Osaka's central Umeda area is home to many shopping malls, delicious restaurants, and hotels, and serves as an important transportation hub for the Kansai area. In this article, you'll find a rundown on Umeda's 7 must-visit shopping malls, as well as easy-to-understand maps and info on how to reach them! At the end, we'll also take a look at how to get around in comfort with the UMEGLE-BUS, a convenient way to travel the Umeda area.

The basics on Umeda's 7 must-visit shopping malls

The Umeda area is a complex transportation hub in which the JR, Hankyu Railway, Hanshin Railway, and Osaka Metro train lines converge, for extremely easy access to places like Kyoto, Kobe, Kansai International Airport (KIX), and the shinkansen. The surrounding area is always bustling, filled with department stores, shopping malls, hotels, and restaurants.

Here, we'll take a closer look at the seven shopping malls you'll want to visit in Umeda: GRAND GREEN OSAKA, GRAND FRONT OSAKA, HANKYU SANBAN GAI, HEP FIVE, HERBIS PLAZA / PLAZA ENT, NU chayamachi / NU chayamachi PLUS, and Diamor Osaka.

GRAND GREEN OSAKA SHOPS & RESTAURANTS

A new Osaka landmark that opened in September 2024, GRAND GREEN OSAKA is a large-scale shopping complex characterized by its lush, greenery-filled design, and is directly connected to neighboring shopping mall GRAND FRONT OSAKA. GRAND GREEN OSAKA features a spacious urban park and a hotel, and with a stroll in its large grassy plaza, you'll soon forget about the hustle and bustle of the city, transported to this relaxing environment. Inside the mall, you'll find a variety of fashion brands, sundry shops, lifestyle goods stores, cafés, and restaurants. It's a shopping experience that offers what the mall likes to call "More OSAMPO (strolling), with MIDORI (greenery)." This mall is not just a place to enjoy shopping and dining, but a wonderful place to take a rest in the city center.

GRAND FRONT OSAKA SHOPS & RESTAURANTS

Directly connected to JR Osaka Station's second floor skywalk, GRAND FRONT OSAKA is a large-scale shopping complex offering shopping, dining, the latest technology, and relaxation. There are some 260 shops across GRAND FRONT OSAKA's South and North Buildings, covering a variety of genres, including everything from luxury fashion to Japanese lifestyle brands. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars offering unique cuisine from across Japan and the world, so there's plenty of variety to enjoy. With its sophisticated, contemporary design and wide range of stores and leisure facilities, and the urban feel that only intensifies at night, this is a hotspot for fashion lovers.

阪急三番街

HANKYU SANBAN GAI, which is directly connected to Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station, is a shopping mall with excellent transport connectivity, and more than 250 shops inside. It offers a wide variety of items, including apparel, household goods, books, and souvenirs, as well as a food court where you can enjoy both international cuisine and local Japanese favorites. Bustling with businesspeople and students, HANKYU SANBAN GAI is full of local flavor. Umecha Koji/Hankyu Koshonomachi ("Town of Old Books") on the first floor of the South Building is home to a collection of secondhand books and antique artwork, and exudes a retro Japanese vibe. If you want a deeper experience of life in Osaka, this is the place you have to visit!

HEP FIVE

HEP FIVE is both a shopping mall and entertainment facility, bubbling with the energy of young people, and marked by its iconic red ferris wheel. Here, you'll find the latest fashion trends and accessories, household goods, anime-related items, and popular cartoon character products aplenty - it's no wonder HEP FIVE is so popular with young people and visitors from overseas!

But that's not all that makes HEP FIVE so attractive. It's also fully equipped with some of the most talked-about entertainment facilities, so it's the perfect place for friends to hang out, for couples on a date, or for an outing with the whole family. If you take a ride on the ferris wheel, you can enjoy some beautiful views of Osaka City from high above. It's a great place to make some special Umeda, Osaka memories!

HERBIS PLAZA / PLAZA ENT

HERBIS PLAZA and HERBIS PLAZA ENT offer experiences in upscale shopping and fine dining. These refined and elegant spaces are home to world-famous brands and flagship stores, as well as fashion boutiques, select shops, and of course an array of sophisticated French, Japanese, and other restaurants, so you can savor some truly luxurious gourmet dining.

In addition to shopping and dining, these malls also offer plenty of entertainment, including musicals at the Osaka Shiki Theatre, and Billboard Live Osaka where you can enjoy live music. If you're looking for a luxurious and sophisticated shopping experience, be sure to pay these malls a visit!

NU chayamachi / NU chayamachi PLUS

NU chayamachi is home to about 40 stores that cover a wide range of genres, including anime goods, CDs and records, services, and apparel. In NU chayamachi PLUS, you'll find about 20 more: select shops and food stores, and cafés perfect for taking a break while you shop.

The NU chayamachi mall has recently announced rennovations, from summer of 2024 until their re-opening in fall of 2025. Their post-rennovation concept will be, "A facility where you can pursue and enjoy what you love to the fullest." True to that concept, one after another, stores in the rennovated mall will open where customers can pursue and enjoy their favorite things, regardless of age, gender, or nationality.

Diamor Osaka

Diamor Osaka is a shopping area in Umeda, Osaka's underground, featuring a design that recreates an Italian streetscape, with an elegant courtyard space lit with natural light. Lined with stores selling apparel, accessories, beauty products, medicine, and household goods, it also offers a wide variety of restaurants and cafés. Because Diamor is so close to a number of train stations and connected to other shopping facilities nearby, the streets of the mall are also used by locals as a part of their daily routes. It's perfect for enjoying some shopping or a stop at a café in comfort, even if it's too hot or cold, or even raining outside. Diamor is the ideal spot for locals and visitors alike to get their fill of shopping and relaxation.

