OOsaka

Umeda and Namba station is crazy for a tourist

  • September 16, 2025

So I went to Kobe today and according to my phone did 16k steps. Then I had to transit from JD at Umeda to the red subway line. I think I had to cross like 3 buildings and 2 plazas before finding my gate… then I got out at Namba and since google told me to get out at exit 22 I followed the signs… crossed an underground shopping street (namba walk), crossed an art gallery AND SUDDENLY WAS AT A DIFFERENT SUBWAY STATION So I turned around, crossed the art gallery, the shopping street, looked at a plan and felt like sitting down and just laughing bc I never would have imagined getting lost in a freaking subway station🤣 I already imagined telling a policeman to guide me to the hotel bc I felt lost, exhausted and overwhelmed by everything. I got out somehow but if you saw a very confused white person there today you know why. In the end, I had 3k more steps just inside the stations

by Julesvernevienna

24 comments

  1. I’ve been living in Osaka for nearly ten years and I still get lost in Umeda almost every time I have to go somewhere I haven’t frequently been to.

  2. How are they confusing?

    They’re rather easily labeled….

    Downvote all you want, Osaka is a cakewalk compared to Tokyo. Especially Umeda, since it’s a simple grid system.

  4. I’ve been living here for 25+ years, and i still get lost. Much less overwhelming than it was in the past, but still annoying to say the least.
    Don’t feel bad even long time locals experience the same thing.

  5. It’s a sprawling maze for sure, but if you’re transferring to another line just make sure you know the correct colour coding for the line you’re looking for, if you do that and keep your head up for signage it’s not too hard.

  7. Namba isn’t to bad just have to go through it a couple of times but umeda is a hell hole. I feel like it’s somehow worse then shinjuku or shibuya even though I go through it more often than them I always get lost or confused. 😞

  10. I live in Osaka, and let me tell you that I dread having my stop at Umeda. There are just so many people that I’ve gotten lost there myself a number of times.

  11. Umeda and Shibuya have never not been under construction as far as I’m concerned. Even when I was using Umeda everyday it was constantly different.

  14. Oh my god that was me when I ran an errand alone without my Japanese fiancé 😭 He said it was part of the experience

  15. I stayed near namba station my last 2 trips to Osaka, last year it was 7 night and this past summer 10 nights. Let me tell you we were still getting lost in there.

    Umeda is another level of confusing tho. Everytime we took the metro up to Umeda I would think I had it figured out. By the end of the day when it was time to take it back down to Namba we would still get lost. Being so hot and tired we would just give up and hail a taxi back to our hotel at that point.

    One thing is for sure major Japanese stations are not for the feint of heart and google maps is pretty much useless trying to find your way inside the station.

  18. I thought I finally knew my way around Umeda but then I was invited to a nomikai in 駅前第2ビル….

    That was such a humbling experience.

  22. It’s rough when there are a lot of people, but if you are able to keep an eye on the signage, it will get you there. Was going through there today.

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