Osaka Station City

This article is based on a visit made on Saturday, 19 November 2016.

Edit 7 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I came back from a visit to Himeji Castle and Arima Onsen.  I had some time left in the day, so after dinner I spent the evening arcade-hopping in the nearby Kita ward of Osaka.  I started my explorations by navigating, or trying to navigate, the gargantuan complex of Osaka Station City (大阪ステーションシティ, Ōsaka Sutēshon Shiti).

Osaka Station (大阪駅, Ōsaka-eki) has existed in various forms since 1874.  The most recent of its renovations, wrapped up in 2011, created a new pedestrian concourse above the tracks.  Grand Front Osaka, seen in the picture above, is a commercial and residential complex which opened a couple of years afterwards.

In this plaza area, there was a public presentation put on by Nagano Prefecture, in the central Chubu region of Japan.  Prefectural governments put on these kinds of displays to promote tourism, local products, etc.  They also bring out their mascots for these events, such as this samurai bear whom I had my picture taken with, named Arukuma (アルクマ).  He's a cute fellow, even if I had to look him up later on!  And he's on Instagram, too!

The new concourse bridging over the tracks in Osaka Station is called the Toki no Hiroba (時空の広場, lit. 'plaza of time and space').  At the time, it was decorated with pretty Christmas lights, including snowmen like these.  One thing I've noticed about snowmen in Japan, and indeed most of Asia, is that their snowmen consist of two large snowballs, one for the head, and one for the body.  By contrast, the snowmen I'm used to seeing in the West are made of three parts: the head, chest, and lower body.  A curious distinction, but it makes these guys even cuter.

Speaking of cute things, these were adverts for the Pokémon Centre store, also in the Osaka Station City complex.  On the far-left side is Pikachu, the franchise's most famous mascot, and to the right are Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, the three starter Pokémon from the newest games, the then-just-released Pokémon Sun and Moon.  I did not manage to visit the Osaka store, but I had previously visited the one in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, which you can read about here.

Let's continue the Pokémon theme with one of the games I played in the arcades nearby.  Pokken Tournament is a one-on-one fighting game with various Pokémon as playable characters.  The arcade version has not been exported to North America, to my knowledge, but there are home ports available on the Wii U and Switch consoles.  One thing I found curious is that the arcade version uses a tethered controller, instead of the joystick and buttons being part of the cabinet itself.

Music games are still quite the rage in the Japanese arcade scene.  Along with ones that mimic instruments or dance mats, some games, especially newer ones, make up their own control setups.  This one, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival, is based on an earlier entry for the Nintendo 3DS.

And here's one I had never seen before: a rail-shooter based on Luigi's Mansion!  This one uses a vacuum-shaped controller to suck up ghosts and coins.

Stepping back outside, not all the lights in the city were Christmas-related, but were pretty nonetheless.  This green-lit glass facade belongs to a multi-purpose office building.

And this funky front belongs to a pachinko/slot parlour.

This Ferris wheel poking out from behind the pink building is part of the HEP Five shopping mall.  HEP Five also hosts a branch of the Sega Joypolis indoor theme park.  The one in Osaka is smaller and has mostly the same rides as its bigger brother in Tokyo, so having visited that one previously, I hope you'll understand that I skipped it.

On my way out of the arcades, I found myself wandering through the nearby Don Quijote department store.  One unique thing about this branch is the photo op they placed in this stairwell.  The back walls are painted with the image of a paint can pouring its contents, as if onto the people below.  They even have an umbrella hanging nearby which you can borrow to come up with some crazy shots, as I did!

Well, that was it for Saturday.  The following morning would see me delve even further into Osaka, starting with a rather distinctive Shinto shrine.  See it next time on Sekai Ichi!

---

Osaka Station

Address: 3-1-1 Umeda, Kita-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 〒530-0001

Access: Osaka Station is served by the JR Kyoto/Kobe (A) and Osaka Loop (O) lines.  It also serves through services to other lines, such as the Hanwa (R), Kansai Airport (S), Takarazuka (G), Yamatoji (Q), and Yumesaki (Y) lines.

