Osaka Station

Infobox japan station
name=大阪
namerom=Osaka

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caption=Osaka Station JR Kyoto Line platform sign
pref=Osaka
city=Osaka
ward=Kita
address=Umeda 3-chōme
jaloc=大阪市北区梅田3丁目1番地1号
open=1874
operator=West Japan Railway Company
line=Via Tōkaidō Main Line
JR Kobe Line
JR Kyoto Line
JR Takarazuka Line
Via Osaka Loop Line
Osaka Loop Line
Yamatoji Line
JR Yumesaki Line
Other connecting lines at ja-stalink|Umeda, ja-stalink|Higashi-Umeda, ja-stalink|Nishi-Umeda and Kitashinchi Stations
bus=t3

Ōsaka Station (大阪駅 "Ōsaka eki") is a station on the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) located in the Umeda district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the city's main rail terminal in the north.

Although it is officially served by only the JR Kobe/Kyoto Lines (Tōkaidō Main Line) and the Osaka Loop Line, Osaka is the starting point of JR Takarazuka Line service, and serves as the terminal for trains bound for the San'in region via JR Takarazuka Line and the Hokuriku region via JR Kyoto Line, while offering connections to trains bound for Nara, Wakayama and Kansai International Airport via the Osaka Loop Line.

Umeda Station (Hankyu, Hanshin, and Osaka Municipal Subway Midosuji Line), Nishi-Umeda Station (Subway Yotsubashi Line) and Higashi-Umeda Station (Subway Tanimachi Line) are directly connected to Osaka Station, and Kitashinchi Station on the JR Tozai Line is within walking distance.

Osaka Station also houses a large freight terminal complex and a terminal for overnight bus services to other cities in Japan.

History

Osaka Station opened on May 11, 1874 as one of first railway stations in the Kansai region when the railway between Osaka and Kobe started operation. It was electrified along with the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1934.

The existence of the station naturally made the area the primary transportation hub of the city. Railways that set Osaka Station as the terminal or built their terminal around Osaka Station include Osaka Railway (present-day east half of the Osaka Loop Line) in 1895, Nishinari Railway (west half of the Osaka Loop Line) in 1898, Hanshin Electric Railway in 1906, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway (Hankyu Railway) in 1910, and Osaka Municipal Subway in 1933. The regional railways tended to name their stations Umeda, the name of area, rather than the city name.

The air raids in World War II flattened the blocks in front of the station. Immediately after the war the area turned into a huge black market, the atmosphere of which remained until the redevelopment in 1970s.

The station building was rebuilt in 1901, 1940 and 1979 (north building). In 1983, a high-rise building, Acty Osaka, which housed a department store and a hotel, was added to the south of the station. Currently (as of 2007) the new building is under construction to replace the north building.

Layout

*There are 5 island platforms with 10 tracks on the second floor.

urroundings

*Acty Osaka (Daimaru Umeda, Hotel Granvia Osaka)
*Hankyu Department Stores, Inc.
*Hanshin Department Store
*Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
*NU Chayamachi
*Diamor Osaka
*Whity Umeda
*HEP FIVE
*HEP NAVIO
**Hankyu Men's
**TOHO Cinemas Umeda
*Yodobashi Umeda (Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Umeda, etc.)
*Osaka Marubiru
*Umeda DT Tower
*Osaka Ekimae Buildings
*the Hilton Plaza East
**Hilton Osaka
*the Hilton Plaza West
*Osaka Garden City
**HERBIS OSAKA
***the Ritz-Carlton Osaka
**HERBIS ENT
***Osaka Shiki Theatre
***Billboard live Osaka
*Shin Umeda City
**Umeda Sky Building
**the Westin Osaka
*Osaka Central Post Office

Adjacent stations

-!colspan=5|West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
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