Man leaps off bridge in Osaka to celebrate the end of Heisei era, shocks onlookers with landing

A celebratory mood was in the air all over Japan on Tuesday (April 30) with the end of the 30-year Heisei era, and the start of Reiwa era. But one man's celebration went just slightly off.

"Heisei, thank you," he screamed at the top of his lungs, then leapt off the Ebisubashi bridge in Osaka.

He landed not in the waters, but on the deck of a passing sightseeing cruise.

Despite the seemingly painful landing, the man was apparently unharmed.

According to reports, the sightseeing cruise quickly returned to the dock upon the incident.

[embed]https://twitter.com/aaosaka90/status/1123406450955436032[/embed]

Videos circulating on Twitter showed the man curled up on the deck, but many suspect that he was suffering more from wounded pride than anything else.

He apparently refused offers of first aid, and walked off into the night.

As SoraNews24 noted, it is not uncommon for partygoers to gather on the bridge for a celebration and then jump off. This usually happens after local baseball team Hanshin Tigers has won an important game, or when the national football team does well.

However, there have been injuries and even deaths, which led to city authorities to regularly warn people against the act.

While it is reported that the police arrived at the bridge later that night to supervise the crowd and prevent similar occurrences, it seems like they didn't get there early enough to prevent this partygoer from jumping.

[embed]https://twitter.com/shakaijin_zero/status/1123254849770909698[/embed]

The incident took place sometime around 8.30pm and the authorities didn't expect people to be leaping off the bridge that early in the night.

Bridge-jumping might very well be a cultural practice in Osaka, but perhaps one might be better off finding a safer way to celebrate?

In any case, it might also be wise to remember a simple lesson our parents taught us from young: Look before you leap.

lynette@asiaone.com