishi-ku (West Ward) is here





































*
Nagahori dori and Naniwa suji*

Audi, Porsche, Fiat, BMW and other European auto companies have shops in this area. This area is also known for neighbourhoods like Kita Horie and Shin machi, popular among DINKs.













































































































































































*Nagahori dori and Midosuji*
Midosuji (a north - south street) hits many of the prime areas of the city. The intersection of Nagahori dori and Midosuji hosts many high-end retailers like Luis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, etc....

















































































































































































































*Shinsaibashi *

Near Nagahori dori and Midosuji is an area called Shinsaibashi. Many nightclubs, bars, boutiques, restaurants, cafes etc... can be found here (as well as in Kita Horie a bit to the West of Shinsaibashi). This area also has a large Shopping Arcade (商店街　sho-ten-gai in Japanese). 














































































































*Nagahori dori and Sakai suji*

This area has mostly hotels and offices.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

*Nagahori dori and Matsuyamachi*

The areas along Nagahori dori east of Matsuyamachi are less commercial in nature and more residential.



















































































*Nagahori dori and Tamatsukuri*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

The same vicinity as the Western areas of Nagahori dori. 
Here are some photos of Orange Street (an area with many furniture and clothing stores popular among people in their 20s), America Mura (music stores, nightclubs, cos-play, and hip hop), and Kita Horie (DINKs). I'll show photos of these same area later.

*Orange Street*

































































* America mura * (more later)




























* Kita Horie*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

*Can't get rid of my thread that easily*

And here's Namba


Walking along Midosuji South toward Nankai Namba Station









































































*
A quick detour through the Dotonbori area - famous for great restaurants*



















































































*A typical Namba back alley *




























*
Namba Kabuki Theatre*





































*Around Nankai Namba Station*



















































































*Western Namba*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

The Namba Parks Shopping Complex
































































































































*City views from Namba
*


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## Assemblage23 (Jan 6, 2008)

I'm loving this thread.

Do you have pictures of the Metro System in Osaka? How are the stations like?


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

^^ I will take pictures of the subways, trains and underground shopping complexes of Osaka.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

For now, here are some more pictures of the Kita Horie/ Shinmachi area I introduced earlier.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Time to bump you again. :banana:

Here are some more photos of Kita Horie and Shinmachi from above-street level.


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## Shezan (Jun 21, 2007)

nice architectures


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

Nice photos.

The people of Osaka have a reputation of being more down to earth and extroverted than in Tokyo, how do you feel about that?


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

People in Osaka are certainly more expressive than people in Tokyo. They don't conceal their emotions as much. 

Small and medium sized businesses also account for a larger portion of the economic activity here. That might be why Osakans are known to haggle over prices (something you don't see elsewhere in Japan).


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

On the Far North Side of Osaka is Shin Osaka Station 新大阪駅. The JR Bullet Train runs through this station. Here are a few photos I took inside and outside of the station.

*
Outside:*






































*Inside:*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Back up you go. :banana2:

North of the Kita Horie/Shinmachi area (but still in Nishi-ku) is an area called *Awaza*. As you'll be able to tell from the photos, several major roads pass through this area. 


















































































































































*Looking East*
This area may look familiar. We're at the northern edge of Nishi-ku looking at Nakanoshima again. 






































*Heading back south to Awaza*


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

HirakataShi said:


> People in Osaka are certainly more expressive than people in Tokyo. They don't conceal their emotions as much.
> 
> Small and medium sized businesses also account for a larger portion of the economic activity here. That might be why Osakans are known to haggle over prices (something you don't see elsewhere in Japan).


Well if I ever go to Japan, Osaka will be on top of the list


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

More America Mura and Kita/Minami Horie pictures.

Let's start with Kita Horie:
























































*And America Mura*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

扇町公園　Ogimachi Park 

We're back in Kita-ku




















*There are kids climbing around in here*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

:chill: *It's getting colder in Osaka.*


Here are some pictures of Tanimachi suji. Tanimachi suji is a major North-South street in the East of Osaka.

Beginning North, working my way South:

*The NHK Osaka building and Osaka History Museum (Near Osaka Castle)*


















































































*Other buildings in the vicinity:*



























*
Osaka Castle in the distance:*










*The Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters*




















*Tanimachi 4chome*





































































































*Tanimachi 6chome*

































































*Tanimachi 7chome - many temples in this area*




























































































*Tanimachi 9chome*


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## D.D. (Nov 26, 2007)

nice pictures, it seems to me that osaka is more laid back that Tokyo.. and by that I mean less congested... It is interesting to visit osaka and I also like the fact that alot of its citizens use the bicycle :happy:


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## KruEv (Sep 28, 2008)

not bad


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Some music to listen to while looking at the following pics: 






Beginning with Dotonbori suji (famous for cheap but delicious food) ending with Nipponbashi (electronics and duty free):

*Dotonbori suji*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

*A change of scenery*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

*The Namba Nankai station area again*














































*Would you like to buy electronic gadgets?*




























*Nipponbashi*


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## tonyssa (Aug 14, 2007)

Very nice photos!


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

:nono:

A few pictures taken from inside of and around train stations.

