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guard-of-terra
Then again La Defense in Paris is similarily mind blowing.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Arche

kubiiii
There was a video games museum at the top of the building, it is closed now, only boring offices remain.
ddoolin
Wow. That's pretty interesting. I'm sure it posed quite a few interesting architectural questions. Cool that it doesn't even touch the building while passing right through it.
Crito
I wonder how loud it is in that building, next to or below the highway.
IvyMike
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Chicago_Main_Post_Office
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[dead] stevep98
Here's another freeway in the middle of Osaka:

http://goo.gl/NCmTlK

A phrase that's often used for freeways in the US is that they 'divide communities'. That is not the case here. From street level, it's actually very easy to miss the fact that there's a freeway above you at all.

mrtron
I took a video of this building when I was visiting in Osaka (apologies for the quality, the video is quite zoomed in):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbJBwTHidGI&feature=c4-overvi...

I happened to spot this building in Osaka from the Floating Garden Building (http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/search/detail/sightseeing_3147.h...)

I had read the wikipedia article before, it was very exciting to see in person. Looking back it appears the wikipedia photo is taken from the same spot as my video.

Bonus: http://d.pr/i/Q7dn and http://d.pr/i/L9cV give you some more perspective on the surrounding area.

sillysaurus2
The quality's good. Actually, your whole video list is interesting! Japan is a beautiful place...

The "flat escalator section" made me laugh for some reason. Hadn't seen that before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ1gZOrW5Ac&list=UU5gByMec2Bi...

dnautics
totally smoked by that old guy who was walking up the steps, too.
mrtron
Thank you! It was an incredible trip - Japan is so beautiful and unique.

Glad you enjoyed the flat escalator! For some reason it caught my eye. The vertical parking garage was neat too (and only a few blocks away in Kanazawa)!

saalweachter
That is really interesting in the context of broken escalators.

When the escalator breaks, you have the flat section to rest at, just like the real stairs. Most escalators make bad stairs, because they lack such sections, and frequently have unusual rise/run lengths.

Tyrant505
OT, Love your train ride through japan, cool ending with your reflection showing when going through the tunnel!
mrtron
Thanks! I didn't expect the other videos to be getting so much love :) I am re-watching them myself!

Bonus video I just made public: http://youtu.be/ah17HPs7oDI

One of those odd moments when you are 30-something and still can get inspired by huge grass parks to do backflips.

Edit: After you mentioned it, I also found a pic I used that same reflection effect for! http://d.pr/i/INTD

dombili
You have some great videos in that playlist, thanks for sharing. I do however hate you for not explaining how this works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU5gByMec2Bi49LEfJVrZTyw&.... I feel like a complete idiot! :)
vinkelhake
The two rings are attached in one place and the whole thing is rotated. Think about it as putting a "<" shape on a base and rotating it.
bitwize
I knew that's what it was, but then I tried to see the "two precessing hula hoops" and was like "cannot unsee..."

Wasn't something like this used to restrain Zod, Ursa, and Non in Superman?

sparky_z
It looks to me like its a static sculpture on a rotating base.
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ballard
When cars are driving on the vertical sides of buildings, then maybe that might be impressive
bitwize
Shoot, this just makes me miss Osaka. How could I have gone to Osaka and missed this?

I'll keep an eye out for it next time I'm there.

bbanyc
Among Robert Moses's unsuccessful development projects was an elevated expressway across Midtown Manhattan, with commercial development below the road and high-rises above it. One proposed route had the expressway passing right through the Empire State Building. I don't know how seriously this was considered - it's one thing to put up a building around a road and quite another to retrofit an existing building to put a road through it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Manhattan_Expressway