Adjacent stations, all served by non-JR railways, include Umeda (Hankyu Kobe (HK), Takarazuka (HK), and Kyoto (HK) lines, Hanshin Main Line (HS), and Osaka Metro Midosuji (M) line), Higashi-Umeda (Osaka Metro Tanimachi (T) line), and Nishi-Umeda (Osaka Metro Yotsubashi (Y) line).

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Pokémon Centre Osaka

Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM; open to 9:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.  No regular closing days.

Costs: Free to enter.  ICOCA and other compatible IC cards are accepted at this store.

Address: South Gate Building 13F, 3-3-1 Umeda, Kita-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 〒530-8202

Directions: From the Central ticket gate of Osaka Station, turn right and enter the Daimaru department store on the ground floor.  From the "Toki no Hiroba", you can enter at the 5th floor.  Once inside Daimaru, take the nearest elevator up to the 13th folor.

Website: (Japanese)

HEP Five

Hours: Shops are open from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM; restaurants and the Ferris Wheel are open from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Costs: The Ferris wheel costs ¥600.

Address: 5-15 Kakuda-cho, Kita-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 〒530-0017

Directions: From the South Gate of Osaka Station, turn left and go across the pedestrian overpass, into the Hankyu department store.  Once inside, find the nearest escalators, go down to ground level, exit the bulding, and head left around the building.  At the Hankyu East intersection, cross the first street and turn left.  HEP Five will be on your right side.

Website: (Japanese)

Don Quijote Umeda

Hours: Open 24 hours.  No closing days.

Address: 4-16 Komatsubara-cho, Kita-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 〒530-0018

Directions: From the South Gate of Osaka Station, turn left and go across the pedestrian overpass, into the Hankyu department store.  Once inside, find the nearest escalators, go down to ground level, exit the building, and head left around the building.  At the Hankyu East intersection, cross the two consecutive streets and turn left.  Don Quijote will be on your right side.

Website: (Japanese)

Introduction to: Osaka

This article is based on a visit made on Sunday, 20 November 2016.

Edit 11 June 2018: Added excursions, and updated article to reflect the sale of the subway system to the private company Osaka Metro.
Edit 7 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka, lit. 'big slope') is Japan's third-largest city by population (behind Tokyo and Yokohama), and largest in the mid-western Kansai region.  Formerly known as Naniwa (難波), the city briefly served as the capital of ancient Japan in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.  Ever since then, it still served as Japan's economic powerhouse.  Back then, it was an important hub of land and sea trade, and even today many companies are based in the Osaka area, including the electronics companies Panasonic, Sharp, and Sanyo.  As with many industrialised cities in Japan, it was razed by aerial bombing in World War II, so don't expect too many historical sites.  Do expect, on the other hand, a vast array of entertainment and dining opportunities.  Osaka is the home of nationally-famous foodstuffs like takoyaki (grilled octopus dumplings) and okonomiyaki (cabbage pancake), as well as specialised versions of sushi and udon noodles.

Main Attractions

1) Osaka Station City: The area surrounding Osaka and Umeda stations.

2) Umeda Sky Building: A modern, glass-covered skyscraper with a 360-degree viewing deck.

3) Osaka Castle: A reconstructed castle steeped in history.

4) Osaka Museum of History: A museum focused on the history of the Osaka city and region.

By W236 at Japanese Wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

5) Shinsaibashi: A collection of shopping avenues, including the youthful Amerika-mura.

6) Dotonbori: A neon-glazed smorgasbord of dining and advertising.

DVMG [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

7) Den-Den Town: Osaka's answer to Akihabara, selling electronics, otaku goods, and more.

8) Shinsekai: A dining and nightlife district with a distinct mid-20th-century flavour.

9) Abeno Harukas: The tallest building in Japan, with a department store and an observation deck.

10) Sumiyoshi-taisha: A Shinto shrine that predates Buddhist cultural influence.

By 663highland [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], from Wikimedia Commons

11) Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan: A huge aquarium collecting sea life from the Pacific Ocean.

By momopy [CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

12) Universal Studios Japan: A popular, movie-based theme park.

