most important urban areas since Japan's early history.

Divided into 2 main city centers known as Kita (or Umeda in the North), and Minami down

South, Osaka offers many shopping and dining experiences.

The Umeda district, is not only Osaka's biggest transportation hub, but it also has

a huge abundance of attractions in a relatively small area, such as shopping malls, restaurants,

a ferris wheel, entertainment and panoramic views of the city.

With Osaka and Umeda stations at its center, and only one hour from Kansai International

Airport by train, Umeda is one of the best districts to head to for a day

of amusement and shopping.

There are a dizzying number of shops and restaurants in the area, however, if you need a place

to start, here are our recommended shopping spots and fun things to do in Osaka-Umeda.

There are lots of malls and attractions in the Osaka-Umeda area namely but not limited

to: GRAND FRONT OSAKA, HANKYU SANBAN GAI, NU Chayamachi and Chayamachi Plus, HEP FIVE,

DIAMOR OSAKA, HERBIS PLAZA and Umeda Sky Building.

Today we're going to check out some of the fun things to do at these places

during your stay in Umeda.

Made in Japan shopping

For those looking for uniquely local products,

Onitsuka Tiger is a well-known sneaker brand that has fans from all over the world.

Their Made in Japan and Nippon Made range of sneakers make for fashionable souvenirs

and are comfortable for walking in the city (especially while on holiday!).

We visited the brand's showroom on street level at Nu Chayamachi to browse through their

selection of sneakers including some Japan-specific ones.

They were all beautiful but the Kabuki inspired one definitely caught our eye.

Cafe Hopping

The Pompompurin Cafe in HANKYU SANBAN GAI is

one of four cafes in Japan to get your cutesy cafe fix of the Pompompurin character.

Everything is made to look like the yellow mascot, including the food, drinks and furniture.

We went for a delicious Omu-rice dish (or Japanese style omelet), accompanied with a

strawberry yoghurt shake, and for dessert a custard pudding on top of ice-cream, corn

flakes and whip-cream.

Talk about calorie heaven!

The cafe also sells goods and plush toys, if you want to take some of the cuteness back home.

Taking the Ferris wheel

The HEP FIVE shopping mall, located only 5 minutes

away from Osaka Station, is immediately identifiable, with its flashy red signage, its giant red

whale floating in its main hall and its 106 meter tall ferris wheel.

A ride on the ferris wheel takes around 15 minutes and will allow you to enjoy stunning

panoramic views of the city, with explanations on the windows to understand what are some

of the buildings around the area.

If you look closely you can even spot Osaka Castle!

Pamper yourself.

Looking to pamper yourself and experience what a Japanese beauty parlor is like?

On the 6th floor of the HERBIS PLAZA is the SHISEIDO SALON&SPA, where you can experience

a high-end treatment service.

A basic relaxing hair treatment itself takes about 15 minutes with further add-on options,

and the entire process takes around an hour including blow-drying.

The whole experience will leave you feeling refreshed and like a different person.

Appointments are recommended and appreciated as space is limited.

Dining and eating sashimi

The Umeda district is not only great for shopping,

it also offers great lunch and dining experiences.

The impressive GRAND FRONT OSAKA complex has a variety of nice restaurants on its top floors,

especially if you are looking to eat some delicious fresh seafood.

Ginpei is a cosy restaurant which offers great options to try out exquisite slices of sashimi

for a reasonable price.

Food souvenir shopping

A great place for Japanese food souvenir shopping,

is the Kuzefuku Shoten that style themselves as “the Japanese gourmet store”.

Located in the DIAMOR shopping mall, the shop sells a wide variety of Japanese products,

foods, sauces, sake, as well as traditional snacks, such as these fish bones.

The shop also sells donuts with traditional Japanese flavors such as tofu, kinako, green

tea and more.

Finally to end a day of shopping, we recommend

checking out the Kuchu Teien Observatory, on the top floor of the Umeda Sky Building,

one of the landmarks of the Umeda District.

To access it, you go on a spectacular escalator which goes in between the two towers that

make the Umeda Sky Building.

The observatory offers absolutely stunning panoramic views of the city, especially when

the city lights come up just as the sun disappears in the horizon at sunset.

These are just a sample of the activities you can do in the many shopping malls and

department stores that constitute the Umeda district.

I hope that this video has sparked some ideas, should you visit Umeda on your trip to Osaka.

For more information about the Umeda district, or to watch another video, click the links

on the screen now, or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive up to date travel guide,

first hand from Japan.

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Happy travels.