Hotels near Umeda Sky Building

The Umeda Sky Building was designed by Hiroshi Hara (also the architect of Kyoto Station) and opened in 1993 as 2 connected 40-storey towers crowned by a Floating Garden Observatory at 173 metres. The observatory bridge linking the towers was installed in one piece using cranes - a notable engineering achievement at the time. Today the building is one of Osaka's most architecturally distinctive landmarks.

The observation deck is open-air - rare for high-rise buildings - and surrounds a central glass dome. The view spans the whole of Osaka including the castle, harbour, and on clear days the surrounding mountains. The basement level contains a recreated Showa-era (1920s-30s) Osaka shopping street with old-fashioned restaurants. Observation deck 1500 JPY adult; open 09:30-22:30 daily (last entry 22:00).

Pro Tip: The Lumi Sky Walk floor circle was added in 2018 - a 360-degree continuous walking ring with LED lights at floor level, best experienced at full dark after 19:30. Bring a light jacket - the open-air deck gets cold even in summer evenings.