Osaka Trip Part 14: Spiral Staircases around Umeda and Observatory in Osaka Station Third Building

[Introduction]

I traveled to Osaka in late September. This was my first visit to Osaka except for business trips. There are several things I missed doing, so I would like to revisit Osaka in the future. In this article, I will write about spiral staircases around Umeda and observatory in Osaka Station Third Building as part of Day 4.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Umeda
* Day 1: Nakanoshima
* Day 1: Nakanoshima (Light-up)
* Day 2: Osaka Castle
* Day 2: Abeno Harukas
* Day 2: Shinsekai
* Day 2: Abeno Harukas (Light-up)
* Day 3: Sumiyoshi Shrine
* Day 3: Namba
* Day 3: Amerikamura and Namba
* Day 3: Namba (Light-up)
* Day 4: Expo’70 Commemorative Park
* Day 4: Expo’70 Commemorative Park
* Day 4: Umeda [This article]
* Day 4: Umeda (Light-up)
* Day 5: Kaiyukan
* Day 5: Tempozan Marketplace
* Day 5: GLION MUSEUM & Return Home

[Travel Date]
2018.09.22-26

[Main Part]

Chayamachi Snaps

Following the previous post, I returned from Expo’70 Commemorative Park to Umeda. To begin with, I will walk around Chayamachi area, which is located in the north east of Umeda station.

“NU chayamachi”, a fashion building.

Chayamachi is know as a neighborhood for the youth and there were several art works around here.

Spiral Staircases at Asahi Plaza Umeda

Around Umeda area, there are several multi-tenant buildings that are famous for their spiral staircases among photo enthusiasts, so I will visit some of them. For example, “Asahi Plaza Umeda”, which was located near Chayamachi area.

Let’s get into the building.

I looked up.

I felt dizzy.

View from the top floor.

The black statue was also accented with the spiral staircase.

Spiral Staircases at Denen Building

I will visit another building that has a spiral staircase.

On the way to the building, I passed thorough “Sonezaki Ohatsu Tenjin-dori shopping district”.

I reached “Denen Building” at Kita-Shinchi area. There was a spiral staircase from the 1st floor to the basement.

I looked up.

Then, I looked down.

Osaka Station Third Building Observatory

Originally, I had planned to visit “KUCHU TEIEN OBSERVATORY” in Umeda Sky Building in the evening. As I mentioned in the first article of Osaka trip series, however, the observatory had been closed since early September (for 3 weeks) when Typhoon Jebi (Typhoon Number 21) hit Osaka.

So, I checked whether there are any other spots where visitors are able to enjoy night views and found “Osaka Station Third Building” has a free observatory.

Then, I dropped by “Osaka Station Third Building”.

I will revisit the building after dinner.

Kissa Madura

I stopped by “Kissa Madura”, a coffee shop, to have dinner.

“Kissa Madura” was opened in 1947 and the founder, who is now 98 years old, is still working at the cafe.

Inside the cafe.

I had sandwich and mixed juice.

Evening View of Osaka Station Third Building Observatory

I returned to Osaka Station Third Building Observatory and started to take sunset photos.

View of the opposite side.

It was getting dark while the lighting in the building was reflecting on the window.

Although I hoped to stay a little bit longer, I decided to leave the observatory as the reflection became stronger.

Evening Snaps in Umeda

I moved to JR Osaka station while taking snap photos on the way. For example, “HEP FIVE”, a shopping mall.

“Hankyu San Hiroba”.

“Hanshin Department Store”.

JR Osaka station came into view.

I reached JR Osaka station and took a photo of “Water Clock” first.

Then, I will go around JR Osaka station and write about it in the next article.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about spiral staircases around Umeda and observatory in Osaka Station Third Building as part of Day 4.

Although spiral staircases around Umeda and the observatory in Osaka Station Third Building are not popular tourists spots, I enjoyed them respectively more than I expected. I visited these places basically because I needed to change my itinerary due to the suspension of “KUCHU TEIEN OBSERVATORY” in Umeda Sky Building, but I realized such serendipity is one of the best part of traveling 🙂

In the next article, I will write about evening scene at JR Osaka station as part of Day 4.

[Map]

1 Asahi Plaza Umeda
2 Denen Building
3 Osaka Station Third Building
4 Kissa Madura

[Related Link]
Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau

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