OSAKA, Dec 05 (News On Japan) –
Umeda’s Chayamachi district, situated on the east facet of central Osaka, is present process a noticeable shift as main retailers together with Loft and ZARA have closed or relocated this 12 months, whilst large-scale developments similar to Grand Green Osaka proceed to open elsewhere within the space, elevating questions on whether or not the district is remodeling from a youth-oriented vogue hub into a middle for subculture; to grasp what’s driving the modifications, we spoke with Takanobu Okahara, president of Tsubasa Asset Partners and an knowledgeable on Osaka’s actual property traits.
Chayamachi’s improvement traces again to the early Meiji interval, when the world was principally farmland with teahouses scattered all through the district, and the presence of three teahouses alongside the north–south highway gave rise to the identify “Chayamachi.” Through the late Meiji years, the district developed right into a neighborhood of properties and textile factories. The opening of the Shin-Midosuji highway in 1969 accelerated industrial use as residential area declined and retailers started to cluster within the space.
Redevelopment moved into full swing within the Heisei period as Chayamachi emerged as a logo of youth tradition. Umeda Loft opened in 1990, and Okahara says the district “evolved into a magnet for young people as a fashion-forward retail zone.”
Yet Chayamachi is now going through what has develop into recognized regionally as a wave of closures. Okahara factors to large-scale redevelopment across the Umeda and Umeda North (Ume-kita) districts because the underlying trigger, noting that “the redevelopment of the Ume-kita area has drawn foot traffic westward.”
Around JR Osaka Station, new industrial complexes similar to Lucua Osaka, Grand Front Osaka and Links Umeda have opened one after one other since 2011, whereas Chayamachi has seen little main improvement since NU Chayamachi opened in 2005. As new amenities focused on the Ume-kita facet, extra guests and retailers gravitated west.
This April, Umeda Loft closed and relocated to the Hanshin Umeda Main Store, adopted by strikes to different districts by ZARA and Uniqlo, amongst others.
In place of the fashion-driven combine that when outlined the district, Chayamachi is now seeing the rise of a brand new id as a “subculture district.” Over the previous 12 months, outlets specializing in anime merchandise and capsule toys have elevated in quantity. Okahara says Chayamachi can now not depend on vogue alone, including that “subculture appeals strongly to today’s younger consumers, and inbound tourism has brought even more visibility to it.”
Amid these shifts, a brand new wave of redevelopment is taking form adjoining to Chayamachi. Hankyu Hanshin Holdings introduced that renovation of Osaka-Umeda Station will start sequentially from January subsequent 12 months to deal with getting older infrastructure relationship again to 1973. The renovation will transfer practice stopping positions by roughly 14 meters to create extra space and enhance accessibility, with Okahara suggesting the venture “could become a catalyst for redevelopment around Chayamachi.”
The firm’s broader Shibata 1-chome Plan goals to improve the worth of the better Umeda Station space, making use of the previous New Hankyu Hotel web site, rebuilding the Hankyu Terminal Building and finishing up renovations at Hankyu Sanbangai. According to Okahara, the initiative doubtless consists of “an intention to draw foot traffic back toward Chayamachi.”
Attention is now turning to how the previous Umeda Loft web site can be redeveloped, though no concrete plans have been introduced. On Chayamachi’s south facet, the B-2 and B-3 zones are scheduled to open in fiscal 2027 as a mixed-use complicated combining industrial area, motels and workplaces.
Looking forward, Okahara believes the district’s prospects stay robust, saying Chayamachi is presently “in a redevelopment valley,” however with its proximity to main stations and excessive general comfort, “the area’s potential is significant and Chayamachi will eventually regain vibrancy as redevelopment advances.”
Source: ABCTVnews