Unspecified/General

Few structures sum up the spirit of a neighbourhood as completely as Tsutenkaku does for the Shinsekai quarter of Osaka, where the tower has loomed over the streets since 1956. An earlier version, raised in 1912 as the centrepiece of a brand-new entertainment district modelled partly on Paris and partly on New York's Coney Island, was lost during the Second World War when its metal was requisitioned, and the present 100-metre steel tower was built by local subscription to bring the landmark back. Its observation floors look out over the tightly packed lanes of the southern city, and inside sits its famous mascot, the impish good-luck god Billiken, whose upturned feet are worn smooth by the hands of visitors hoping for fortune. By night the tower's illuminated tip changes colour to hint at the coming weather, a homely touch that locals have relied on for years. The surrounding Shinsekai, once down-at-heel and now embraced for its unpretentious, old-fashioned charm, draws visitors with its glowing signs, pinball parlours and stalls selling the skewered, deep-fried kushikatsu for which the area is known, all gathered beneath the tower that gives the district its identity. The tower's observation floors are reached by lift, and a more recent addition is a slide that spirals down through several storeys for those seeking a more lively descent, while a glass-floored outdoor deck added in later renovations lets the bold look straight down over the streets. The good-luck god Billiken enshrined within, a pointed-headed figure of American origin that became a local favourite in the early twentieth century, is the object of a small ritual: visitors rub the soles of his feet in hope of good fortune, and the statue's feet are worn smooth by generations of hands. The lighting at the tower's summit has long doubled as a weather forecast, its colours signalling the conditions to come, a homely service the neighbourhood has come to rely upon. The Shinsekai district around the tower, built in the early twentieth century as a showcase of modern entertainment and later fallen on hard times, is now cherished for its unpolished, nostalgic charm, its narrow streets packed with cheap restaurants, glowing signs and the deep-fried skewers called kushikatsu. As the focal point of all this, Tsutenkaku remains one of the best-loved symbols of working-class Osaka.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 1-18-6 Ebisuhigashi, Keihanshin, Japan

Website: https://www.tsutenkaku.co.jp

Opening Date: 28/10/1956