A mysterious giant sewer pipe has emerged from beneath Osaka's underground, and we've filmed the restoration work.
In Kita-ku, Osaka, a huge sewer pipe protruded from underground, rising to a height of more than 10 meters. It was such a bizarre situation that I actually went to the site and filmed the restoration work.
The site is about a 5-minute walk from JR Osaka Station, where the JR Kyoto Line and Shin-Midosuji Line intersect.
As we approached the scene, we saw a crowd of people.
You can see a cylindrical sewer pipe in the background.
This is what it looks like when you take a close-up shot.
The sheer size of the sewer pipe becomes clear when people stand side by side. According to
When I visited the site around 1:30 PM, restoration work had progressed to some extent, and the height had returned to about 5 meters. According to information posted on X, it seems that in the morning it had risen to a height that was close to touching the Shin-Midosuji viaduct.
Umeda Center Building Nishite Shin-Midosuji.
— Yoshitaka Niizato, former Osaka City Council member, Kita Ward (@NDwpJ4l45XjVUGS) March 11, 2026
According to local reports, something resembling a bridge pier suddenly rose up from underground last night. The entire area is closed to traffic. There is chaos. pic.twitter.com/NR0Fc1Niwb
There is broken asphalt scattered around the pipe, indicating that the pipe has protruded through the asphalt.
The surrounding roads were closed to traffic.
I took a photo of the pipe from a different angle. From this position, I could see Sukiya across the street, but the view was blocked by the huge pipe that suddenly appeared.
Take another photo from a different angle.
There is a structure in the middle of the road that shouldn't be there, creating a very strange atmosphere.
I also took a video. This is a real scene.
The top looks like a square cut out of the road.
It appears that a nearby traffic light was also affected, and aerial work platforms were also on-site to repair the light.
Work to replace traffic lights is also progressing in parallel with the pipe restoration work.
The pipe was restored by drilling a hole in the side of the pipe, inserting a hose, pouring water into it, and then adding weight to sink it. The photo below shows a hole being drilled in the side of the pipe with a burner.
There was a square hole.
A hose is inserted into the hole. Water comes out of the hose with considerable force.
Hose installation complete.
As water was poured in, the height gradually decreased. By 2:30 PM, it had dropped to the same height as a road sign.
This is where ladders and aerial work platforms come in.
Place the net over the top of the pipe.
Once the pipe has sunk to a certain extent and the hole is lowered, the hole is welded shut.
It was tightly closed.
Then make another hole at a higher position.
A gaping hole.
Insert the water injection hose.
Hose installation complete.
The pipe seemed to be fairly stable, and at one point, workers were seen standing on top of it and trying to break up the excess asphalt.
By about 3:30pm it had dropped to the same height as the truck.
It looks like they're measuring the depth by inserting a tape measure through the hole.
Weld the hole before it sinks.
It's quite dazzling.
By around 4pm, it had dropped to a height where I could reach the top.
They cleaned up the surrounding rubble. I was wondering where they were going to move the scattered asphalt, but it turned out they were sweeping it into the area where the pipe was sinking.
The final step was inserting the hose into the top rather than drilling a hole in the side.
We are clearing out the dirt and sand that has accumulated on the sides.
The soil was surprisingly fragile and crumbled easily with my hands.
By 4:30pm, it had grown back to about the height of an adult.
The lights are turned on around 5pm.
The photo below was taken around 6:20 PM. At the time of writing, restoration work was still ongoing.
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