Grand Front Osaka is a massive commercial complex on the north side of Osaka Station which was built and opened on the site of a disused former railyard in 2013. The complex consists of a sequence of four towers which stretch out in a direct line from Osaka Station’s North Gate Building.
The first of these is the South Building which is essentially a shopping mall. Then there is the North Building which has two towers; one contains a large “infotainment” venue called “Knowledge Capital” and the next tower is occupied by the Intercontinental Hotel Osaka. The final tower in the sequence is a residential building named the “Owner’s Tower”. In this article we will introduce the services, shops, and dining facilities available in the first two towers of Grand Front Osaka.
The South Building of Grand Front Osaka viewed from Osaka Station
The South Building
The South Building of Grand Front Osaka is connected to Osaka Station by a walkway at the 2nd floor level. There are information counters inside the entrance at both the 2nd floor and 1st floor levels.
Information on the 2nd floor of Grand Front Osaka
A large section of the lower floors in this building are occupied by the Panasonic Center which is basically a home improvement and interior design store. This store occupies part of the basement level and the 1st and 2nd floors.
The Panasonic Center has detailed show rooms to inspire your own home improvement project
The center showcases the latest Panasonic products and suggests ways in which they can be used to brighten up your home interior. Be sure also to check out the interactive showroom where you can experiment with different room types and lighting effects.
Panasonic Center’s interactive showroom is operated by a touch screen
Other than the Panasonic Center floors 1 – 6 are largely occupied with men’s and ladies’ fashion stores. There is also a large bookstore on the 6th floor with stationary, CDs, and DVDs. Here are some highlights.
Demiluxe Beams is a high grade clothing store aimed at ladies in their late 20s and 30s selling classic design, comfortable clothes for both work and play
Rosebud Couples is a store for ladies and men selling good quality, long-lasting clothing, shoes and accessories
印 (pronounced “in”) Mathematics is a high fashion design brand founded in Kyoto which stocks a playful mix of traditional, working, and street style clothes. Many items are one-of-a-kind and not to be found in any other store
On the 5th floor you can find a number of stores selling sportswear and outdoor goods
Floors 8 and 9 are the Umekita Dining section. Here you can find 36 different restaurants, cafes and bars serving sushi, tempura, deep fried kushiage kebabs, Osaka style okonomiyaki pancakes, Okinawan dishes, an oyster bar, Italian pasta, Chinese cuisine, Korean barbecue, a French Bistro and American style seafood.
Inside the Umekita dining section
There is also an exterior terrace garden on the 9th floor with views over Osaka Station and the Umeda Sky Building.
A winter view of the Umeda Sky Buidling from the 9th floor terrace garden
The North Building
An inside view of Knowledge Capital
The North Building is directly connected to the South Building by a 2nd floor walkway that crosses the road between. The first tower of this building is mostly devoted to an “intellectual entertainment ” area called Knowledge Capital.
Looking down on Knowledge Plaza
The facility is built around the central Knowledge Plaza which is used for a variety of interactive workshops and events. Around this on multiple levels are 21 showrooms in which a wide variety of companies exhibit their newest products and most cutting edge technologies.
Customers enjoying an immersive virtual reality experience in Knowledge Plaza
There is also a Knowledge Theater on the 4th floor which can be used either for stage performances or business presentations.
The entrance to Knowledge Theater
In addition to Knowledge Capital there is another restaurant and bar section on the 9th floor which is called the Umekita Floor. This is not to be confused with the similarly named Umekita Dining section in the South Building. While Umekita Dining closes at 23.00, the Umekita Floor is an all-night venue that stays open till 4.00 in the morning.
The Umekita Floor stays open until 4.00 am
Between the 6th and 9th floors the building is occupied with offices, but there are also a series of very nicely laid out terrace gardens on the upper floors which you can access from the 9th floor.
In the 9th floor garden looking towards the Intercontinental Hotel
Parking
Grand Front Osaka has parking for 330 cars in the B2 basement level of the South Building from 9.00 – 24.00 and the B3 level of the North Building from 7.00 – 24.00. The fee for parking is 600 yen for the first hour and thereafter 300 yen every 30 minutes.
The four towers of Grand Front Osaka
Access
Grand Front Osaka is directly connected to the north gate of Osaka Station by a 2nd floor walkway.
Opening Hours
Shops: 10.00 – 21.00
Panasonic Center: 10.00 – 20.00
Knowledge Capital: 10.00 – 21.00
Umekita Dining (South Building): 11:00 – 23.00
Umekita Floor (North Building): 10.00 – 04.00
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
