Yodobashi Camera Umeda is probably the largest electronics store in Japan. It is housed in a giant building that stands across the road from the Hankyu and JR rail stations in downtown Osaka.
This massive shopping center features seven floors (2 in the basement) of cameras, computers, televisions and other electronic and household goods. Above these floors lies several more dedicated to restaurants and fashion. If you are visiting Osaka for the first time, it is an absolute must to check out Yodobashi Camera!
From the doorstep of Hotel Kinki you can walk to Yodobashi Camera in less than 15 minutes.
To get there, walk to Hankyu Umeda Station (across the road from the red Ferris wheel on top of the Hep 5 building) and walk straight thru the station to the other side (the far west side). Once you are standing outside again, you should easily see the giant shopping center across the road. There are only a handful of crosswalks to get to Yodobashi Camera, so you might have to walk for a few minutes in either direction to find one.
The best part about visiting Yodobashi Camera is that they have more products in-store that any other electronics or camera shop you’ve ever been to. You can get hands on with all the products you are interested in, including many domestic products that are released in Japan earlier than they are abroad.
Also in this shopping complex lies a Uniqlo and a clothing brand store called Comme Ca (spread across 5 floors). If you are a looking for cheap or mid-priced clothing, I recommend checking out these clothing shops when you’re there.
One last note of interest:
On New Year’s Day morning you’ll find hundreds (many thousands) of people lined up in the parking lot to enter Yodobashi Camera. Each person in line selects a ticket that is later exchanged for a mystery grab bag. The ticket holder chooses the category of product that they are interested in receiving and can pay hundreds of dollars depending on the product type.
As you can imagine, it is a bit of a gamble buying a ‘fukubukuro’ (mystery bag), but a large part of the appeal is receiving a great bargain for the risk. Those who line up first receive the best tickets and can expect the highest value mystery bags. But nothing’s guaranteed…
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