Umeda Sky Building

Umeda

Umeda is roughly 15 minutes away from Dotonbori by train, and is another entertainment district with plenty of shops, restaurants, and hotels. Umeda is the main transport and business hub of Osaka and is considered a more high-end area. There’s rooftop restaurants, beer gardens, and ritzy stores. The vibe is different than Dotonbori, but there’s still a lot of fun things to do without breaking the bank.

Osaka Station resides in Umeda, which is considered to be one of Japan’s most attractive stations. It gives access to almost all of Osaka and beyond, such as other prefectures like Nara and Kyoto. The station itself is mind boggling due to its size and Zach and I actually got lost every time we had to pass through here. Of course it isn’t nearly as dense as Tokyo stations, but it’s still impressively large. There’s a myriad of shops and restaurants in the station, as well as a cinema. We definitely spent some time here wandering through the stores and figuring out which restaurant to eat at!

The Umeda sky building is one of Osaka’s most well known buildings, and for good reason. This building is the 19th tallest in Japan and its design is captivating. Standing at 568ft (173m), Umeda Sky is composed of two towers that are connected by a circular observatory deck. The building was designed by Hiroshi Hara, who also designed Kyoto Station. Umeda Sky was completed in 1993, and was ranked in a UK article one of the “Top 20 Buildings Around The World.”

The building is 40 stories but Zach and I first took an elevator to the 35th floor. The elevator brought us up quickly and my ears really felt how high up we were. The cool part about getting to the 39th floor was the escalator. They actually cross between the two towers with nothing but 550ft below them. You can see this in the photo, the two beams going up into the circle are the escalators! While going up, it felt as if I were entering a spaceship or sci-fi movie. After the escalator, we bought our tickets (which were fairly expensive in my opinion, about ¥1,500 or $15).

On the 39th floor, there’s a cafe that sells bar snacks and alcohol. It was nice to have a little food and drink while staring out at the city view. There are windows around the entirety of this floor, so no matter where we went we always had a view of the city. There’s also a small room that explains how the Umeda Sky Building came to be with a short video and replicas. This was interesting considering the unique design of this building. Little gacha machines lined this room, where you can put a few hundred yen in and get a tiny replica of the sky building.

Plaques and replicas explaining how it was built.

The gacha machine. There’s 4 different types available: daytime view, nighttime view, crystal, and gold!

Floating Garden Observatory

This is the 40th floor that offers the best views. Despite the name, there are no plants or flowers here. This floor just connects both of the towers in a donut shape so guests can easily walk around and get a 360 view of Osaka. Zach and I decided to go during sunset, and it was the perfect time! The hues of pink and orange over the city were spectacular and we even got to see a nighttime view.

Heart Locks

Also on the 39th floor is a section where guests can purchase a heart lock. Zach and I did this and it made Umeda Sky Building the highlight of my Osaka trip. There’s a good amount of colors to choose from, and it’s quick and easy to do. Just fill out a form with both names and the date and it’s done! There are also other design options, such as a zodiac sign or a customized wish. Due to high demand, those who want one must apply online before coming to the building. We weren’t aware of this, so we quickly reserved a heart after our night outing and just came back the next day. Once we showed the e-reservation to the person at the counter, we had a heart lock in less than 5 minutes. We went up to the Floating Garden Observatory and locked it in place!