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Japanese architecture, the first building-mounted free-fall ride

Wed, December 5, 2012, by Muza-chan

Visiting Osaka, in the Namba district (famous for food and entertainment), a very eye-catching building will certainly draw your attention. Looking like a giant hourglass with an exclamation mark in the middle, the namBa HIPS building was opened in 2007 and its unusual design tries to convey a particular concept: the hourglass means “eternal” while the exclamation mark symbolizes “surprise"…

And there is indeed a big surprise: the namBa HIPS offers the first building-mounted free-fall ride (called in Japanese Yabafo) mounted on the exterior wall of a building. This strange attraction (the red vertical rail visible in the photo) has a cabin for 6 persons and falls down from a height of 74 meters, with a speed of 22 meters per second. Too scary for me…

Click on photo for higher resolution:
namBa HIPS, Osaka
namBa HIPS, Osaka
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EXIF Info:

Nikon D90
Lens: 8-16mm F/4.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 8mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1250s
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200
Big drum, Odaiko
Yesterday’s Japan Photo:

Big drum, Odaiko



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