Highway through a building

Gate Tower Building is a 16-storey office building in, Osaka , Japan . And what makes it notable is the highway that passes through the 5th-7th floors of this building. The highway is part of the Hanshin Expressway, a network (239.3 km) of expressways surrounding Osaka , Kobe and Kyoto , Japan . The Gate Tower Building is Japan 's first building to have a highway pass through it. And it had been nicknamed "beehive" referring to its appearance as a "bustling place". The Umeda Exit of the Ikeda Route of the Hanshin Expressway system passes through this building.

The expressway is the tenant of these floors. The elevator doesn't stop on floor 5th-7th, floor 4 being followed by floor 8. These floors consist of elevators, stairways, machinery and other stuff. The highway passes through the building as a bridge, held up by supports next to the building making no contact with the building itself. The building has a double core construction, with a circular cross section and special care is taken by providing surrounded structure to the highway to protect the building from noise and vibration. Generally expressways are built underground, and passing through a building is an extremely rare occasion. It dates back to 1983, when the redevelopment of this area was decided upon, "building permits were refused because the highway was already being planned to be built over this land. The property rights' holders refused to give up, and negotiated with the Hanshin Expressway corporation for approximately 5 years to reach the current solution."

Green wheels from Japan - The Meguru

Everything old is new again for one Japanese manufacturer, which has unveiled an electronic version of a rickshaw.

The "Meguru" is a three-wheeled, three-seat compact vehicle whose single lithium-ion battery allows for a maximum speed and range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour, although the number of batteries could be increased for a longer ride.


"This is a true environmentally friendly car," said Nobuyuki Ogura, the chief executive officer of Yodogawa Group, which built the vehicle in cooperation with three other small companies in western Japan.


"Instead of an air-conditioner, it comes with a pinwheel, and we are also thinking of adding a wind chime because it gives a refreshing sound to cool you down without the need of electricity," he told Reuters Television. "It doesn't have a heater, but it's equipped with blankets to keep you warm in the winter."


A regular driver's license is required to take the vehicle on the road, but car registration is unnecessary. Devised as part of a project to revitalise small businesses facing economic hardship, the vehicle - which is 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) long, 1.2 meters (3 ft 11 in) wide and 1.6 meters (5 ft 3 in) tall - also showcases traditional Japanese crafts.


The body is coated in red lacquer, the floor is filled with recycled bamboo, and the retractable "window" has been carefully crafted in the shape of a Japanese fan using Japanese "washi" paper. All were made by craftsmen in western Japan. The company says it is selling the vehicle for around one million yen ($12,180) while assessing a business plan for mass production.





Even disposing of the car after its usefulness has passed poses no problems. "We've used all-natural materials, so if you ever decide to get rid of the car, simply bury it in the ground," Ogura said.

9h: The Luxury Capsule Hotel

If you go to Tokyo, you may want to check into 9h—Nainawasu in Japanese—a luxury capsule hotel that is 9 stories tall, storing 125 capsules that use Panasonic's environmental and lighting control system.
According to Panasonic, their system controls lighting to guarantee "good sleeping." I don't know about you but, to me, "good sleeping" means a large bed, a good duvet, and someone special to spoon with all night. Still, if you want to get close to the experience of hibernation in a deep space vessel, this is the place to go!