Umeda

Umeda is the business hub of Osaka. Consequently there are lots of Hi-rise office buildings stuffed full of salarymen and Office Ladies (thats office workers to you and me) grinding away all day everyday.

However the benefits of this are that there are hundreds and hundreds of restaurants, cafes, and shops, several train stations and dozens of entertainment venues such as cinemas, pachinko parlours, arcades and theatres.

Unfortunately there are also too many major roads to deal with all the traffic so Umeda is a bit of a nightmare to walk around so the Japanese have done what any sensible animal does when faced with a blockade, they burrowed underground!

There are miles and miles of underground arcades in Umeda and frankly its the easiest and safest way to get around (especially given that Osaka taxi drivers all seem to have inherieted the kamikaze gene)!

Lets start with the mido suji subway station (red line). Arriving in Umeda you’ll hustle out to the exit which offers you the dead end of Yodabashi Camera (worth a look for any number of reasons) or hang a right and head towards the Hankyu station (passing lots of shops of course).

At the stairs to Hankyu you can either go up, or down, and head on over to the Hankyu San Ban Gai which is a fairly large collection of shops on two sublevel floors, or go straight on and hit another underground passage leading to HEP 5 and Whitey Town.

Whitey town itself is a maze of malls which take you over to the Hanshin department store (all aboard for a Tigers game at Koshien), and fizzles out somewhere the best part of a kilometer away from the Mido Suji station.

In between them these underground passageways and shopping fests can take you to the main parts of Umeda that you’d want to see. It’s easy to get lost so make sure you get a map available from the station master at any ticket booth.

If you feel like coming up for air then either of the department stores, Hanshin or Hankyu, are nice places to browse or go up into HEP 5 and take the ferris wheel on the side of the building for a spin and enjoy the view of the city.

The Umeda Sky Building is worth a look for its architecture, and if you’ve a head for heights then go upto the viewing station for a very nice panaromic view, but its a bit out the way.

For a peek into a slightly seedy aspect of this area then check out Avenue Doyama which is filled with a variety of restaurants, hostess bars, love hotels (including a famous Santa themed one - you can’t miss Old Nick beckoning you in for a bit of rumpy pumpy) and several gay bars and shops.

There are a couple of covered arcades in this area and both are worth checking out in the evening for a taste of the nightlife (another place to check out if you like that kind of thing is America Mura in Shinsaibashi).

Anyways, this has been a brief overview of Umeda, more details to come.