Key areas
Umeda This is the northern part of Osaka, centred around Osaka station and the adjacent Umeda station. Most of the top-flight hotels are in this area, as are the major department stores and the Kitashinchi bar and nightclub district. More upmarket and international in feel than its downtown cousin Shinsaibashi.
Kyobashi Osaka has few green spaces, but the area just east of Kyobashi station is one of them. Osaka Castle Park is located here and the area around the New Otani hotel includes tree-lined boulevards. Kyobashi station itself is pretty grubby and, at night, this is one of the few areas that can get a bit dodgy safety-wise.
Nagahori/Honmachi East and south-east of Honmachi station on the Midosuji subway line is the Nagahori area. By day it’s a drab business district. By night the bohemian, international cafés, restaurants and shops located in the side streets come alive with young Japanese, especially women in their twenties and thirties. Shinsaibashi East This area, which begins at the Sony Tower building just east of Midosuji Boulevard, at Shinsaibashi station on the Midosuji line, and extends southward to the Dotonbori river, is known as ‘Europe Village’. There are many European-style buildings, restaurants and fashion shops in the area.
Shinsaibashi West On the other side of Midosuji Boulevard, beginning with the area behind the Hotel Nikko and extending south to the Dotonbori river, is ‘American Village’, so named because of the large number of small shops that sell American fashion goods. Far cheaper, but more hectic, than Europe Village, American Village attracts large numbers of Japanese high school and junior high school students.
Namba Centred around Namba station, it includes the highbrow and lowbrow. The recently opened Namba City shopping centre has stylish shops and, reportedly, the city’s best Chinese restaurant, while the area just north of Namba station consists of grotty restaurants and, in the back alleys, various forms of adult entertainment. But the real attraction of Namba is just to the east: the Nipponbashi shopping centre, which offers every kind of electronic goods you can think of at great prices.
Tennoji This is Osaka at its most down and dirty. The area around Tennoji station includes a zoo, which you do not want to visit if you have even the slightest compassion for animals. There’s also a park, as well as old, rickety buildings and flophouses used by the city’s day labourers. Despite appearances, the area isn’t that dangerous and if you’re tired of touristy Osaka, this is the place to come. Tsuruhashi Located on the Osaka loop (a train system that encircles the city from Umeda in the north to Tennoji in the south), Tsuruhashi is on the eastern edge of the circle. It’s the traditional home of Osaka’s Korean population, and if you like genuine Korean food you’ll find it here.
Getting around
The saying in Osaka is that if it takes 15 minutes to walk somewhere and 10 minutes to go by train or subway, it will take 30 minutes by car. Osaka has some of the worst traffic jams in Japan.
Osaka transport centres are well-marked in English, especially around the main centres of Umeda and Shinsaibashi, so you should have little trouble getting from A to B. Osaka’s underground train system is so efficient that it makes little sense to use any other form of transportation. Main railway stations include Umeda in the north, Kyobashi to the east, Namba and Tennoji in the far south. A city subway ticket between Umeda and Namba stations costs [00a3]1.30. If you take the Osaka loop, it costs 80p to go from Umeda to Kyobashi. Special discounts for tourists are available and details can be found at Japan Travel Bureau or at any of the information centres in the main railway stations.
Unless you’re going somewhere where there is no train station close by, or are loaded down with luggage, taxis are not recommended. Most taxi drivers don’t understand English, so have someone write down the address in Japanese before you get in. Fares range between [00a3]2.70 and [00a3]3.10 for the first kilometre, and then between 40p and 46p for every quarter of a kilometre after that.
City buses do run, but unless you have a lot of time and are heading to an area that is too expensive to reach by cab and doesn’t have a train station nearby, you’re better off not using the bus.
Shopping
Japan in general, and Osaka in particular, is a shopper’s paradise. The Umeda underground shopping arcade, which runs under Umeda and Osaka stations and the surrounding area, contains literally miles of stores and boutiques. Above ground, right beside Umeda station on the eastern side, are the HEP and Hankyu INGS buildings, both of which have specialist shops and clothing stores. Also in Umeda station are the Daimaru, Hankyu and Hanshin department stores, each of which is the size of Harrod’s.
In the Honmachi district, south-east of Midosuji Boulevard and Honmachi Street, is a covered arcade with various clothing stores. Many of the wares are actually from India, as the local Indian business community is based in this region.
At the intersection of Nagahori Street and Midosuji Street, one can find shops of Europe’s most famous fashion designers mixed in with small boutiques. Just south of the fashion shops is the Shinsaibashi branch of Daimaru department store. Then there is the recently opened Namba Parks complex, which is just below Namba station and just south of the Swissotel.
