Umeda: City of the Future?

The other day I had some time between classes at my English school, スミス英会話天神橋筋六丁目 so I went shopping in nearby Umeda (梅田). It is just 2 stops on the Tanimachi line (谷町線).

There is a lot of construction going on! The recently completed new JR Osaka station (JR 大阪駅) is really amazing. Also, betwen Yodobashi Camera (ヨドバシカメラ) and the Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル) a lot of new buildings are going up. I saw a TV commercial which said this area will become a “neo technopolis”. Is that a fancy way to say “city of the future”?

If you like shopping, Umeda is becoming a world class destination. JR Osaka now includes the Lucua (ルクア)shopping center; 11 floors of shops and restaurants. Just across the street you can find the upscale Herbis ENT and Herbis Plaza (ハービスプラザ) buildings. Nearby HEP Five (ヘップファイブー) and EST (エスト) are popular with trendy young shoppers. And of course there are major department stores including Hanshin (阪神), Hankyu (阪急) and Daimaru (大丸).

So, if you haven’t been to Umeda for a while, take a trip. It is changing quickly. Maybe soon it really will be the “city of the future”.