Tsutenkaku Tower
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通天閣
Shinsekai is the place to experience the Osaka of old, and Tsutenkaku Tower is the defining landmark of the area.
Tsutenkaku Tower rises 108 meters at the heart of Osaka's Shinsekai district, a retro entertainment quarter that holds onto the city's postwar working-class identity better than anywhere else. The current tower was rebuilt in 1956, and its neon-lit profile has become inseparable from Osaka's image. Inside, you can rub the feet of Billiken, a grinning luck deity whose golden statue is said to grant wishes. The real reason to come, though, is Shinsekai itself: the surrounding streets of kushikatsu shops, game arcades, and faded signage feel like an alternate timeline where modern Japan never arrived.
The observation deck is underwhelming but the surrounding Shinsekai area is the real attraction. Rub Billiken's feet for luck.
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