Tsutenkaku Tower

The current Tsutenkaku Tower is the second generation, and was completed in 1956. It is 108 meters high including the lightning rod (the tower itself is 100 meters high). The official character is “Billiken.

From the fifth-floor observatory, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of Osaka, and there is a statue of Billiken, a god who is said to bring good luck if you stroke the sole of his foot.

Billiken is mounted on a pedestal with the English phrase “THE GOD OF THINGS AS THEY OUGHT TO BE” meaning “Almighty God.

The round neon light atop Tsutenkaku is also known as a “light” weather forecasting device, using a combination of colors to inform visitors of tomorrow’s weather (white = sunny, orange = cloudy, blue = rainy).

The first Tsutenkaku Tower was built in 1912 as a symbol of the New World, an Eiffel Tower-style steel tower on top of a building with a triumphal arch motif.

At 64 meters tall, this steel tower was the tallest in the East at the time, and was named “Tsutenkaku” by Nangaku Fujisawa, a Confucian scholar in the early Meiji period, meaning “a tall building leading to heaven.

This steel tower, the tallest in the East at the time, was named “Tsutenkaku,” meaning “a tall building leading to the sky. Later, it was demolished after being wrecked by fire in 1943.

In 2022, a slider called “TOWER SLIDER” was installed. It is a stainless steel slide that goes from the middle observation deck (22 meters above ground) to the “exit” (exit) on the first basement floor at an angle of 30 degrees, with a total length of approximately 60 meters.

The transparent heat-shielding polycarbonate plate allows visitors to look up at Tsutenkaku Tower from the ceiling while sliding down the slide, which takes about 10 seconds.