Top 10 Tallest Skyscrapers in Osaka

The skyscrapers in Kita ward of Osaka, seen from the top of ORIX Honcho Building

Below is a list of the top 10 tallest skyscrapers in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

1. Abeno Harukas

Height: 300 m Floor count: 60

Year built: 2014 Location: Abeno ward

Uses: Department store, Office, Hotel, Observatory, Art museum, Train station

Gross Floor Area: 212,208 m²

Abeno Harukas is a 300m-tall skyscraper in Abeno ward, it’s the first supertall building in Japan, and has been the country’s tallest building since its completion in 2014. The first floor of the building contains the terminal of Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line, Osaka Abenobashi Station.

The north facade of the building setbacks 2 times before reaching the top. The first setback is at the 16th floor, the terrace created by the setback is at 81m high and is being used as an open-air rooftop garden and is free to access.
A large department store (Kintetsu Department Store) occupies the lower part of the building(the section below the first setback) and a wing building, occupying a total area of 100,000sq m, making it the largest department store in Japan.
An observation deck named Harukas 300 occupies the topmost 3 floors of the building, offering panoramic view of the city.

2. Rinku Gate Tower

Height: 256.1 m Floor count: 56

Year built: 1996 Location: Izumisano

Uses: Hotel, Office Gross Floor Area: 102,900 m²

Rinku Gate Tower is a skyscraper in Rinku Town, located besides the east end of the Sky Gate Bridge, which connects the mainland to the Kansai International Airport on the Osaka Bay. There were actually two skyscrapers planned to be built on the site, one on each side of the bridge road, and to be connected together by a skybridge forming a gate shape, so it’s called Gate Tower. However only one building was successfully built.

Rinku Gate Tower has a similar design as Abeno Harukas, as it has two segmented setbacks. The upper section is occupied by a hotel, the middle section was originally office floors, but a new hotel opened in 2019, so currently most floors in the building are used for hotels. There was once an observation deck on the top floor, but closed many years ago.

3. Osaka Prefecture Government Sakishima Building

Height: 256 m Floor count: 55

Year built: 1995 Location: Suminoe ward

Uses: Office, Observatory Gross Floor Area: 149,296 m²

The Osaka Prefecture Government Sakishima Building is briefly known as Cosmo Tower, and previously called Osaka World Trade Center Building.
The building is located on an artificial island called Sakishima near the Osaka Bay. The height of the building is 256 meters, which is only 0.1m shorter than Rinku Gate Tower. It’s the tallest building by roof height built on an artificial island (the tallest building on an artificial island by total height is Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the roof height of which is only 200m ). There is a distinctive inverted pyramid at the top of the building, containing an observation deck, offering impressive view of the bay and the city.

4. The Kitahama

Height: 209.4 m Floor count: 54

Year built: 2009 Location: Chuo ward

Uses: Residential, Office, Retail Gross Floor Area: 79,605 m²

The Kitahama, also called Kitahama Tower, is a residential building with 465 condos in Kitahama, Chuo ward. Standing 209m tall, it has been the tallest all residential building in Japan since 2009. In 2017, a residential building in Tokyo called “The Park House Nishishinjuku Tower 60” was built, the height is also 209m, but the exact height number of the Kitahama is 209.4m, still 0.4m taller than the building in Tokyo.

5. X Tower Osaka Bay

Height: 200.4 m Floor count: 54

Year built: 2006 Location: Minato

Uses: Residential, Retail Gross Floor Area: 81,026 m²

X-Tower Osaka Bay is a 200m-tall residential skyscraper located in Benten, Minato ward. The building has 54 floors above ground and contains 456 condominiums.

At the time of its completion in 2006, it was the tallest residential building in Japan, and also the first residential building in Japan over 200 meters in height.

6. Osaka Bay Tower

Height: 200 m Floor count: 51

Year built: 1993 Location: Minato ward

Uses: Hotel, Office

Osaka Bay Tower is a 51-storey skyscraper in Benten, Minato ward, in close proximity to X-Tower Osaka Bay. The building was previously called ORC200, ORC is abbreviation of Osaka Resort City, which is the building complex containing this skyscraper, 200 refers to the height of the building in meters.
The building contains office space at lower floors and a hotel called “Art Hotel Osaka Bay Tower” at middle and upper floors, the hotel has 464 guest rooms, and is the largest full-service hotel in the Kansai area.

7. Nakanoshima Festival Tower East

Height: 199 m Floor count: 39

Year built: 2012 Location: Kita ward

Uses: Theater, Office, Retail Gross Floor Area: 145,602 m²

Nakanoshima Festival Tower East is a skyscraper built on Nakanoshima (literally means Middle Island), which is a sandbank on Kyu-Yodo River in Kita ward.
The building is located on the site of the former Shin-Asahi Building, which was demolished and redeveloped by the Asahi Shimbun Company into this skyscraper. The Festival Hall, which was located within Asahi Shimbun Building as a venue for classical music performances, moved from the old building into the skyscraper.
The building is vertically divided by an open-air sky lobby into two vertical zones, the zone above the sky lobby is tenant office zone, and the zone below the sky lobby houses the Festival Hall and the headquarters of Asahi Shimbun Company.

8. Nakanoshima Festival Tower West

Height: 199 m Floor count: 41

Year built: 2017 Location: Kita ward

Uses: Office, Hotel, Art museum, Hall, Retail Gross Floor Area: 151,156 m²

This building is also developed by Asahi Shimbun Company, it’s located immediately west of Nakanoshima Festival Tower East across Yotsubashi-suji Road, it’s redeveloped on the former site of Osaka Asahi Building and Asahi Shimbun Building, which housed the headquarters of Asahi Shimbun Osaka Headquarters.
This building and Festival Tower East are seen as twin towers for the same height and similar appearance, but the design of this one is simpler, it has no open air skylobby like that of Tower East.
The lower floors and middle floors are mainly offices, an art museum and a multipurpose hall occupy the 6th floor. The upper floors are occupied by a hotel with 164 guest rooms, and the top floor has restaurants and bars.

9. Kanden Building

Height: 195.5 m Floor count: 41

Year built: 2004 Location: Kita ward

Uses: Office, Retail Gross Floor Area: 106,483 m²

Also known as KEPCO Headquarters, this building is another skyscraper located in Nakanoshima, about 200m west of Nakanoshima Festival Tower West, it’s the headquarters of the Kansai Electric Power Company.
The top of the building features a special interactive lighting system called liv-lit, the light is lit up from sunset every day to 11pm, and moves on the facade freely and irregularly, in response to the movement of the surrounding wind.

10. The Parkhouse Nakanoshima Tower

Height: 192.9 m Floor count: 55