If you’ll travel back with me to Halloween… it had already been well over a month, so we decided it was time for another trip to the Pokémon Center! So, early one Saturday we packed our bags and wallets and headed back to Umeda.
I had my map with me this time, so we knew exactly which roads to take from the station to get over to the Umeda Sky Building, which we didn’t go up in the last time because we didn’t know that we could.
All around Umeda station they are doing construction, which in Japan is usually done behind large curtains covering the entire building. There typically aren’t many big cranes, but they must have wanted to complete this construction quickly…
I thought four cranes was a bit much, but if it gets the job done… Also note the happy train cartoon on the building advertsing Yodobashi camera. Yes, this is definitely still Japan.
We walked through an underground tunnel and there it was!
The sky building is an amazingly tall example of modern architecture that a lot of native Osakans think is an eyesore. I think it’s really cool though. They were putting up a huge Christmas tree at the bottom. Hey guys? It’s still Halloween….
Oh hey… I don’t see the Pokémon center anywhere. Hmm… Well, we’ll definitely be able to see it from the top of the Sky Building.
We took the elevator up 35 floors and looked out. The trains looked like toys from there.
But we weren’t at the top yet! Onto the glass escalator (which looks like it should take you into the future…)
Did I mention the escalator goes between the two towers of the building? They’re connected at the top… Don’t look down!
If you look closely in that curve of glass, you can see Cailyn and my reflections.
So when you reach the top of the escalator, you finally buy the tickets to go on the top of the building. They were a little pricey (700 yen!) but….
YOU GET TO GO OUTSIDE ON TOP OF THE BUILDING. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! (A Note to my mother: You could not go within 25 feet of the edge of the building. Please stop worrying now. Thanks.)
There are those cranes again…
It was kind of a foggy day. Ok. Let’s play a game. Can you spot Tommy Lee Jones in this picture? He’s there…
I watched a bit of a baseball game from really high up.
There’s the Hep 5 mall with the ferris wheel on top!
Oh hey…. I still don’t see the Pokemon center anywhere… Let’s ask this girl nearby who just happens to have a Turtwig bag! Do I really have to ask in Japanese? Ok… Her father takes us around the side of the building where I took the picture above. The dark glass building in the middle is the Umeda Center Building. The Pokemon Center is below the Umeda Center Building. We’re at the Umeda Sky Building. ….oops. But then a plane flew by on level with us! It was really cool.
We thanked the Japanese man profusely and headed down the escalator and the even scarier glass elevator to head further on our journey.
There was a Halloween display at the entrance, horribly contrasting with the huge Christmas tree. …Anybody know what these are?
I sure don’t…
After that, the Pokemon Center again!
The Hanshin Department store! (Complete with every kind of Hanshin Tigers memorabilia you could ever want)
Engrish!
And... lots of video games. You shouldn't expect anything less from me. I LOVE the huge Mario game.
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