Umeda Area Map – Finding Your Way Around the Osaka-Umeda Stations

The Umeda district in northern Osaka is a lively and prosperous center of business, commerce, and entertainment. It is also a major transfer point between several different railway networks. At its heart is Osaka Station with several rail lines run by JR West.

Around Osaka Station are six more satellite stations which also provide important rail links both inside Osaka and to other neighboring cities. Two of these stations, Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station and Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station are run by private companies.

There are also three subway stations, Umeda Station, Higashi-Umeda Station, and Nishi-Umeda Station, which are run by Osaka Municipal Subway. Kitashinchi Station is run by JR West and it is possible to transfer directly to this station from Osaka Station if you have the correct ticket or through pass. With the exception of Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station which is aboveground, all of the other satellite stations are underground.

Together with Osaka Station, these six satellite stations help to make Umeda the busiest transportation complex in Western Japan. However, finding your way between these busy stations through a complicated network of underground tunnels and aboveground walkways can be a confusing experience. Our articles Osaka Station Map – Finding Your Way and Osaka Station Facilities provide a thorough guide to Osaka Station. In this article we will give clear directions to Umeda’s satellite stations, and list their train lines with the key destinations they serve.

Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station

This station serves three rail lines from the following platforms:

  Platforms 1, 2, & 3: Boarding for the Hankyu Kyoto Main Line for Katsura, Arashiyama, and Kawaramachi in Kyoto.

  Platforms 4, 5, & 6: Boarding for the Hankyu Takarazuka Line for Minoo, Ikeda and Takarazuka.

  Platforms 7, 8, & 9: Boarding for the Hankyu Kobe Main Line for Mount Rokko and Kobe.

How to Get to Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station

Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station is located north-east of Osaka Station in the Hankyu Terminal Building. From Osaka Station you can cross over to this building at ground level, or via an overhead walkway on the 2nd floor that directly links the two buildings. From Umeda Subway Station you can also access the Hankyu Terminal Building directly via underground tunnels.

If you are coming from Osaka Station then the 2nd floor overhead walkway is probably easiest because Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station’s ticket gates are on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Just follow the signs for the Hankyu Railway on the 2nd floor of Osaka Station’s North Gate Building. When you get to the Carillon Plaza, you will see the Hankyu Terminal Building directly ahead.

Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station Facilities

Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station has some special facilities that are of use to travelers. On the 1st floor of the building there is a Tourist Center with staff who speak Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. In the Tourist Center they have sightseeing pamphlets, Wi-Fi internet access, computers, printers and photocopiers. They also have an ATM which accepts most major foreign bank cards.

By the ticket gates this station has touch screen schedules which display information in English and Japanese. When you touch a train time the screen will display all the stations that the train will stop at together with arrival times.

Once through the gates, platforms and rail lines are all clearly sign-posted in English and Japanese and digital displays show the latest departure times.

Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station

Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station has four platforms, all of which serve the Hanshin Main Line for Koshien, Mount Rokko, and Kobe.

  Limited Express trains board at Platforms 1 & 2, Express trains at Platform 3, and Local trains at Platform 4.

How to Get to Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station

Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station occupies two underground levels to the south of Osaka Station and has two gates on the 1st Basement level and one gate on the lower 2nd Basement level. On the 1st Basement level the West Gate is convenient for the Sakurabashi Exit of Osaka Station and also for Nishi-Umeda Subway Station. Also on this level the Department Store Gate is convenient for the Central Exit of Osaka Station and for Hanshin Department Store. On the 2nd Basement level the East Gate is convenient for the Southern Midosuji Exit of Osaka Station and also for the Umeda and Higashi Umeda Subway Stations.

If you are coming from Osaka Station the easiest way is to go out of the southern exit of Osaka Station’s Central Concourse and go down the escalator directly ahead. This will take you to the Department Store Gate on the B1 level.

You can download a PDF map of Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station from the Hanshin Railway website.

Umeda Subway Station

Umeda Subway Station serves the Midosuji Subway Line, which runs from the north to the south of Osaka and it is one of the city’s most important transit routes. If you wish to go to Yodoyabashi, Shinsaibashi, Namba, or Tennoji then take a train running south from Platform 1. If you want to transfer to the shinkansen lines at Shin-Osaka Station, take a train running north from Platform 2.

How to Get to Umeda Subway Station

All of the Umeda subway stations are located in the same network of underground tunnels as Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station. Umeda Subway Station is located under the east side of Osaka Station. This can be accessed easily at the northern and southern ends of Osaka Station’s Midosuji Concourse. Just look for the red Midosuji Line signs and go down the steps leading to the underground system.

Higashi-Umeda Subway Station

Higashi-Umeda Subway Station serves the Tanimachi Subway Line. Trains running south to Temmabashi, Tanimachi, and Tennoji depart from Platform 1. Trains running north to Tenjimbashisuji and Dainichi depart from Platform 2.

How to Get to Higashi-Umeda Subway Station

Ticket gates for Higashi-Umeda Subway Station are located in the southern part of the Whity underground shopping mall, which is south-east of Osaka Station. The northern gates for this station are convenient for the southern gates for Umeda Subway Station and also for the East Gate of Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station.

From Osaka Station go out the southern exit of the Midosuji Concourse and look on your left for the purple signs for Tanimachi Subway Line.

Nishi-Umeda Subway Station

Nishi-Umeda Subway Station is the northern terminus of the Yotsubashi Subway Line. Trains run south from here to Higobashi, Yotsubashi, Namba, and Suminoekoen.

How to Get to Nishi-Umeda Subway Station

Nishi-Umeda Subway Station is located south-west of Osaka Station. The easiest way to locate it is by exiting at Osaka Station’s Sakurabashi Gate. Take the steps there leading down to the underground, veer to your right and look out for the blue signs for the Yotsubashi Subway Line.

Kitashinchi Station

Kitashinchi Station serves the JR Tozai Line. Trains running west to Amagasaki, Takarazuka and Sannomiya depart from Platform 1. Trains running east to Kyobashi depart from Platform 2.

How to Get to Kitashinchi Station

Kitashinchi Station is located south of Osaka Station in the same network of tunnels as Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station and the other subway stations. The easiest way to get there is to go out of the south central exit of Osaka Station and then go down the same escalators you would use to get to Hanshin Osaka-Umeda Station.

Of all the Umeda stations, Kitashinchi Station is the furthest away from Osaka Station. However if you follow the signs for the JR Tozai Line you will see the entrance ahead of you after about ten minutes of walking.

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.