Kita means "north" in Japanese. And the Kita section of Osaka, which is situated at the north end of Mido-Suji Avenue, is the northern center of the city. It's a busy, buzzing, trendy and very high-energy district which is a powerful magnet for Osaka residents and visitors alike.
Kita Is a Vast City unto Itself
Comprising primarily the areas around the Osaka, Umeda, Higashi-Umeda and Nishi-Umeda train stations, Kita is a district bristling with high-rise towers and bustling with huge crowds of shoppers, business people, travelers and visitors. Its busy streets are lined with department stores, shopping malls, movie theaters, office buildings and hotels.
Kita is four things at once
- One of the two major gateways to Osaka
- Kita is a central transfer point for people traveling to neighboring Prefectures and for those coming into the city—a place where the terminals of many subway and railway lines converge. With so many train stations located so conveniently, and with Osaka (Itami) Airport not far away, Kita is always very heavily trafficked, both day and night.
- Osaka's most trendy shopping district
In Kita you'll find a large variety of shopping complexes, department stores and shops, along with a labyrinth of underground malls and covered shopping arcades. Most of Kita's train stations are connected by the largest underground shopping mall complex in Japan. This complex is lined with many brand name stores, fashionable boutiques, cafes and restaurants, and is always thronged with great crowds.- A booming business hub
- The Kita area is much more commercialized than the Minami area, and is the place where many businesses locate their offices. Many of Osaka's finest hotels are here as well; shuttle buses run back and forth regularly between them and Osaka station, while limousine buses take travelers to and from Osaka Airport.
- Kita is an entertainment district.
It boasts some fine performance halls and movie theaters, not to mention an endless choice of dining and drinking establishments. It is one of Osaka's most popular entertainment districts.
Things to See and Do
Kita's newest attraction is the giant HEP Five Ferris Wheel. It stands atop a nine-story shopping mall and offers spectacular views of downtown Osaka and, on a clear day, as far as the Akashi Straits Bridge.
Another place with great views is the Floating Garden Observatory on the roof of the Umeda Sky Building, which rises above Kita like the Arch de Triomphe in Paris; the observatory, 170 meters high, is especially popular with young couples. The basement of the Umeda Sky Building has a big market with shops and restaurants that give a retro feeling of Osaka in the 1920s.
Located near Hankyu Umeda Station are the Hankyu Grand Building, the Hankyu Sanbangai (Hankyu 3rd Avenue), and other shopping and amusement areas, including the ultra-trendy fashion district of Chayamachi. Navio Hankyu (a department store), Higashidori Shopping Street, and Ohatsu Tenjin Street are situated to the south of the station. At the end of one of many above-ground shopping arcades is Tsuyu-Tenjinja Shrine, affectionately known as "Ohatsu-Tenjin." This shrine, tucked away in the urban sprawl, is famous as the setting for a famous 18th century bunraku puppet play tragedy.
Roughly 1.5 kilometers from Umeda is the 2.6-kilometer-long Tenjimbashi-Suji Shopping Street , Osaka's longest. This arcade is the route to Osaka Temmangu Shrine, which enshrines the god of academics. Each July this shrine hosts the Tenjin Matsuri, Osaka's largest festival. This neighborhood also is home to the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, which features exhibits of reconstructed buildings and streets that show life in Osaka during the Edo Period.
In front of Osaka Station is the terminal complex ACTY Osaka. This building houses a hotel and a department store, and attracts crowds with its wide variety of shops and restaurants. Not far away is HERBIS Osaka, a 190 m-tall ultra high-rise in Osaka Garden City. This multi-purpose building is a landmark of this new area.
