Umeda Sky Tower

As someone who does not greatly enjoy the effects of vertigo, I should perhaps have undertaken a little more research before venturing to the top of the Umeda Sky Tower. Strangely enough the actual viewing area at the top, for some inexplicable reason known as the Floating Garden (though there is not a leaf of vegetation, nor even an artistically construed heap of rocks), is not particularly fear-inspiring. It is the glass elevator which is the problem. You enter in darkness and suddenly find yourself propelled into the abyss as the lift shaft emerges into daylight and you are left with not a solid wall to cling on to. The upside of course is the fantastic view from the bar(s) including the planes flying into Itami, weaving their way around the densely packed urban landscape; makes you realise why they needed to build KIX. In the basement you will find a tranquil garden and a rather clichéd fake old town with a pretty impressive selection of eateries, including one of the better sushi bars I came across in my short stay in Osaka.