From casual goods to cutting-edge trends
Let’s introduce the Umeda (Kita) area, a must-see shopping spot with Osaka’s latest trends. LUKUA, in front of JR Osaka Station, is the most popular mall for the locals with trendy products geared for people in their 20s and 30s. For families who want to enjoy shopping, take the connecting passage from LUKUA to Grand Front Osaka. Grand Front is a large mall with north and south buildings focused on families, and so you can get all your shopping done there since Japan’s latest kids’ apparel and adult clothing can be seen all at once. On the 6th floor of the north building, there is a bar restaurant which stays open until 4 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, so it’s great to enjoy time there until the wee hours. Next to the Grand Front, there is the huge 12-floor appliance store, Yodobashi Camera, where the newest household appliances are all sold. In JR Osaka Station, there is the Daimaru department store. In here, there is Tokyu Hands which sells products born from fascinating ideas by the Japanese, Pocket Monster, popular with the kids, and Japan’s famous apparel shop, Uniqlo. Across from Daimaru is Hankyu, Western Japan’s largest department store with the latest trends. It has high-quality goods representing the nation’s works of arts and Japanese tableware on the 7th floor, and in the basement, there is the best in Japanese confections and liquor, and whiskey for souvenir shopping.
Connected to the shopping area
Everything is connected by the passage and basement so you can enjoy your shopping in comfort even during rainy days. There are plenty of coin lockers and checkrooms around Osaka Station so it’s extremely convenient. And there is the Umeda Sky Building which was selected in 2008 by the UK newspaper “The Times” as one of the world’s top 20 buildings and where you can marvel at the nightscape of Osaka. A 40-floor twin-building complex that is joined at the very top, the connecting area has a popular spot in the form of a garden in the sky as an observation deck.