Orientation

Osaka has two major central districts.  Kita (meaning "north") is centred around Osaka and Umeda stations, and Minami (meaning "south") is centred around Namba Station.  Other stations of note are Shin-Osaka, to the north of Osaka/Umeda, and Tennoji, to the southeast of Namba.  The central parts of the city are surrounded by the JR Osaka Loop Line, similar to the Yamanote line in Tokyo.  Major stops along the Osaka Loop Line include Osaka in the north and Tennoji in the south.  A network of eight subway lines criss-crosses the city, with the Midosuji line being the most useful to tourists.  It runs north-to-south for much of its length, and links all four stations mentioned above.

The following railway companies operate in the Osaka area:

• JR Central operates the high-speed Tokaido Shinkansen to the east.
• JR West operates the high-speed Sanyo Shinkansen to the west.  They also operate many local lines in the area, including the Osaka Loop (O), Kyoto/Kobe (A), and Yamatoji (Q) lines.
• The Osaka Metro network (formerly owned, until April 2018, by the Osaka Municipal Transport Bureau) consists of eight lines throughout the city.  The Yotsubashi (Y), Midosuji (M), Sakaisuji (K), Tanimachi (T), and Imazatosuji (I) lines run north-south through the city centre, and the Chuo (C), Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi (N), and Sennichimae (S) lines run east-west.  Their network also includes the New Tram (P), an automated people-mover along the Osaka Bay area.
• Kintetsu operates a dense network of lines throughout the Kansai region.  Their Osaka (D) and Nara (A) lines depart from Osaka-Namba Station, and their Minami-Osaka (F) line departs from Osaka-Abenobashi Station near Tennoji.
• Hankyu operates a set of lines connecting Osaka to major cities in the Kansai region.  Their Kobe (HK), Takarazuka (HK), and Kyoto (HK) lines all start at Umeda Station, and terminate in their respective cities.
• Nankai operates a set of lines departing southwards from Namba Station.  Their main line (NK) travels south to Wakayama, their Airport (NK) branch line serves Kansai International Airport, and their Koya (NK) line travels south to Mount Koya.
• Hankai, a child company of Nankai, operates a pair of tram lines in the south of Osaka.  The Hankai (HN) line starts near Shin-Imamiya, and the Uemachi (HN) line starts near Tennoji.
• Hanshin operates a line connecting Osaka and Kobe.  Their main line (HS) departs from Umeda Station, and terminates at Motomachi Station in central Kobe, and their Namba (HS) branch line departs from Osaka-Namba Station.
• Keihan operates a line connecting Osaka and Kyoto.  Their main line (KH) departs from Yodoyabashi Station, in the middle of the Osaka Loop, and terminates in the east of Kyoto.
• The Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (M) is an extension of the Midosuji (M) subway line, linking it with the Osaka Monorail to the north.
• The Osaka Monorail runs east from Itami Airport, and has connections to various subway and Hankyu lines.  It also stops at the former site of the 1970 World Expo.

There are many rail passes which include free use of different lines in and around Osaka.  For more information, please read my article "Rail Passes of the Kansai Region".  There are a few others which are specific to Osaka:

• The Osaka 1-Day Pass covers all Osaka Metro subway lines and Osaka Municipal buses for one calendar day, and also grants discounted admission to many tourist attractions around the city.  It costs ¥700, and is available for non-Japanese visitors only.  More information: (English)
• The Osaka Amazing Pass also covers the same subways and buses, but includes free admission to some tourist sites in the city, and discounts for others.  It costs ¥2,700 for one day, and ¥3,600 for two consecutive days.  The one-day version, but not the two-day, also covers sections of the Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Kintetsu, and Nankai networks. More information: (English)
• The Kansai Thru Pass includes all of Osaka's subways and buses in its coverage area.  Due to its price, however, it is best combined with excursions to other Kansai cities, such as Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe.  When purchased online, it costs ¥4,300 for two non-consecutive days, or ¥5,300 for three days.  More information: (English)

Access

Osaka is served by two airports.  Kansai International Airport (IATA code: KIX), located 40km (25 miles) south of central Osaka, serves both domestic and international flights, including low-cost carriers.  For more information on transportation to and from Kansai Airport, read my Know Your Trains article on the Haruka and Rapi:t express trains.  Osaka International Airport, a.k.a. Itami Airport (IATA code: ITM), is 10km (6 miles) to the north, and serves only domestic flights.  To reach central Osaka from Itami Airport, take the Osaka Monorail and transfer to the Hankyu Takarazuka line (total 30 minutes/¥430 to Umeda) or the Osaka Metro Midosuji line (total 40 minutes/¥710 to Umeda, 55 minutes/¥810 to Tennoji).

