As Lonely Planet Guide Kyoto & Osaka rightly notes: Osaka is a high-rise urban playground geared up for foodies, shoppers and party animals. Downtown Osaka is typically divided into Kita (Japanese for north) and Minami (south). Kita will likely be where you kickstart your adventure in Japan’s third largest city, a hyperkinetic hive of offices, malls, department stores and thousands of restaurants, all centering on the aptly named Osaka Station City. And so we began our first day in Osaka's Kita District, with retail, retail, retail! Our walking tour would take us to the Umeda Sky Building; then through Umekita Plaza to Osaka Station City; followed by lunch in the basement level of Hankyu Umeda, a department store built over a raised transit walkway; then window shopping in the teen-oriented high-rise mall known as Hep Five; a visit to a small shrine hidden within the urban fabric; next, a moonlight visit to Osaka Castle; and finally, drinks back at the U...
