We saw the Umeda Sky Building today, which was just as epic as we had imagined.

I was surprised to learn that Kira was afraid of heights and Kristin had vertigo. They were a bit nervous on the way up the glass elevator but got accustomed to the height once they were on top.

Some things that were surprising about the building:

1. On the interior, there are posters of towers throughout history. It starts with the Tower of Babel and continues through the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, and so on, which all seems expected until it transitions into some Newt Gingrich style science fiction.

2. It had a love theme.

Visitors could buy these and lock them on a designated area on the Floating Garden Observatory (which is not really a garden).

Photo by hslo

Plaques from all the couples who have been married in the Umeda Sky Building

This bench and the floor tiles act as a love meter – the tiles light up to indicate how strong the couple’s love is. (photo: kyokichi17)