Osaka’s new landmark: A massive shopping mall complex featuring “luxury residences and a hotel”

▲ Osaka’s new landmark “GRAND FRONT OSAKA,” which opened in April this year in the Umeda district, is a 7-hectare mixed-use complex. (Photo / Provided by GRAND FRONT OSAKA)

Travel Center / Taipei Report

The new landmark “GRAND FRONT OSAKA,” which opened in April this year in Osaka’s Umeda district, Japan, was developed and is operated by Hankyu Railway. This emerging commercial complex, known as the Umekita area located north of Osaka Station, spans approximately 7 hectares. The entire area comprises four buildings: luxury residences, the InterContinental Hotel, corporate offices, and department stores.

Among the most eye-catching features is the large-scale shopping mall covering about 4.4 hectares, which is divided into North and South Buildings. It offers comprehensive facilities including dining, groceries, household goods, bookstores, fashion apparel, accessories, and a total of 266 shops. Due to the vastness of the mall, many of the stores are quite large in scale—for example, it houses what is claimed to be the largest Muji flagship store in western Japan. Additionally, as many as 75 stores are either the first of their kind in Japan or making their initial entry into the Kansai region and Osaka. These include DEAN & DELUCA, which sells a variety of ingredients and provides dining space; ZARA HOME, a lifestyle home goods store newly arrived in Japan; and even THE CITY BAKERY, a renowned New York bakery often featured in Sex and the City.


▲ Interior plaza of the mall. (Photo / Provided by GRAND FRONT OSAKA)

In addition, the UMEKITA FLOOR on the sixth floor of the North Building is a food and beverage floor that stays open until 4 a.m., making it a blessing for Osaka’s night owls. Visitors who don’t know where to go for fun or food in the middle of the night can come here to experience Umeda’s lively nightlife. Aside from enjoying food and shopping, GRAND FRONT OSAKA also features an interactive area called KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL, where visitors can engage with cutting-edge Japanese entertainment technology through robots, 3D imagery, and more—a place that combines learning with fun.


▲ Restaurants on the sixth floor of the North Building are open until 4 a.m., offering a new option for night owls. (Photo / Provided by GRAND FRONT OSAKA)

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