The is a tall

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

located in

Rinku Town is a commercial development in Izumisano, Osaka, Japan, adjacent to Kansai International Airport. It was constructed in the early 1990s on reclaimed land, and opened in September 1995. Rinku Town is accessible from Osaka by the Nankai Main Line an ...

Izumisano Izumisano ( ja, 泉佐野市, Latn, ja, Izumisano-shi, ) is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 98,840 in 47658 households and a population density of 1700 persons per km². The total area of the c ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The 56-

storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

building was completed in August 1996 following the design of ' and Yasui Architects & Engineers. It is currently the third-tallest building in Japan, after the ' and the

Yokohama Landmark Tower The is the third tallest building and 5th tallest structure in Japan, standing high. Until surpassed by Abeno Harukas in 2012, it stood as the tallest building in Japan. It is located in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama city, nex ...

. The tower is split into three vertical sections: the lowest section contains an international conference hall, the middle contains business offices, and the top and slimmest section is the Gate Tower Hotel. The hotel is in a convenient location for travellers, as it anchors the

Sky Gate Bridge The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In th ...

leading to the

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and K ...

and is connected to the JR

Hanwa Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 61.3 km (38.1 mi) line runs between Osaka and Wakayama, Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan and has a 1.7 km branchlin ...

and

Nankai Main Line The is one of the two main railway lines of Japanese private railway company Nankai Electric Railway, together with Kōya Line. The route is from Namba Station in south downtown of Osaka to Wakayamashi Station in Wakayama via Sakai, Izumiōtsu ...

Rinkū Town Station. The 26th floor serves as an observation level which gives views of the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

, Sky Gate Bridge, and the

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

. The building has two underground floors which are used as a 365-space car park. The building contains offices, shopping malls, retail, a department store and the Star Gate Hotel Kansai Airport hotel that occupy levels 29-54. An

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed ...

on the 54th floor features a 360-degree view over the airport, the Kansai Kokusai bridge, and the Rinku Carnival.

Floor Directory

* 55-56: Observatory * 53-54: Restaurant * 34-52: Hotel guest rooms * 29-33: Ballrooms and hotel facilities * 10-29: Office * 7-9: Clinic, showroom * 3-6: Banquet hall * 1-2: Lobby, retail * B2-B1: Parking

History

The Rinku Gate Tower Building was conceived in the mid-1980s during the planning of

. Originally, the plan was to build twin towers on the site, which would form a "gate" facing the airport. By the time construction began in 1992, the

Japanese asset price bubble The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991 in which real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated. In early 1992, this price bubble burst and Japan's economy stagnated. The bubble was characterized by rapid acceleration ...

had collapsed and the plan to build the second tower was scrapped. During the building's first few years of operation, its office area was largely vacant, given its distance from central Osaka and the under-utilization of the airport. In 1999, the government of

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

moved a number of functions into the building, including a passport office. The building's hotel was originally part of the

ANA Hotels is a Japanese hotel chain established in 1973 by All Nippon Airways (ANA). In October 2006, ANA sold majority ownership of ANA Hotels to the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which is now the primary shareholder. The managed properties of ANA ...

chain as the ANA Gate Tower Hotel, and was operated by an affiliate of

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...

. The hotel operating company filed for

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

in 2005, which caused its parent company, the building operator, to file for restructuring several months later. A group of investors led by

Shinsei Bank is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo. History SBI Shinsei ...

and Kennedix purchased the building at the end of this process for . From 2005 to 2011, the ANA Gate Tower Hotel was managed by a company 90% owned by Osaka Prefecture. The company ran an operating deficit of 150 to 400 million yen per year and eventually became insolvent. Osaka governor

Tōru Hashimoto is a Japanese TV personality, politician and lawyer. He was the mayor of Osaka city and is a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing conservative-populist politicians. Early ...

pushed to privatize the hotel, and in July 2011 management was transferred to Dancin' Diner, a

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

restaurant chain, with the hotel being renamed "Star Gate Hotel Kansai Airport." An affiliate of the Hong Kong-listed company SiS International Holdings purchased the building in December 2012 for 3 billion yen as its first real estate investment in Japan.S'pore firm buys second tallest Japan skyscraper - ANN
Asianewsnet.net (2013-01-18). Retrieved on 2014-06-23.

References

External links

{{commons category, Rinku Gate Tower Building
Emporis.com
- Building ID 105197

Skyscrapers in Osaka Prefecture Office buildings completed in 1996 Tourist attractions in Osaka Prefecture Skyscraper office buildings in Japan Skyscraper hotels in Japan Izumisano 1996 establishments in Japan

Floor Directory

History

See also

References

External links