Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris wheel

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With the height of 112.5 meters and diameter of 100 meters^[1], Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris wheel was once the largest Ferris wheel in the world. It is located in Osaka, Japan in the Tempozan Harbor Village area, next to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest aquariums in the world.

Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris wheel was surpassed by London Eye when it opened to public in 1999, however, some argues that London Eye is actually an observation wheel which is considered to be another kind of wheel and shouldn't be counted in the Ferris wheel ranking. Nevertheless, some newcomers like Palette Town Ferris wheel (opened in 1999, located in Odaiba, Tokyo, with same diameter as Tempozan, but 2.5 meters more in total height), Sky Dream Fukuoka (opened in 2002, with 112 meters in diameter and 120 meters in total height), or the Diamond and Flower Ferris wheel of Kasai Rinkai Park, east of Tokyo (opened in 2001, 111 meters in diameter and 117 meters in height), exceeded Tempozan with small margins.

The Ferris wheel was opened to public on July 12, 1997. During the 17-minute ride (¥700/US$6.50), it offers a view of Osaka Bay and surrounding areas, such as Ikoma Mountains to the east, Akashi Strait Pearl Bridge to the west, Kansai International Airport to the south, and Rokko Mountains to the north.

The wheel has colored lights that provide a weather forecast for the next day. Orange lights indicate a sunny day, green lights a cloudy day and blue lights indicate rain.

[edit] References

1. ^ 天保山ハーバービレッジ