Umeda is one of the districts in Osaka city’s Kita ward, and mainly refers to the area around JR Osaka station, Osaka Metro Umeda Station, Higashi-Umeda Station, and Nishi-Umeda Station, and Hankyu-Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station. It’s the largest and busiest street in the west of Japan, with department stores, shopping malls, hotels, and other complexes all lined up side by side. As there are many offices in the area, everyone from businessmen, to the young and old regardless of gender, come shopping and playing here day in and day out. Besides the towering skyscrapers, there are underground streets and other places where you can enjoy some retail therapy or delicious cuisine.

Even within Japan, the Umeda area is one of the livelier streets in Japan with many offices and businesses. Because of that, there are many eateries and restaurants around to fit any occasion. From reasonably priced and filling lunches that can satisfy famished salarymen, to fancy cafés perfect for a tea break while shopping, and even teppanyaki hotplate marbled wagyu, such as Kobe beef, to choose from, you can find anything to fit your current mood.

The Umeda area has many underground streets and malls, such as Whity Umeda, and there are many gourmet spots around the station too. We’ll introduce several spots and their unique points, along with the delicious foods you can enjoy.

One of the major underground malls of the Umeda area, Whity Umeda welcomes around 400,000 visitors daily. From the Osaka Metro, you can easily access the Hankyu Railway and Hanshin Railway through here, resulting in heavy footfall daily.

In Whity Umeda, you can enjoy a large variety of fulfilling lunches. In December 2019, the food hall was renewed after 50 years, and many representative foods of Japan, from belt sushi and extra-large sized pork steaks, known as “tonteki”, to ramen, are waiting for to be enjoyed.

The area is, of course, great for dinner as well, with bars offering a selection of Japanese style dishes, to izakaya restaurants where you can enjoy some great alcohol.

Hankyu Sanbangai is a shopping mall connecting the north and south complexes of the Hankyu Railway’s Osaka-Umeda Station. Since you’re already here, don’t miss out on the humongous Umeda Food Hall on the second basement floor of the north complex.

A bustling food hall with 20 shops, both lunch and dinner are available. Be it hearty stamina meals with snaking queues, chewy udon, tempura and oden, and even New York-style delis, there’s a large variety of shops lined up.

Once you’ve secured your seats, make your way to the shop counters. After ordering, you’ll be given a buzzer, which will ring once your food is ready for collection. Do remember your manners, and return your trays and crockery to each shop’s return station!

Beneath the viaduct of JR Osaka Station is Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, an area lined with numerous small shops and eateries. The narrow streets are tightly packed with stand-and-eat style restaurants, and is especially lively in the evenings, being a popular hangout with businessmen on their way home after a hard day’s work.

Starting from signature foods of Osaka, including okonomiyaki and Takoyaki, there are shops offering a wide variety of food, including ramen, yakitori, or grilled chicken on sticks, udon, izakayas, and a variety of Asian delights as well. Especially for people who would like to experience the culture of izakayas and mix around with the locals, this is the place for you!

One trait of the Umeda area is the large number of business establishments and malls gathered around Osaka Station. You can enjoy both shopping and gourmet food here, making it a great place to stop by after shopping.

To the south of JR Osaka Station, Grand Front Osaka is a shopping complex with a north and south building. Besides shopping, there are restaurants, cafés, hotels, a theatre, and even a high-rise mansion, and many people pass through it daily.

The lineup of eateries is broad, ranging from reasonably priced fare to fancier offerings. Amongst these shops, the basement first-floor area has the most substantial traffic. It has many shops and fashionable cafes perfect for everyday life all lined up, from curry shops and cafés to reasonably priced sushi and Japanese style set meals. Many of these shops offer takeout too, and we recommend getting takeout to enjoy in the comfort of your own hotel room.

The west building, LUCUA 1100, and the east building, LUCUA, combine to make up the largest train station shopping mall in Japan. It’s easily accessible from the central concourse on the first-floor fare gate of JR Osaka Station.

Here, we recommend the food zone in the basement second floor, Paruchika. There are many specialty shops lined up, and during lunchtime, it’s crowded with business people working nearby, along with sightseers.

From izakayas and yakitori houses where you can enjoy a few drinks to specialty ramen shops, from okonomiyaki and set meal eateries to juicy grilled meat restaurants, there are many great shops lined up.

Opened in November 2019, LINKS UMEDA is part of the Yodobashi Umeda Tower that houses Yodobashi Camera and occupies the basement first floor to the eighth floor. From drug stores to supermarkets, it’s a place where you can shop for everyday goods, and the “Oishii Mono Yokocho” in the basement first floor is perfect for a quick drink.

From tempura to motsuyaki, or grilled intestines, from udon to Chinese, be it Takoyaki, grilled xiaolongbao, or Spanish bars, many shops allow you to enjoy your food with some alcohol. With such reasonable prices for food and drink, it gets especially crowded with business people in the evenings!

Besides the area around the stations, you can enjoy an atmosphere and gourmet foods different from that of a bustling city. Do be sure to check it out!

About 10 minutes by foot away from the Osaka Umeda area, is a retro street lined with fashionable cafés centered around the Osaka Metro Nakazakichō Station. The atmosphere conjures up images of Japan from bygone times as you stroll down the streets while choosing a café for a small refresher.

There are many specialty cafés and restaurants around, and everywhere you turn, there is a trendy and photogenic spot. This is one place that’s highly recommended for those who want to take many photos in Japan.

Kita-Shinchi is a watering hole relatively near to the Osaka and Umeda area, with many high-class clubs, sushi and Japanese style-restaurants, and teppanyaki grill restaurants, amongst other top-notch restaurants.

In one of the alleys is a small shop that has earned itself a Michelin star too, and it’s a place where gourmands will be more than satisfied with just taking a stroll down.

Besides the areas we’ve introduced this time, there are lunch and dinners available at department stores too, and there’s the Hankyu Higashidori Shopping Street, with izakayas popular amongst the locals, besides other gourmet offerings to enjoy.

You won’t have issues finding a feast at the Umeda area! Do take our recommendations into consideration as you find a shop that suits your taste.

Text by WestPlan