*Shinsaibashi
*




























*Umeda/ Osaka Station*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Near the Osaka Station area. Hep Five/ Hep Navio and Chayamachi are popular spots for young people.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

^^ That was the Northside (Kita-ku)

Now back to Kita Horie (on the West Side) :cheer::cheer:


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

And Namba (from Yotsubashi suji)


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

too quiet. 

A rainy day in Osaka today. As you can see in the photos....

These photos were taken in the Tanimachi 1 and 2chome areas (North East part of the the CBD)


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Street level



















*This is what a high school in Osaka looks like:*


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## ReiAyanami (May 14, 2008)

Love them!! :happy:


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Back to the west end. These photos were taken near Nishi Honmachi and Honmachi (the CBD):

*Along Yotsubashi suji:*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

*Along Chuo odori and Honmachi odori*


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Went to Fukushima-ku (just west of the Osaka Station/Umeda area). A lot of the pictures are of the Osaka Station/Umeda area taken from Fukushima.

































































































































*This is a school*


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## flesh_is_weak (Jun 16, 2006)

i plan to go there, not because of the sights, but because im a fan of Japan's crazy culture--no racial slurs intended, trust me, most of my friends are Japanese, and i say crazy in a good way


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

How is crazy supposed to be good? 
hno:


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

More Umeda/Osaka Station photos, taken from the Hanshin Department Store rooftop. 

There's a lot of construction going on all around the station area. I've only captured some of it in these photos.


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Deep south in Osaka city is another business node called Tennoji 天王寺. I should get more photos of this area, but this is what I have so far.

*Tennoji Station*
































































*You can get a brief view of Namba from Tennoji*





































*Like everywhere in Osaka these days, they're building all kinds of who knows what in Tennoji too. *


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Back to the centre-city, 
Views of the North, East and South taken from the rooftop of Daimaru department store in Shinsaibashi:

*North:*























































*
East:*





























*There's Namba:*


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## Sunland (Oct 20, 2007)

:nuts: Wow Osaka is one dense city. Great pictures.


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## Noodles7 (Jan 18, 2008)

[/url]IMAG3344 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG3345 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG3264 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG3346 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG3347 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG3349 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

^^ Are those your photos? This section is ONLY for your photos, not Flickr farmed photos from other people.


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## Noodles7 (Jan 18, 2008)

Yes they're my photos. I took them in October and forgot to post them.
Here are a few more:







[/url]IMAG4459 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG4428 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG4371 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]







[/url]IMAG4365 by sonija791012, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## aljuarez (Mar 16, 2005)

Awesome! I was there over ten years ago, before many of those new developments even started. I confess my heart belongs to Tokyo, but I definitely have to revisit Osaka! I like that you tell us the names of the areas and appreciate the comprehensive tour! :cheers:


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## Noodles7 (Jan 18, 2008)

IMAG4315 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr

IMAG4324 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr

IMAG4334 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr

IMAG4335 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr

IMAG4344 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr

IMAG4366 by Noodlestaiwan7, on Flickr


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Amazing shots!


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Great updates! Want to go to Osaka, but haven't even been to Tokyo yet.


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## Noodles7 (Jan 18, 2008)

You should try and go to both Osaka and Tokyo in the same trip. They're both great cities and it's also a great excuse to take the Shinkansen


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Noodles7 said:


> You should try and go to both Osaka and Tokyo in the same trip. They're both great cities and it's also a great excuse to take the Shinkansen


Yes but Tokyo has so much to see and require at least a week so may be it would be too much plan to plan all these cities? Cause when visiting Tokyo you have to go to Yokohama cause it's nearby and when visiting Osaka you have to go to Kyoto (and perhaps Kobe too). And Nagoya is in between...Or do you think all these four-six cities could fit on two weeks? :lol: Shinkansen seems cool, though very expensive I heard! :nuts:


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## spin_dive (May 16, 2011)

Nightsky said:


> Yes but Tokyo has so much to see and require at least a week so may be it would be too much plan to plan all these cities? Cause when visiting Tokyo you have to go to Yokohama cause it's nearby and when visiting Osaka you have to go to Kyoto (and perhaps Kobe too). And Nagoya is in between...Or do you think all these four-six cities could fit on two weeks? :lol: Shinkansen seems cool, though very expensive I heard! :nuts:


With the Rail Pass the price is manageable.


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## Aconcagua 9 (Jun 28, 2013)

*Nakanoshima Festival Tower 200m*

Do anyone knows if it's possible, for a tourist, to go to the top of Nakanoshima Festival Tower (like the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Tokyo)? 

I found this page with lots of photos from the top:

http://blog.osakanight.com/article/eid575.html


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

The roof was only open for 1 weekend as part of an architecture festival. 

The link to the website of the festival is at the start of the blog post. 
http://ikenchiku.jp/


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## Oasis-Bangkok (Apr 24, 2009)

Osaka Museum & NHK Building










Osaka Museum & NHK Building by YJ1958, on Flickr


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## lusorod (Mar 3, 2008)

Hey Guys check out my vlog on USJ in Osaka Japan, one my favorite theme parks in one fo my all time favorite cities! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! Please drop a like, share and subscribe! Cheers!


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## aljuarez (Mar 16, 2005)

Cool video!!


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