Umeda


Useful Information

Location: 〒530-0018 Osaka, Kita Ward, Komatsubaracho, 梅田地下街 4-2.
(34.70297343675863, 135.49953110933208)
Open: no restrictions.
[2024]
Fee: free.
[2024]
Classification: SubterraneaUnderground City
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: yes
Bibliography:
Address: Whity Umeda, Tel: +81-6-6312-5511.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1874 Osaka Station opened.
1906 Hanshin Umeda Station opened.
1910 Hankyu Umeda Station opened.
1933 Osaka Metro Umeda Station opened.
1942 station underpass opened.

Description

梅田 (Umeda) is actually the name of the major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka. The name means plum field, because the area was actually agricultural land until the 1870s. Then the first Osaka Station was built in 1874, and for this purpose the land was filled in. What then happened is hard to understand for not Japanese-speaking people. The place was originally named 埋田 (buried field), but was then renamed 梅田 (plum field) without altering the pronunciation. Then two more train stations and a huge metro station were opened, the former entertainment district became the largest shopping and business district the largest terminal station in the Kansai region.

Typical for large Japanese cities, Umeda today has spacious, fully air-conditioned underground passages with shops and access to the stations and important buildings. The beginning was a station underpass which was built in 1942. Soon it connected the neighbouring buildings, including several department stores with the station. Today there are three underground malls, Whity Umeda, Diamor Osaka, and Dojima Underground Center. The underground area extends from Chayamachi in the north to Dojima in the south, and from Doyamacho in the east to Osaka Garden City in the west. It connects about a dozen major buildings (skyscapers) underground. Unlike other such underground cities, it is not operated by a single company.

The main shopping mall is probably ホワイティうめだ (Whity Umeda), which is located right below Osaka Station. We have given a rather arbitrary spot in the center of this huge area as location, but actually there is no such thing as a location. If you arrive by public transport, you are automatically in the underground city. Whity is a series of underground passages which have white walls and floors, so the name is a portmanteau of 'white' and 'city'. As far as we understand, there are no open hours for the passages, they are open around the clock. However, the shops have their own open hours, mostly 10-21. Some open early in the morning, restaurants are typically open later in the evening, but in general they are free to define their open hours independently.