Hanshin Department Store Umeda Main Store

Osaka has been the mercantile capital of Japan for centuries, and no retail establishment embodies this history better than the expansive, bustling and folksy Hanshin department store. Its two-storey basement food hall, or depachika, is a particular draw: you could start drinking from noon in the Hanshin Bar Alley on the B2 floor, grab an essentially Osakan lunch for pocket change at the ‘snack park’ one storey above, or finish all your souvenir shopping across the booze emporium that is Liquor World and the photogenic shelves of Oyatsu Terrace, a hub for sugary gifts. But you’d be remiss to leave before perusing the majestic bento section, where endless rows of vividly coloured packed meals are displayed like artworks in a gallery.