osakafi

Osaka once housed this modern walled neighborhood, presumably constructed to keep attacking Titans out. Or are we missing something here?

Osaka Stadium was originally constructed in 1950 to hold a capacity of 32,000 people. It served as the home of the local Nankai Hawks baseball team until 1988, after which it was repurposed for a variety of activities, including as a concert venue for high-profile international artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, before demolition in 1998.

One photo of the stadium during its post-baseball days has recently resurfaced online and is making the rounds of the Internet, leaving many net users scratching their heads in bewilderment. It appears to depict an entire neighborhood of houses and parked cars within the former stadium, giving the appearance of a fortified village from centuries past. But can you figure out what’s actually going on in the picture below?

In fact, those houses aren’t being inhabited at all–it’s the scene of a housing exhibition which was temporarily constructed within the stadium!

Plenty of net users around the world were initially baffled by the scene until subsequently learning that it was a model home showcase:

“That’s somewhere in Japan…right?”

“What an inventive use of an unused stadium.”

“Fill it with water and you could probably have a mock naval battle in there.”

“The site was turned into a giant shopping center after being torn down.”

Phew, at least that quells our fears about needing to fortify our houses for the possibility of a Titan invasion!

Sources: Byokan Sunday, Wikipedia
Featured image: Twitter/@IchiroxMariners