Kihoku-cho Japan’s Mysterious Cosmic Observatory

Signifying UFO for some, architectural eccentricity to others, it is difficult to describe the Kihoku-cho observatory. Constructed 20 years ago in the furthest point in south-east Japan, this giant insect-shaped structure remains one of the country’s intriguing buildings.

Architect Takasaki Masaharu chose this remote location to construct his observatory, cut off from the world, rooting the earth and the stars through his building. His nickname is ‘architect of the cosmos’. He apparently dreamt of an isolated but lively observatory, occupied by researchers and high quality material. Yet his dream remains unrealised, over the years it was left as a concrete mass, half empty. A strange emergence among the volcanic landscape of the region.

However, the building is still lucky to be in existence, unlike the Crystal Light building also built by Takasaki Masaharu in Tokyo in 1986 and demolished just four years later. Over recent years, his work has garnered fresh recognition thanks to social media. His observatory has been transformed into an astronomy museum and is now the second most popular attraction in the Kagoshima prefecture, just pipped by the Sakurajima volcano and the natural springs surrounding it. It might be a round about way, but it seems that Masaharu achieved his original goal of connecting humanity to the universe.