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[personal profile] imomus
Here's a New Year's Day puzzle I've set myself. I'm not doing very well at it so far. I'm trying to locate the oddly-shaped Osaka building in the userpic you see above. It's a crop from an image Rhodri Marsden took from his hotel window when touring Japan with Scritti Politti in 2006:



Now, finding exact locations from skyline views is something I pride myself on. For instance, I was able to locate the Tokyo apartment I've just spent the last three weeks in before I was given a street address, just based on a view from the balcony and a combination of Google Maps and Google Streetview. But this one has me completely stumped, and it's crazy, because the photo shows lots of distinctive buildings.

Hisae's father thought the skinny-tall building on the right was the Cosmo Tower, housing the World Trade Center, out by the docks in Nanko, to the west of the city. It certainly looks rather like it, but I'm not so sure. What we see in Rhodri's photo is a dense and rather chic central area. The district around the Cosmo Tower is bleak and windswept dockland. What's more, Rhodri was playing at the Quattro Club, and the promoters had probably booked Scritti Politti into a hotel not too far from it, which would make his view more likely to be out over Shinsaibashi. But I can't find any buildings in Shinsaibashi that look like that.



My next theory was that the black building on the left side of Rhodri's view is the same as the black building towards the right of the photo above showing the view north from Osaka Castle over Osaka Business Park.



But since I can't see any of the other buildings in Rhodri's picture when I "walk" around that area in Google Street View, I've abandoned that idea.

My goal is to drop a Google Maps pin right on the spot where the weird wavy building in my user icon is, then drive out in Hisae's mum's Daihatsu Naked and photograph it (as well as find out what it is). I probably have a mild case of Asperger's.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 06:32 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
北新地 in Umeda? The distinctive tall building looks a lot like the one at the junction of Midosuji and Shinmidosuji, across from the US consulate.

Jon

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 09:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
Jon, you're a godsend. This (accurate) information arrived on my iPod Touch at some traffic lights just as we were heading to the very spot you mentioned. I fed the address of the American Consulate into the machine, hit "Route", and got directions. Then we glimpsed the wavy building to our right, and caught it in a photo just before the sun set:

Image

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 09:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
The building, which dates from the early 90s, has a sort of fibre-glass shell, which allows it to wobble in the odd way it does. It's full of high class hostess clubs and sushi restaurants, in a "floating world" area of similar businesses not far from the central station.

We even worked out that Rhodri was staying in the Ana Crowne Plaza nearby (from which the building looks more spectacular than it does at street level), before Rhodri himself emailed confirming this.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 10:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
A link to the Google Streetview picture of the building (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=osaka+ana+crowne+plaza&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.410045,46.230469&ie=UTF8&hq=ana+crowne+plaza&hnear=%C5%8Csaka+City,+%C5%8Csaka+Prefecture,+Japan&ll=34.697061,135.499535&spn=0,359.980538&z=16&layer=c&cbll=34.697031,135.499642&panoid=1DVzlvQ5zqHqkOkKjgbprA&cbp=12,83.71,,0,-16.63).

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 01:20 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
So it's turned out to be an appropriately Momusian structure then. Glad I could help you find it.

Jon

Phoenix tower?

Date: 2010-01-01 08:36 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Image
ニッセイ同和損保フェニックスタワー:Wikipedia (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8B%E3%83%83%E3%82%BB%E3%82%A4%E5%90%8C%E5%92%8C%E6%90%8D%E4%BF%9D%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7%E3%83%8B%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC)

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 09:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cap-scaleman.livejournal.com
In the back of the first photo with that odd building there is a corporate logo of some kind. Looks like a blue orb with some sort of text on it. Might be a clue if you get to know what company that is.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 09:14 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Oh I see, Daihatsu Naked is a car. That's a relief, getting thrown out of Tokyo for public nudity would not be a good start to your 2010 Nick.

Happy New Year.

miles

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 10:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
Yes, Daihatsu Naked (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Naked), a typical Kei Car, which is a boxy little city vehicle closely modelled on the original Fiat Panda.

It's this Image, but I wish it were this Image.

Car ... Or is it?

Date: 2010-01-01 12:39 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Nick
what is this "this"?

I mean name of car?

Happy drivings

rinus

Re: Car ... Or is it?

Date: 2010-01-01 02:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
It's not a Nissan Pivo, but it's a similar offering from a Japanese car-maker; electric concept cars like these are probably still five years or so away:

[Error: unknown template video]

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 12:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] geeveecatullus.livejournal.com
hahaha I was thinking the same thing!

Self Diagnosis.

Date: 2010-01-01 09:18 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
A mild case ?

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 09:37 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
dear momus, am almost very sure it is here: http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=ja&geocode=&q=%E5%8C%97%E6%96%B0%E5%9C%B0&sll=53.397262,-2.967282&sspn=0.00586,0.013797&brcurrent=3,0x6000e6ee9c8e5b13:0x1a568d598d4c98a3,0&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=%E5%8C%97%E6%96%B0%E5%9C%B0%E9%A7%85%EF%BC%88%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%EF%BC%89&ll=34.696968,135.499545&spn=0.000864,0.003449&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=34.696968,135.499887&panoid=MhaZUUtoDiP4p3iuDrVfeQ&cbp=11,27.93,,0,-17.5

hard to tell from street level. 10 yrs ago I wandered umeda whenever it was raining, and everything seems familiar on the google maps.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 10:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imomus.livejournal.com
You got it, Anon! We got it before you posted, but you were hot on our heels, based on an experience ten years ago!

It's amazing the knowledge my readers have (and the power of Google Maps)! Two people gave me good directions to the very place.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 10:11 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Momus I am glad you found your building, have a happy new year.

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 04:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bulldogheavan.livejournal.com
happy new years

(no subject)

Date: 2010-01-01 11:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ryversong.livejournal.com
Osaka has the greatest skyline. There is something aesthetically pleasing about the crowding.

Further, a mild case of Aspergers is a marvelous turn of phrase as it makes it sound more like a cold than a disorder on the autism spectrum. That was fun.

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