The Japan-Australia Link As A Fallen Star Became A Black Hole

Japan has become pretty much synonymous with high quality construction, but that didn’t prove to be in what was supposed to be a star project in Melbourne but ended up being more of a black hole.

The 120-meter-high Melbourne Star Ferris wheel was supposed to be a boon for tourism in Australia’s largest city, as well as a strong leap forward for Sanoyas, an Osaka-based shipbuilding company looking to expand into the amusement park business.

The Melbourne Star was plagued from the outset. It was supposed to open in 2006, but didn’t start taking customers until two years later. It ran for just 40 days when it was shut down because of structural results that Sanoyas accepted the blame for and promised to rectify. The wheel didn’t open again for another five years as the wheel was plagued by problems stemming from its design. Basically, Sanoyas had to rebuild the whole thing.

Sanoyas took over direct operation of the wheel in 2013, saying it would be able to run it as long as there was no strong winds or heavy rains: phenomena for which Melbourne is notorious.

Several more operational hiccups confronted Sanoyas, including one caused by a bird flying into one of its cabins, but managed to run the wheel more or less stably until February 2021. Sanoyas finally managed to wash its hands of the wheel by selling it to Switerland’s Robu Group.

Yoshio Nagamatsu, Sanoyas Rides Australia Managing Director, told the Euro Amusement Professional Trade Magazoine at the time of the sale: “We’re proud of the safe and successful operation of Melbourne Star over the last seven years, and significant tourism and economic contribution made to the City of Melbourne and State of Victoria. We believe the Robu Group is the right organisation to lead the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel into future growth, and we look forward to seeing their vision for the world-class attraction materialise.”

Just six months later, Robu announced the permanent closure of the wheel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and high-rise development in the surrounding area.

The wheel was a dormant eyesore in the center of Melbourne until August 2025. MB Star Properties Pty Ltd, the owner that went into liquidation in 2021, was restructured under an $11m takeover. It has pledged to get the Melbourne Star operating again in 2026.

“It’s failed so many times before. Of course, I’m nervous,” Jack Jones, the proposed new operator said. But, it is a world-class piece of equipment in a world-class city, so why can’t we make it work?” 

Though there is no longer an operational role, the Melbourne Star retains a Japanese link through the Sanoyas-designed and manufactured replacement wheel and cabins, leaving a technical legacy.

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  • Lucky Country, the

    lucky country, the Australian English Australia. The term was coined by historian Donald Horne in irony. He argued that Australia was lucky as it became a rich land only because of its natural resources instead of the cleverness or effort shown by other nations. Instead of being shocked by the term, Australians adopted “the Lucky Country” to use as a favorable synonym to describe their land. 日本語 オーストラリアのこと、ラッキーな国。もともと歴史学者ドナルド・ホーン氏が１９６４年に「ラッキーな国」を皮肉たっぷりに使った表現だ。同氏は、オーストラリアがほかの先進国と違って、知恵や努力で発展したではなく、資源豊富さだけで豊かとなって、とても「ラッキーな国だ」と言った。しかし、多くのオーストラリア人がホーンの本来の意味を無視、今一般に自国名をいい風に表現できる同義語として使うようになった。 Plain English Australia. Strine Dictionary

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    Why Are Australian Gum Trees All Over Japan?

    なぜ日本にはオーストラリアのユーカリがこんなに多いのか？ Look around many Japanese parks, university campuses or botanical gardens and you’ll probably spot a gum tree. Most people walk past without a second thought. Yet these unmistakably Australian trees have quietly become part of Japan’s landscape. 日本の公園や大学、植物園を歩いていると、ユーカリの木を見かけることがあります。しかし、多くの人はそれがオーストラリア原産だとは気付きません。今では、ユーカリは日本の風景に静かに溶け込んでいます。 An Aussie Arrives in Japan オージーの木が日本へ Eucalypts are native almost exclusively to Australia. The first specimens arrived in Japan during the late 19th century, when the country was eagerly introducing plants from around the world for scientific study and forestry trials. Botanical gardens played an important role in testing which species could adapt to Japan’s climate. オージーの木が日本へ ユーカリは、ほぼオーストラリアだけに自生する樹木です。 19世紀後半、日本が世界中から植物を導入していた時代に、ユーカリも研究や試験植林のため持ち込まれました。 植物園は、日本の気候に合う種類を調べる重要な役割を果たしました。 More Than One Tree ユーカリは一種類ではない Many people think “gum tree” means…

  • No Flies On Why Sharp Aussies Never Sit Still

    Why would Aussies compliment someone’s intelligence by talking about insects that aren’t there? なぜオーストラリア人は、そこに「いない」虫の話で相手の賢さを褒めるのだろうか？ In the paddocks of 1840s colonial Australia, stockmen noticed something about their cattle: the laziest, slowest animals attracted swarms of flies, while the sharp, active ones moved around too much for any fly to settle on them. From that simple bit of bush observation came one of Australia’s oldest surviving slang phrases, and it was exporting itself to the U.S. and Britain within a few decades. 1840年代、植民地時代のオーストラリアの牧場で、牧夫たちは牛について面白いことに気づいた。動きの鈍い牛にはハエがたかるが、活発に動き回る牛にはハエがとまる暇がない、というのだ。この素朴な観察から生まれたのが、オーストラリアに現存する最古のスラングのひとつであり、数十年のうちにアメリカやイギリスにも輸出されていった。 Meaning “No flies on [someone]” means that person is sharp, alert, and not easily fooled — the exact opposite of a “drongo.” It’s almost always used as a compliment….

  • Layabout

    A layabout in Strine is someone who avoids work, except when striving hard to avoid doing anything useful. They work hard to avoid work. Layabouts are also referred to as idlers, good-for-nothings, and–most commonly–bludgers. 　ストライン（オーストラリア英語）で layabout は「働くのを避けてばかりいる怠け者」のことです。役に立つことをしないためには一生懸命になるくせに、仕事そのものは全力で避けるタイプ。日本語で言う「ぐうたら」「ろくでなし」「役立たず」、そして一番よく使われる呼び名が bludger（ブラッジャー）です。