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On her most recent trip to Japan, travel consultant Caitlin discovered a surprising highlight on a rainy day in Osaka: the underground.
The underground in Japan is not just for trains. Many Japanese metropolitan areas have underground shopping and dining areas, but the one under Osaka is particularly extensive, and I actually find it as charmingly bizarre as the buzzing city above.
Namba
I explored the Namba underground one rainy evening, and you might not believe me, but it is a great place to go when the weather isn’t on your side. This part of the underground has 3 zones, and I counted 34 restaurants alone! In addition to fashion boutiques, book stores, a flower shop, and even a fortune-telling centre.
I think of the Japanese underground stations as mini-cities, each with particular quirks.
It sounds surprising, but you can actually learn so much down there! Chicago and Osaka are actually sister cities – a fact I only learned during this most recent visit – and the Art Institute of Chicago has chosen to house recreations of its impressionist painting collection in the Namba underground.
Where else can you chow down on a convenience store rice ball while taking in the majesty of a Renoir?
Other times the underground hosts events, both organised and impromptu. Several areas of Osaka are currently gearing up for haunted-house functions – the one in Namba has a straightforward ‘shopping centre after dark’ theme. In the meantime, each of the underground’s courtyards serve as a safe and sheltered place for break-dancers and university dance troupes to practice their routines.
JR lines, Hankyu Lines, Hanshin lines, and of course city subway lines all meet underground. Clearly labelled signs – along with the freedom from car-filled streets – make the underground the easiest route for a transfer, and a great place to meet up with friends. Not a common sentiment about the underground in other countries…
So, I actively encourage you to check out the underground the next time you’re in Osaka. It’s like visiting a whole different city, with no extra travel time required.
Japan’s public transport system is second to none; while Namba underground in Osaka has an art gallery, Shinjuku station in Tokyo is the busiest in the world (with more than 200 exits), and the country’s shiny shinkansen (bullet trains) whizz around the country at 200mph. You may not want to base a whole trip around transport, but you jolly well could if you wanted to.
Does your train commute involve an art gallery and a fortune teller? Ours neither.
For more information about transport (and the myriad of other Japanese highlights), do get in touch to plan your holiday to Japan.