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Don Quijote discount shop unveils Ferris wheel in Osaka tourist spot
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Don Quijote shopping center in Osaka, Japan. (Shutterstock/File)
J
apanese discount retailer Don Quijote Co. unveiled Monday a renovated Ferris wheel which is expected to become a new tourist attraction in Osaka's popular Dotombori shopping district.
The Ferris wheel, which had stopped running due to a technical failure about 10 years ago, was shown to the media before the start of commercial operations on Friday.
The iconic wheel built on the outer wall of Don Quijote's Dotombori store is decorated with a giant image of Ebisu, the god of business prosperity, and is expected to be a lure for visitors to the area, which has become popular among foreign tourists in recent years.
Rides in the four-seat cabin take about 15 minutes.
Read also: Osaka is Japan's new tourist hot spot for Asian visitors
The Ferris wheel faces a river and visitors can also observe Japan's tallest skyscraper, Osaka's Abeno Harukas, at the highest point of the wheel about 77 meters above ground.
The company has repaired the rail and changed the interior design of the 32 cabins. Rides cost 600 yen ($5.4) and are available between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. all year round except days with rough weather conditions.
More than 4,000 people applied for a chance offered to 200 groups to get on the Ferris wheel for a test run on Wednesday, according to the company.
Yasuyuki Sakamoto, chief of the company's western Japan sales promotion section, said, "By entertaining both foreign tourists and locals, we hope to contribute to the revitalization of the community."
