An unremarkable-looking office building in central Osaka that contains one of the most unusual pieces of urban engineering anywhere in Japan. The Hanshin Expressway — a major elevated highway — passes directly through the building between the 5th and 7th floors, turning three storeys of the tower into a hollow highway tunnel. The floors have no rooms; the elevators skip them; the highway company holds a long-term lease on the space.
The building is the result of a compromise reached in the 1980s between the landowners, who wanted to build on the site, and the highway authority, which had already planned the road alignment above. Both parties refused to move, so the road passed through the building instead. Rubber fittings between the highway structure and the building absorb vibration. It is best viewed from outside; the building is not open to the public beyond its office tenants.