The Top Things to See Near Every Rail Station in Umeda

Sep 28, 2022

The Top Things to See Near Every Rail Station in Umeda

As one of the central districts in Osaka, Umeda has not just one rail station but six. Knowing what you’ll find near each one will not only help you navigate this part of the city, it will mean that, no matter how you enter Osaka, you’ll immediately have some ideas of things to do and see.

1. JR Osaka Station

JR Osaka is one of the largest stations in all of Japan (in fact, the largest in the western part of the country). There is constant activity here with trains bringing passengers to Osaka from other cities and express trains and sleeper trains passing through.
The main place to go near the rail station is Grand Front Osaka: a contemporary mall and the largest multi-purpose facility in the city. Its two buildings contain more than 250 shops, restaurants, and businesses. As well as being an excellent place for shopping, it holds workshops, has entertainment venues, and you can walk around the open-air Umekita Plaza.

2. Hanshin Umeda

Hanshin Electric Railway connects Osaka with Kobe. Its station in Umeda is called Hanshin Umeda. Nearby is an underground network of marble and brick streets lined with fashionable stores called Diamor Osaka. There’s also an underground shopping center called Whity Umeda, which has boutiques, various services, and simple dining options.

3. Hankyu Osaka Umeda Station

With trains running from Osaka to Kobe and Kyoto, Hankyu Railway has a station in Umeda called Hankyu Osaka Umeda. Hankyu Sanban Gai shopping center is connected to the station — it’s larger than it first appears because it has two floors above ground and two underground. In addition to stores, there are several interesting places in the shopping center to check out. For instance, Hankyu Brick Museum has a gallery of impressive Lego structures, and there’s a river running through one of the halls, along which you’ll find interior design and hobby stores, as well as a toy store. A bus terminal within the mall also offers night buses to Tokyo.

4. Umeda

Umeda subway station is on the Midosuji Line (named for the street above it). You can take the underground passage from the station to reach the Yodobashi Camera Multimedia store — a shopping center specializing in electrical appliances. One floor of the shopping center is just restaurants, making this a great place to head from the station if you’d rather not venture outside.

5. Nishi-Umeda

On the Yotsubashi Line is the Nishi-Umeda subway station. A highlight nearby is Osaka Shiki Theater in Herbis Plaza. It puts on a range of productions, including some major musicals.

6. Higashi-Umeda

The final subway station in Umeda is Higashi-Umeda on the Tanimachi Line. The surrounding area is mostly government buildings, but there are also several Buddhist temples.
Despite having six rail stations, Umeda is only a single district in Osaka. However, it does have a large amount crammed into a reasonably small area. It can be easy to get lost when you first arrive, but being able to locate some of the top sites around should help you orient yourself.

Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons