Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/632238
Jan-Feb 2016 57 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS • MCMAG-ASIA.COM PHOTOS COURTESY OF OSAKA CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU AND OSAKA INNOVATION HUB A rts, entertainment, food and fashion beckon in Minami, the south district of Osaka, making it the go- to locale for tourists and foodies. For business, Kita is the district to watch. Umeda is one of Kita's blue-eyed boys in the business and retail arena, and it is currently undergoing rapid change. Umeda enjoys a strategic location and role as the transportation heart of the city, as it is home to Osaka Station, the largest station in Western Japan, with 2.5 million passengers passing through it every day. What's more, Umeda has wrapped up the rst chapter of an ambitious infrastructure project while preparing for the second one. The Umekita development completed Phase 1 in 2013, building on former rail depot yards to create o ces, retail and convention spaces, hotels, and apartments. Inspired by the theme of knowledge, it was devised through the cooperation and commitment of four sometimes-competing organisations – JR West Railway, Hankyu Corporation, Hanshin Electric Railway, and the newly established Grand Front Osaka TMO – as a place for businesses to come together and exchange information. The development included large-scale renovation and a new building for Osaka Station, purpose-built entertainment, meeting and retail facilities, and the jewel of them all, the Grand Front Osaka tower, a multipurpose complex with a convention centre, retail and meeting spaces, innovation centres, and the stylish InterContinental Hotel. Thanks to the thoughtful execution of Phase 1, planners are now spoilt for choice for venues in Umekita. "Internationally, people know Tokyo and Yokohama for business meetings, Kyoto for culture meetings. Osaka is not so well known," said Hironobu Opp: A panoramic view from Umeda Sky Building From top clockwise: A fl oating garden at the top of the Sky Building; JR Osaka Station's expansive space; Entertainment at InterContinental Osaka's Bar Adee "Osaka has the biggest SMEs sector in Japan. There is a lot of energy here, lots of innovation... There is a tangible sense of excitement–a positive, can-do spirit among city entrepreneurs." MASASAKI YOSHIKAWA, DIRECTOR GENERAL, OSAKA INNOVATION HUB