A simple access guide and area map for 7 big shopping malls in Umeda, Osaka

Let's take a look at some simple break-downs of how to reach each shopping mall from the major train stations. To do this, we've divided the Umeda area into three: the North Side of JR Osaka Station, the South Side of JR Osaka Station, and the Area Around Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station.

[North Side of JR Osaka Station] GRAND GREEN OSAKA, GRAND FRONT OSAKA

▸GRAND GREEN OSAKA SHOPS & RESTAURANTS (Number 1)

・JR Osaka Station:
Approximately 5 minutes walk from the Central Exit (1st and 3rd floors) (number 2)
Approx. 7 minutes walk from the West Exit (1st floor) (number 3)
・Directly connected to the Umekita Underground Exit (1st basement floor) (number 4)
・Umeda Station via Osaka Metro Midosuji Line: Approximately 7 minutes walk from the North Exit (number 5)
・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 7 minutes walk from the Central Exit (number 6)

How to get to GRAND GREEN OSAKA

▸GRAND FRONT OSAKA SHOPS & RESTAURANTS (Number 1)

・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 3 minutes walk from the Central Exit (1st and 3rd floors) (number 2)
・Umeda Station via Osaka Metro Subway Midosuji Line: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the North Exit (number 3)
・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the Central Exit (number 4)

How to get to GRAND FRONT OSAKA

[South Side of JR Osaka Station] HERBIS PLAZA / PLAZA ENT, Diamor Osaka

▸HERBIS PLAZA (Number 1) / PLAZA ENT (Number 2)

・Osaka Metro Subway Lines
Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda Station: Directly connected to the north ticket gate (number 3)
Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station: Approximately 6 minutes walk from the north ticket gate (number 4)
Midosuji Line Umeda Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the south ticket gate (number 5)
・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 5 minutes on foot from the Sakurabashi Gate (number 6)
・JR Tozai Line Kitashinchi Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk from the West Gate (number 7)
・Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station: Directly connected to the West Gate (number 8)
・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 12 minutes walk (number 9)

How to get to HERBIS PLAZA / PLAZA ENT

▸Diamor Osaka (Number 1)

・Osaka Metro Subway Lines
Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk from the north ticket gate (number 2)
Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk from the north ticket gate (number 3)
Midosuji Line Umeda Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk (number 4)
・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 3 minutes walk from the Sakurabashi Gate (number 5)
・JR Tozai Line Kitashinchi Station: Approximately 3 minutes walk from the East Gate(number 6)
・Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station: About 3 minutes walk from the East Gate (number 7)
・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 7 minutes walk (number 8)

[Area Around Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station] Hankyu Sanban-gai, HEP FIVE, NU chayamachi / NU chayamachi PLUS

▸HANKYU SANBAN GAI (Number 1)

・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Directly connected (number 2)
・Umeda Station via Osaka Metro Midosuji Line: Approximately 1 minute walk from the north exit (number 3)
・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the central exit (1st and 3rd floors) (number 4)

How to get to HANKYU SANBAN GAI

▸HEP FIVE (Number 1)

・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 3 minutes walk from the Central Exit (number 2)
・Osaka Metro Subway Lines
Midosuji Line Umeda Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk (number 3)
Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the North Exit (number 4)
Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda Station: Approximately 10 minutes walk from the North Exit (number 5)
・Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk from the East Exit (number 6)
・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk from the Midosuji Exit (number 7)

How to get to HEP FIVE

▸NU chayamachi (Number 1) / NU chayamachi PLUS (Number 2)

・Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station: Approximately 1 minute walk from Chayamachi Exit (number 3)
・Osaka Metro Subway Lines
Midosuji Line Umeda Station: Approximately 4 minutes walk from Exit 1 (number 4)
Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station: Approximately 6 minutes walk from Exit 1 (number 5)
Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda Station: Approximately 10 minutes walk from Exit 3 (number 6)
・Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station: Approximately 9 minutes walk from East Exit (number 7)
・JR Osaka Station: Approximately 7 minutes walk from Midosuji North Exit (number 8)

How to get to NU chayamachi / NU chayamachi PLUS

Get around Umeda, Osaka in comfort on the UMEGLE-BUS: Timetables, prices, and routes!

The UMEGLE-BUS is a loop bus that connects major hotels and shopping malls in the Umeda, Osaka area. It's a convenient means of getting around for anyone staying in Umeda, doing some sightseeing or shopping in the area, or enjoying the dining. The one-way fare for adults is 100 yen, and for 200 yen you can purchase the One-Day Ticket for a bargain way to ride the bus as many times as you like.

The bus route covers major transportation hubs like the west side of JR Osaka Station, JR Kitashinchi Station, Higashi-Umeda Station of the Subway Tozai Line / Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station, the east side of JR Osaka Station, Umeda Station's subway lines, Hankyu Osaka-umeda Station, and more. The bus's official website offers a detailed route map, a simple display showing the bus's current location, and a place to easily check the timetable. It's incredibly handy! To see more, take a look a the UMEGLE-BUS Navi site!

For more details on how to get to Umeda, see here.

For more information on Umeda, check out some of our Trip Ideas.

*Information in this article is accurate as of the date of posting. There is a possibility that details regarding these products and services have changed, or that some shops have since closed.