Hundreds of shops and restaurants can be found here, with a large number of the stores targeting younger women.
Gifts to buy
Daimaru and Hanshin department stores, both of which are located right beside Osaka station, contain excellent traditional Japanese goods that come beautifully wrapped. They can ship overseas as well. Gadget freaks can head for either Yodoyabashi Camera, which is also right beside Osaka station, or to the Nipponbashi district in south Osaka for the very latest in Japanese consumer electronic goods.
For a variety of Japanese knick-knacks at a great price, check out the ¥100 shop beside the Yoshimoto Kogyo building in south Osaka, a couple of blocks east of Namba station. Everything, from chopsticks to traditional fans, is priced at 50p. In recent months, a number of art galleries have opened in the Honmachi and Shinsaibashi areas, and many of these offer both traditional and modern Japanese paintings and sculptures.
Things to do
Osaka lacks many of the cultural attractions found in other cities. With the ancient capital of Kyoto just 30 to 40 minutes away from Umeda station, many visitors to Japan spend their limited free time there, rather than in Osaka city. However, Osaka offers a number of modern and traditional attractions.
The National Bunraku Theatre is an evening of traditional Japanese puppet theatre. The theatre is located a few blocks away from Sony Tower in Shinsaibashi. This isn’t kids’ stuff, though. A typical play deals with operatic themes and much of the story line is borrowed from actual historical events.
A visit to the Osaka Castle historical museum is also recommended. The battle that took place in 1614-15 ended hundreds of years of civil war and was won, legend has it, with Dutch cannon. Afterwards, head over to Nakanoshima Park on Nakanoshima Island. This is an oasis of green with European architecture, and is home to the Museum of Oriental Ceramics which displays nearly 200 works of Chinese and Korean ceramics, some of which date back to 200AD.
For more upbeat entertainment during the day, head over to the Universal Studios Japan theme park for a taste of Hollywood in Japan. The park is modelled on the ones in California and Florida and features a host of rides and attractions, as well as numerous American and Asian restaurants. Or you can head to the Tempozan district down by the waterfront. Tempozan is home to the Osaka Aquarium, which houses 35,000 animals representing some 500 different species.
Osaka comes alive at night, and you can either head north to the Kitashinchi district with its numerous upscale watering holes, or to Shinsaibashi for places that are cheaper. And if that’s not boisterous enough and you happen to be in Osaka between April and October, consider attending a Hanshin Tigers baseball game. The energy and noise of the crowds is famous throughout Japan. The Osaka Tourist Association (Tel: 6305 3311, 6345 2189 or 6643 2125 on weekdays) has offices throughout the city and offers English-speaking guides and information. They can also can help you secure tickets to many events, as well as discount coupons to selected restaurants.
Excursions
Visitors to Osaka often take advantage of the fact that the city is less than an hour by train from the old capitals and cultural centres of Kyoto and Nara. Go there to see the temples, shrines and traditional architecture of those two cities or, in Nara’s case, the beautiful mountains and forests. The Osaka Tourist Association can give you more information about excursions to both cities and can provide discount rail passes and other information.
Tourist traps
Sometimes it seems like the only things to see in Osaka are tourist traps. While entrance fees for the Osaka Aquarium and boat tours of Osaka Bay are set and do not fluctuate, you may find yourself asking if it was worth it. Other officially touted attractions like Tempozan, the Suntory Museum and the Umeda Sky Building area are extremely boring and should be avoided. Even the Universal Studios Japan theme park, which is being promoted as the city’s main tourist attraction, has been criticised of late as being nothing more than a collection of rides designed to appeal to young boys.
Convention centres
In recent years Osaka has been aiming to become a major convention centre in not only Japan, but also Asia. The city has three main convention sites:
Osaka International Convention Centre is located on Nakanoshima Island near Umeda, adjacent to the Rihga Royal Hotel. This centre hosts major international conferences and many local ones. Take the free bus from Osaka station to the Rihga Royal Hotel.
Osaka International Exchange Centre is near Uehonmachi station in central Osaka. It hosts smaller gatherings and also contains a library of English-language books and newspapers, as well as rooms for small parties and receptions. To get there, take the Kintetsu or Tanimachi subway lines to Uehonmachi station and the centre is about a 10-minute walk away.
INTEX Osaka is located in the Tempozan harbour district, beside the Hyatt Regency Osaka. INTEX hosts primarily trade shows. Take the Yotsubashi subway line to Suminoekoen station and transfer to the New Tram line for Nakafuto station.