Roads to Nowhere

Just 5 minutes from our flat they are currently building some new 'roads in the sky'. Well, that's what I call them anyway, not sure what the proper name is! There seem to be so many of these highways in Osaka, especially in the port area, crisscrossing over and under each other as if its a competition to  reach the sun. In one area one of these actually passes through an office building! Must be a nightmare to work there.

Over the last year and a half I have seen the new roads being built, first isolated towers then skeletal segments of road perched high in the sky. One segment, obviously an access road, forms a ramp off into the ether, I always image a sweaty Bruce Willis driving a vehicle at high speeds up this to make an impossible jump to the other side!

At night, on my way back from the station, I'm always in awe of these structures towering above, looking like giant mechanical beasts unaware of the tiny people below. They probably won't seem quite as impressive when they are complete but for the time being these giants make my journey home all the more interesting!

This new segment towers over the highway seen in the distance. It will eventually bend round to the left and join another part crossing the river behind.

Maishima Waste Disposal Plant

Today we paid a visit to the Maishima Waste Disposal Plant which lies in the eastern port area of Osaka, an hour cycle from our home. Visiting a waste disposal plant may not be at the top of your list of exciting things to do but the plant is well worth a visit, and is quite a sight to see!

The exterior was designed by the late Austrian artist Friedensrich Hundertwasser, known for his organic structures, and was designed to symbolize harmony between technology, harmony and art. The whole building looks like some strange theme park attraction with huge orange stripes representing flames on the outside.

We booked a guided tour around the plant, which took around two hours, and got to see the whole waste disposal process in action. The interior looks like a scene from a seventies sci-fi movie complete with machines with big dials and flashing lights! There are also plenty of buttons to push and the obligatory cute animated characters to keep kids happy.

Overall, a fascinating tour and well worth checking out, even if you only get to see the exterior!

The plant from afar

The Claw!

One of the control rooms

Not sure what he is supposed to be!

A model of the plant.

This reminds me of a scene from 'Aliens'

Another giant claw.

Not why this is here but it looks pretty.

Colour coded dispatch doors.

Osaka has more bicycles than any other city in Japan. Soon to be a few less.

Kirk to bridge.

Wonder what would happen if I press this....

View from one of the green roof tops.

The base of the tower

Looks like a Mondrian nightmare.

The entrance to the plant.

Industrial Action

For a while now I have wanted to get down to the dockside area of Osaka to take some photographs of the industrial landscape so the other day I hopped on my bicycle and headed east towards the port area.

The journey took around 45 minutes which lead me behind the Universal Studios theme park and through an increasingly industrial landscape with many factories. I took a number of photos around the base of the complex road system in the dock area and under the bridge which crosses to one of the islands.

A lonely view

I hope that structure's strong enough.

Pathways in the sky.

When I reached the bridge I found a spiraling pathway which leads up to road level. Halfway up I stopped to take photos of the view below when out of nowhere someone shouted something out which sounded to me like 'gaijin!!' (foreigner). As the area was very quiet and the voice sounded quite aggresive it was quite a shock and I started to panic thinking that maybe I had photographed someone doing something dodgy and they were coming after me (somewhat paranoid I know!). It did nothing for my nerves when I looked down the pathway and saw a group of 'youths' heading up in my direction. For a minute I thought 'Do I head down and face them or carry on further and over the bridge?'. I eventually decided to head down towards them, thinking that if I went fast enough on my bike I could zip past them.

My paranoia was proven unfounded however when I rounded the corner to face them as they looked more afraid of me than the other way round. Just a silly misunderstanding after all! By that point I had decided that I had had enough of the docks for one day and headed off home, I will be back though to finally cross that bridge!

That's a long way up!

unbelievably, that is a waste disposal centre!