From other Japanese cities, the easiest and fastest way to reach Osaka is by bullet train.  Shin-Osaka Station is the junction of the Tokaido Shinkansen, heading east to Tokyo, and the Sanyo Shinkansen, heading west to Fukuoka.  All five Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen services stop at Shin-Osaka.  Travel times and fares from major cities are as follows:

City	Time (Kodama)	Time (Hikari)	Time (Nozomi)	Time (Sakura)	Time (Mizuho)	Fare (Reserved)
Tokyo	235 minutes	175 minutes	150 minutes	N/A	N/A	¥14,440
Nagoya	50 minutes	50-65 minutes	65 minutes	N/A	N/A	¥6,470
Kyoto	15 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	N/A	N/A	¥2,860
Kobe (Shin-Kobe)	15 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	¥2,940
Hiroshima	150 minutes	95-150 minutes	90 minutes	90 minutes	90 minutes	¥10,420
Fukuoka (Hakata)	300 minutes	160-180 minutes	150 minutes	150 minutes	145 minutes	¥15,280

If you are coming in from other cities in Kansai, and do not wish to spend extra on Shinkansen fare, there are a variety of regular train services you can take instead.  Of the three JR services, Special Rapid trains are both the fastest and cheapest, which often means they get more crowded.  If you have one of the JR West area passes (which cover normal and express trains between the two cities, but not the Tokaido Shinkansen), you may want to consider taking one of the many limited express trains that cover this route, including the Haruka, Thunderbird, and so on.  They take roughly the same amount of time as Special Rapid trains, but because of their extra cost, they should be less crowded.  Non-JR services are slower than their JR alternatives, but also cheaper.  They are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass, but are instead covered by the Kansai Thru Pass.

Line	Service	Start Station	End Station	Time	Fare
From Kyoto
JR Kyoto (A)	Limited Express	Kyoto	Osaka	30 minutes	¥1,750*
	Special Rapid				¥570
Hankyu Kyoto (HK)	Limited Express	Karasuma	Umeda	45 minutes	¥400
Keihan Main (KH)	Limited Express	Sanjo	Yodoyabashi	50 minutes	¥420
From Kobe
JR Kobe (A)	Limited Express	Sannomiya	Osaka	20 minutes	¥1,600*
	Special Rapid			25 minutes	¥410
Hankyu Kobe (HK)	Limited Express	Kobe-Sannomiya	Umeda	30 minutes	¥320
Hanshin Main (HS)	Limited Express	Kobe-Sannomiya	Umeda	30 minutes	¥320
From Nara
JR Yamatoji (Q)	Yamatoji Rapid	Nara	Namba	45 minutes	¥570
			Osaka	60 minutes	¥810
Kintetsu Nara (A)	Limited Express	Kintetsu-Nara	Osaka-Namba	35 minutes	¥1,090*
	Rapid Express			40 minutes	¥570

*Fare for reserved seating.
Times and fares are based on October 2019 schedules and are subject to change.

Excursions

1) Kyoto: The nation's former capital city, with a trove of heritage treasures.
Access: See above tables.

2) Nara: Another of Japan's former capitals, with even more historic shrines and temples, including Todai-ji and its giant Buddha statue.
Access: See above tables.

3) Yoshino: A hillside town surrounded by thousands of cherry-blossom trees.
Access: Kintetsu Minami-Osaka/Yoshino Line from Osaka-Abenobashi to Yoshino (Limited Express: 75 minutes, ¥1,510 reserved; Express: 90 minutes, ¥990).

4) Mt. Koya: A forested mountain with secluded Buddhist temples, many of which accept guests for overnight stays.
Access: Nankai Koya line from Namba to Gokurakubashi (Limited Express: 80 minutes, ¥1,680 reserved), then the Koyasan Cable Car to Koyasan (5 minutes, ¥500).

5) Kobe: A port city opened to world trade in the late 19th century.
Access: See above tables.

