PDF of New Osaka Immigration Office

If you need directions on how to get to Nagai Stadium where most of the events are held then this is just the post for you.

The easiest way to get to Nagai Stadium is via the Midosuji subway line (Red). You can find an Osaka subway map in different languages here. If you are in Umeda then it is fairly straightforward apart from one thing. Some of the trains do not go as far as Nagai. Check to see that the train is going to Nakamozu, those trains will go to Nagai. If you get on a train whose final stop is Tennoji (a few stops before Nagai) it is no big deal as you just get off and wait for the next train.

The Nagai station is station number M26. When you arrive at the station, use exit 3 and you’ll be almost there. The stadium where most of the World Championship events will be held is in the middle of the big park (Nagai Park). The park is a nice place in itself with a botantical garden and a museum of natural history, both well worth checking out.

If you want to go by taxi then you can say

nagai koen onegaishimasu

to the driver. Be careful though, it can be very expensive to travel around by taxi. I asked a taxi driver and it is about 4,000-4,500 Yen from Umeda (yikes!). If you do go by taxi it isn’t the custom to tip in Japan.

The official site, where you can buy tickets, find out event timetables etc. is here: http://www.osaka2007.jp/index_e.html

Finally, before you come you can find out more about Osaka via this site or by picking up a guide or map. I can recommend this food guide (Osaka is famous for its food) and this Osaka map, though if you arrive early you probably can pick up a free map at the Tourist Information booths. If you don’t speak Japanese, this little Lonely Planet phrasebook will help you through many situations. I bought mine when I first arrived and it is all dog-eared now.

Enjoy your time here and if this post was helpful, please tell your friends and help digg it. Thanks

Well according to wikipedia it is the largest Korean town in Japan, larger than the one in Tokyo.  You can eat yakinuki Korean style, you can buy as much kimchi as you want and even find the traditional chima jeogori dresses of Korea in the shopping arcade streets.  It is well-worth spending an afternoon walking about the place, finishing with some nice yakiniku in the evening.

Getting to Tsuruhashi is really simple, there are no fewer than 3 stations.  You can go by subway on the Sennichimae line (Pink) (station number S19), or by JR Loop line (outer loop from Osaka Station) or by Kintestu Nara or Osaka lines.  I personally recommend either taking the subway or JR.

If you’ve been to Tsuruhashi, leave a comment and share your experiences with us.

To get to the Hyatt Regency Osaka you take the Chuo Subway line (Dark Green) until the Cosmosquare station and then change to the Nanko Port Town aka New Tram line (Light Blue) without exiting the station. The station to get off is Nakafuto P11. There will be directions at the station to the hotel or Intex.

Here’s a google map if you need it:

Hyatt Regency Osaka

There are two bookstores I recommend, one is Junkudo and one is Kinokuniya. Kinokuniya is the shop that is beside the recommended meeting point Big Man while Junkudo is in Dojima in a big building called Avanza.

Of the two, Junkudo has a better range of books especially design and IT-related books, and is definitely more relaxed. You can take a book and sit in the book reading areas and skim through books. Kinokuniya is convenient (meeting point). Price-wise they are about the same, which means books are a little more expensive than I’m used to.

Because Junkudo might be a little hard to find by foot, I’ll add a map below:

Junkudo Bookstore Location

Here’s a list in English of all their wifi hotspots, they are mostly cafes or hotels. And if you are looking for a wifi hotspot in Umeda, look under Kita-ku.

The other place I would recommend for sheer convenience is Yodobashi Camera. It is in Umeda and although prices are not the cheapest, they are pretty low. They also run a point card system in which you get from 10 to 20% worth of purchase price in points. They sell everything from laptops to washing machines to home theatre systems to video games systems. They have one of the largest selections of digital cameras around. I have other recommendations for where to buy serious camera gear like DSLRs and lenses but I bought my wife her pocket digital camera (Panasonic FX-30) from Yodobashi Camera. They have some (but not many) staff that speak English.

Membership is free, and the staff can speak enough English to help with filling in the registration form. You can borrow loads of books at a time (20 or 30, I can’t remember) but the loan period is a little short (15 days). Other things to note, the library is closed on Fridays, and the last day of each month. They are also closed a couple of weeks for stock-taking (this year was April). Opening times are: Mon-Fri (9.15am – 8.30pm), Sat, Sun, Public Holidays (9.15am – 5pm).

So, where is the library? To get to the library, the easiest way is by subway. You can take either the Sennichimae line (pink) or the Nagahori Tsurumi Ryokuchi line (light green) to the Nishinagahori station (S13/N14). Take exit 7 to get to the library.

If you want to go by foot or bike, here a google map (unfortunately in Japanese):

Central Library in Osaka

And finally here are links to the English web site, Chinese web site and Korean web site.

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I had to renew my visa recently so I decided to take a video of how to get to the Immigration Office in Osaka. If you can’t view the videos, it is still fairly easy to explain.

First go to the Tanimachi 4-Chome station (T23/C18) which is on both the Chuo line (Dark Green) and the Tanimachi line (Purple). Go to exit 1A. Go out and you’ll see the main street. Turn right and walk up the street for about 7 minutes, passing Cafe Veloce, Coco’s Curry, Hattori Automobile, Lawson, McDonalds and Starbucks (in that order).

The video I split into two parts, the first part is from the Chuo line platform to Exit 1A, and the second one is from the exit to the Immigration Office.

Part 1

Part 2