Umeda Sky Building

Osaka's landmark Sky Building (1993) resembles a 40-story, space-age Arc de Triomphe. Twin towers are connected at the top by a "floating garden" (really a garden-free observation deck), which was constructed on the ground and then hoisted up. The 360-degree city views from here are breathtaking day or night. Getting there is half the fun – an escalator in a see-through tube takes you up the last five stories (not for vertigo sufferers). The architect, Hara Hiroshi, also designed Kyoto Station.