The lit tower
Shinsekai's symbol.
Mc681 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · DVMG — CC BY 3.0 · lumoplank — CC0 · DVMG — CC BY 3.0 · DVMG — CC BY 3.0 · original data uproaded by JEXP, retouched and trimmed by Kansai explorer — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · そらみみ — CC BY-SA 4.0
A tower and Osaka landmark in the Shinsekai district, its name meaning «Tower Reaching Heaven». It stands 108 metres tall, with its main observation deck at 91 metres. The first tower was built in 1912, modelled on the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, and linked to a neighbouring amusement park by a cable car; at 64 metres it was then the second-tallest structure in Asia. It was damaged by fire in 1943 and dismantled for its steel in the war, and after the war the people of Osaka campaigned to rebuild it as the present tower. Shinsekai («New World»), where it stands, was laid out in 1912, its southern half modelled on New York and its northern half on Paris. It keeps an old-fashioned feel with colourful signs and popular restaurants, famous for kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers), and the tower houses Billiken, Osaka's god of good luck. The deck costs about 1,200 yen and opens 9:00-22:00, per visitor guides. The district is at its liveliest in the evening lights; take some care in its side streets at night.
Shinsekai's symbol.
Fried skewers.
For good luck.
Shinsekai, Naniwa ward
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