Osaka-jo Hall
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Osaka-jo Hall (大阪城ホール Ōsaka-jō Hōru?), or Osaka Castle Hall, is a large, multipurpose indoor arena in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. It is used for some sports, such as judo championships, and is popular for concerts with many international pop and rock music acts. Osaka-jo Hall is located in Osaka-jo Park near Osaka Castle, and is across a river from two other smaller concert halls.
The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls modeled after those of the Castle, and it won the Osaka Urban Scenery Architects Prize Special Award in 1984. The hall may be reached on a short walk from either Osaka Business Park Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line or Osakajo-koen Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line.
Top-ranked Western musical artists such as Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Foo Fighters, Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton have played Osaka-jo Hall. Billy Joel played four tours in the 1980s and 1990s, Janet Jackson played there on three tours in the 1990s, while Mariah Carey played there on two tours in the 2000s. Japanese acts such as Dir en grey, Ai Otsuka, ELLEGARDEN, Ayumi Hamasaki, Tokyo Jihen, and Janne Da Arc have played the hall as well along with the South Korean boy bands Shinhwa and TVXQ. Each year upwards of 10,000 people come to the hall to participate in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
