Audrey King's trip to Japan Diary

Accommodation in Osaka - DAY TEN

Maishima Sports Island
Well here we are on man-made Maishima Sports Island, reclaimed from the sea, and still under construction in busy Osaka bay. This island was built to be the site of the 2008 Olympic games but Japan lost the bid so the city government decided to make the whole island into a sports and recreation paradise, as well as the site of waste disposal plants which generate the Island’s electricity.


The Amity Maishima Centre. Our room is in the tower, 4th floor on the left overlooking Osaka Bay.


A wheelchair basketball player near the entrance

  • Do you know what city did win the bid for the 2008 Olympics?
  • Can you find Osaka and Osaka Bay on a map of Japan?

To get off the island we had to take the shuttle bus over a big bridge to the railway station on the mainland. The bus was kind of neat because it had a lift that folded away and tucked out of site underneath the bus.


The driver sets up the wheelchair lift that’s secretly stowed away underneath the shuttle bus


Going up the lift, then into the shuttle bus

Amity Maishima
Our residence on the island for the next few days (until we return to Canada) is the Amity Maishima, a state-of-the-art sports facility for people with disabilities. It’s huge – many times bigger than the Variety Village sports complex in Toronto - and the bedrooms are like those you’d find in a hotel! We all stayed together here, eating in the Amity Maishima cafeteria and swimming in their giant pool.


The Amity Maishima swimming pool


Our bedroom


Makota, Dr. Tony and I enjoying ice cream in the cafeteria


Oops! Dr. Tony’s got ice cream on his glasses!

  • What three different flavours of ice creams are we eating?

The view from here
Our room is very accessible and has large windows and a balcony overlooking busy Osaka Bay


Martha and I enjoying the view from our balcony


Tempozan Giant Wheel, the world’s largest ferris wheel


Towing some of Osaka’s garbage, or maybe it’s "sludge"?

There sure is a lot to see from our balcony - the world’s biggest ferris wheel in Tempozan Village across the bay and tug boats towing flat barges below us. Bet you’ll never guess where these boats are going? They’re going to two beautiful buildings right beside us at the Amity Maishima.


The incinerator building on Maishima Sports Island


Makota, me & Georgie-san in front of the "sludge" treatment building beside the Amity Maishima Centre

  • What is "sludge"?
  • What does an incinerator do?
  • It’s such a sunny day! Why is George holding an umbrella?

Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s Creations
Have you ever seen such interesting buildings? They look like fairy castles to me! These buildings do an interesting job! One is an incinerator (for burning garbage) and the other is the sludge treatment centre for Osaka’s municipal waste water management program. They were built by a famous Austrian architect who loves Japan, called Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Whew! Try saying that with your mouth full of marbles! Hundertwasser is also famous for his art and he is a philosopher. If you’re curious about him, check his website at http://www.kunsthauswien.com/english/hundertwasser.htm


Another view of the "sludge" treatment building

We’ve got another free day to explore this interesting part of Japan before I have to present at JVUN’s 3rd and final conference. Check back next week to discover where we went, how we got there and all the amazing sights that we saw.

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