Umeda梅田

A large, exciting and very crowded underground mall underneath Osaka. The starting point for tourists of Osaka.

Umeda at Kita-ku, Osaka is the center of local economy, with a huge railway terminal complex containing JR Osaka Station and other Osaka stations of the Hankyu Line, Hanshin Line and three subways that can be said to be the starting point of Osaka. Around the terminal complex stand big department stores and high-rise buildings born as a result of redevelopment of the textile wholesale district, and now are concentrated offices, banks and hotels. Called "Kita" (north) as opposed to "Minami" (south) with Namba and Shinsaibashi centered in it, Umeda is also a huge shopping zone always crowded with people day and night. The Umeda underground mall, the largest of its kind in Japan, has coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, variety stores, food stores, etc. standing side by side, and forms a single town in itself with the mosaic tiled, fountain-playing Izumi-no-Hiroba ("Square of Spring") in the center.

Umeda's new must-see spot is the Hep Five giant ferris wheel. Standing on the top of a 9-storied building, it is illuminated at night and affords a night view of Osaka.