6) Himeji: Site of the world-famous Himeji Castle.
Access: Sanyo Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Himeji Station (30-40 minutes, ¥3,810 reserved, JR Pass OK); or JR Kobe Line (Special Rapid) from Osaka to Himeji Station (65 minutes, ¥1,520, JR Pass OK)

Arima Toys and Automata Museum

This article is based on a visit made on Saturday, 19 November 2016.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I took you on a tour of Arima Onsen, a hot-spring resort town in the suburbs of Kobe.  After taking a dip in its two public bathhouses, my curiosity was piqued by the Arima Toys and Automata Museum (有馬玩具博物館, Arima Omocha Hakubutsukan).

The route through the museum starts on the top floor, which is all about traditional German toys.  This includes nutcracker dolls galore, which made their Christmas decorations extra-fitting.

On the next floor down, there is a wider array of contemporary wooden toys, most of them from all around Europe.  Let me tell you, I used to love building wooden railways like these, especially with trains from Thomas the Tank Engine.  Now that I've had the chance to see the wider array of non-Thomas-licenced trains out there, especially what in the foreground looks to be cars based on the Shinkansen, I might just dig up my old set and start anew!  Or maybe I'll just graduate to a grown-up model railway... we'll see.

The 5th floor also has several little toys, games, and puzzles that are free for visitors to play with.  This "Loop Magnet" toy lets you create figures by moving around the magnet dots and the strings between them.  It took some doing, but I managed to re-create one of the shapes shown in the examples above.

They also had this game, where you're supposed to move the two rails apart enough that the ball in the back rolls down them, but not so far apart that it falls down.  It's tough; I only managed to get as far as the second hole from the back.

The next floor down is all about automata.  The name might be a mouthful, but what are they?  An automaton is a kind of toy where you turn a crank handle, turning the gears and mechanisms inside, and making stuff happen on the outside.  For example, turning this one would make the poles, and subsequently the segments of the dragon, wave up and down.  Although, that dragon's head suspiciously reminds me of Crow from Mystery Science Theater 3000... maybe it's just me.

Most of the automata on display were smaller in scale, but had some sort of joke or pun about them.  In this one, the spider on top spins around in place, since it doesn't have any legs on one side.  Hence, the line about "evolutionary blunders".

A number of the automata were by the same artist, whose name eludes me, but jackals were a running theme in his works.

Here's an interesting one.  When you turn the handle, the tamer sticks his head into the lion's mouth, and pulls it out just before the lion's jaw snaps shut.

Finally, on the 3rd floor, there are model trains and tin toys on display.  Japan had been making tin toys since the turn of the turn of the 20th century, with the peaks of their popularity occurring before and after World War II.  Their quality was so great, that they were compared favourably with the best toys from Germany and other places.

The popularity of tin toys in Japan waned from the 1960s on.  That still didn't stop them from making tin toys that tied in with famous anime and movies of the times, like Astro Boy (鉄腕アトム, Tetsuwan Atomu, lit. 'Mighty Atom'), Gigantor (鉄人28号, Tetsujin Nijūhachi-gō, lit. 'Iron Man no. 28'), Speed Racer (マッハGoGoGo, Mahha GoGoGo, lit. 'Mach Go-go-go'), and even Star Wars.  Or should I say, especially Star Wars.

On the other side of the room, there is a large table with an intricate model railway.  Model railways are often known to include lots of little details, frequently in the style of a European village, and the one here is no exception.

Finally, on my way out through the main stairwell, I met this considerably more modern robot.  I'm not sure what it is used for, but probably as some sort of information helper.  Curiously, I also saw one on the top floor, among the old-fashioned nutcrackers.  Out-of-place, maybe, but it got me thinking.  Could this represent the future of toys?  The future has thus intrigued my curiosity!

In the more immediate future, meanwhile, I would move back "home" and begin my adventures through Osaka.  Join me, next time on Sekai Ichi!

---

Hours: Open 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM.  Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time.  No regular closing days.

Cost: ¥800.

Address: 797 Arima-chō, Kita-ku, Kōbe-shi, Hyōgo-ken 〒651-1401

Access: The museum is 5 minutes on foot from Arima-Onsen Station.  From the station's exit, turn right, keep straight past the traffic light, bear right at the next fork, and take the next left.  The museum will be on the left side, across from the Kin-no-Yu bathhouse.

Website: (English) (Japanese)