Hep Five Shopping Centre
The HEP Five shopping centre is regarded as one of Osaka’s best shopping and entertainment complexes and houses over 150 specialty stores and restaurants. The centre is a very popular place for fashion shopping particularly for the young and is home to a Snoopy Store and Mickey and his friends at the Disney Store.
Over 17 million people visit the HEP 5 complex each year most of them young females looking for the latest fashion item. HEP standing for Hankyo Entertainment Park is part owned by the huge Hankyo railway company which owns several premier properties in Osaka.
The highlight of the shopping centre is the huge red Ferris wheel above the 7th floor of the centre with a height of 106 meters from street level. The wheel consists of 52 four person luxury gondolas and take about 15 minutes to cycle the massive wheel. The wheel not only is a place to have a quiet moment with your loved one it is a great place to see the scenic sprawling Osaka city precincts.
The centre opened in November of 1998 and consists of over 45,000 square meters of floor space. Some of the stores at HEP 5 include Tommy, Pinky Girls, Mayson Grey, Misch Masch, GAP and Fluffy. The centre also features a Sega Joypolis arcade centre as well as a cinema complex.
The huge atrium of the centre has a magnificent 20 meter long red whale with her baby suspended from the ceiling which is quite spectacular and quite a sight while going up and down the escalators. The upper floors have a wide range of dining options from themed dining experiences to the more traditional Japanese. As there are so many choices for good food in Osaka most of the café’s and restaurants are very reasonably priced, with quick and friendly service.
HEP Five also links into the huge underground shopping maze where there are miles of specialty shops, and even more cafes and bars along with enterances to the Yodoyabashi Camera department store and Eki-mae Buildings which also has many with long corridors lined with inexpensive eating establishments.
Hep Five is located next to the JR Osaka station and the Umeda subway station on the Midosuji line.
Website: http://www.livehep.com/about/index2.asp
