GRAND FRONT OSAKA, OSAKA, JAPAN

グランフロント大阪 . 그랜드 프론트 오사카

From Joypolis, we took a 10-min walk to Grand Front Osaka グランフロント大阪, one of the newer shopping malls in Osaka. Mom said getting there was like walking in a maze, and there were A LOT of people and A LOT of malls.

 

We went into the Hankyu Department Store 阪急うめだ本店 ...

 

Grandma bought the delicious Nakamura Tokichi 中村藤吉 matcha green tea cake 1080円

 

Into the JR Osaka Station, towards the Midosuji North Gate ...

 

 

Pass the Lucua Mall ルクア ...

 

 

Saw JR Osaka Mitsukoshi Isetan Department Store JR大阪三越伊勢丹 opposite ...

 

 

Went up the escalator, and we saw Grand Front Osaka グランフロント大阪 in front of us from the North Gate Building Atrium Plaza.

 

Lucua on the right, JR Osaka Mitsukoshi Isetan on the left

 

While walking towards the mall, Mom pointed out Yodobashi Umeda Mall ヨドバシ梅田 on the right.

 

 

There were so many things to see and so many restaurants in the mall!

 

Entrance at South Building 南館

Floors and floors of shopping and restaurants

 

Restaurant opened by a Singaporean

 

Mom chose a famous Osaka food for dinner - okonomiyaki お好み焼き @ Tsuruhashi Okonomiyaki Omoni 鶴橋お好み焼きオモニ (South Building Level 7 南館 7F)

 

The food alley with lots of local restaurants

Shopfront

Joining the dinner queue

Looked like lots of famous people visited.
Condiments are in the silver tins at each table

Grandma cooking the yakisoba

We had two okonomiyaki. Total bill was about 2600円

After that, desert at nana's green tea ナナズグリーンティー (South Building Level 4 南館 4F)!

 

 

Most of the shops had closed, but we still went to the North Building 北館 to have a look.

 

Patissier Workshop @ Sweets Lab

Café & Meal Muji (Level 4)

Muji

 

 

Mom's Notes

• While there might have been a shorter way to get to Grand Front, the fun was in, plus somewhat overwhelming, exploring the area surrounding the JR Osaka Station. What I did not expect, after not visiting Osaka for many years, was the explosion of malls in the city area
• The Osaka Station City 大阪ステーションシティ is a good guide to all the malls etc surrounding the station
• Other than its imposing & modern architecture and vast size, the Grand Front's mall concept was rather interesting, as it embodies a hybrid concept of lifestyle, innovation and education (under Knowledge Capital ナレッジキャピタル), purporting to create and define the Osaka DNA of the future. Considering how malls these days tend to be cut out from the same cookie cutter, such differentiation makes it stand out ... although I can't say with certainty if the USP holds true since we did not have time to fully explore or be immersed ... next trip perhaps

 

 

     Address:    〒530-0011 大阪市北区大深町4-1 (うめきた広場), 4-20 (南館), 3-1 (北館)

     Tel:           06-6372-6300 (10am - 9pm daily)
     Directions: Click here

     Opening Hours: About 10/ 11am - 9/ 11pm

JOYPOLIS, OSAKA, JAPAN

セガジョイポリス . 조이 폴리스

We said bye bye to Nagoya today, and took the afternoon Kodama Shinkansen こだま号 to Osaka. It took about 1 hour and 11 mins to go to Osaka.

 

Getting our ekiben for lunch onboard the train

There's our green train car No. 8 at Platform 17

Mom had planned to buy this special bento produced for
the 50th Anniversary of the Tokaido Shinkansen

Came with a commemorative picture card; 1000円

After checking into the hotel in Osaka, we took a train to Umeda Station and walked to the HEP FIVE mall.

 

Spotted the red ferris wheel

Follow the large crowd




Greet the large sperm whale inside

Catch the view of the tracks from the mall

 

And finally, on Level 8, I spotted the entrance to Joypolis ジョイポリス.

Mom did not want to tell me what this place was... and when I went in, I was very very very happy!

 

There was the game machines and medal square area ゲーム機・メダルスクエアー which Mom did not allow me to play. 

 

Change monies into tokens here

 

The other section was the UFO Catcher corner セガのぬいぐるみ屋さん, and I won a small keychain.

 

Pick up a free plastic to keep your wins

 

We took the escalator upstairs to the P+ Closet and there was nothing for me here. Mom said girls liked to come here and put on different costumes and take neo-print photos.

 

 

There was a haunted house attraction which is ticketed, but I did not want to see it. We went back down, and Mom finally said ok to play some games in this section.

 

 

We spent more than 1 hour here, and then we left for dinner.

I wished I could spend more time here, but Mom said the games were expensive to play and that we should save some money for food.

 

 

Mom's Notes

• The Puratto Kodama ぷらっとこだま pass was comparatively cheaper than a regular shinkansen ticket, plus it includes one free soft drink/ beer per pass. However, some things to note that I've gathered:

       - pass can only be bought from any JR Tokai Tour Agency JR東海ツアーズ 支店 1 day before intended travel

           date (the online and phone purchase options offer more advanced booking)

         - cheaper category passes sell out fast, so go early to get them

         - good to consider an upgrade to the plusher, spacious and quieter green car with a fare top-up as the seats

           are allocated and guaranteed; seats in the regular section are free-seating on a first-come-first-served basis

         - the limited number of green car passes means that only a few seats are offered at this discounted price,

           and it does not mean that the green car will be packed or crowded

         - only valid for the Kodama line こだま号, which has a variety of train timings and destinations (see website)

         - the drink coupon has to be exchanged at the convenience store or kiosks located in the train station, and

           it can be redeemed before or after the train ride

         - selected date and time of travel, and the boarding and disembarkation points are fixed and cannot be

           modified; any changes = a new train pass purchase

         - must only enter via the shinkansen gantries/ gates

         - check on the seat vacancies here

 

• Parental supervision required here, else the younger kids would be donating their entire savings to this place!
• The place was noisy, dark, and the machines were brightly lit... I read somewhere that these joints used lighting and sound to create the illusion of excitement and suspension of time, and it certainly felt that way
• Note that they are very strict about the entry restrictions on minors so take that into consideration when planning a visit here
• Most of the game machines take cash/coins, and we had mistakenly changed a bucket of 1000円 worth of tokens before we found out. Just approach the staff and explain the problem, and they will issue these cards in return

 

• The tricky bit is every time you want to play a game, you will need to locate a staff, hand them the card equivalent to the amount required to play, and they will activate the game for you. However, when it gets busy, it can be challenging trying to catch the attention of the staff

 

     Address:    大阪市北区角田町5-15「HEP FIVE」8F・9F

     Tel:           06-6366-3647
     Directions: Click here

     Opening Hours: 11am - 11pm

                             No entry to aged 16 and below after 7pm

                                  No entry to aged 18 and below after 10pm