Technocosmos, later renamed Technostar, was an tall giant

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, 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, gondola ...

that was built for the

Expo '85 Expo '85, officially called the , was a world's fair held in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985. The main venue was located in town of Yatabe, and the sub venue was in ...

World Fair in

Tsukuba, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It carried almost 3 million passengers during the exposition.Ferris wheels - an illustrated history, Norman D. Anderson
/ref>

History

Technocosmos had an overall height of , a diameter of , and took 15 minutes to complete a revolution. Each of the 48 passenger cars could carry 8 people and was equipped with solar panels to power its air conditioning. When it began operating, Technocosmos was the World's tallest extant Ferris wheel. At that time, the tallest Ferris wheel ever built was the Grande Roue de Paris (built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) which was demolished in 1920. In 1989 the Cosmo Clock 21 opened for business in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

and succeeded both Technocosmos as tallest extant Ferris wheel and Grande Roue de Paris as tallest Ferris wheel ever built.

Renamed as Technostar in Suita

After Expo '85, Technocosmos was relocated in 1986 to the Expoland amusement park in

Suita is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 381,238 in 182,636 households, and a population density of 11,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a suburban city of Osaka City and a p ...

Osaka Prefecture is a 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 to the north, Nara ...

, and renamed Technostar. Expoland has since permanently closed. Work began on dismantling Technostar in November 2009, and it had been removed from the Osaka site by the end of the following month. In Suita city, a new wheel was opened in 2016 called the Redhorse Osaka Wheel; as part of Expocity created in 2015.

Coordinates

*Technocosmos,

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

: *Technostar, Expoland,

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 metropol ...

References

{{Ferris wheel Former Ferris wheels Tsukuba, Ibaraki