HEP Five Directory 2026: A Floor-by-Floor Guide to Umeda's Red-Wheel Mall
HEP Five is the Umeda mall you can spot from anywhere in central Osaka — its rooftop red Ferris wheel is the neighborhood's most identifiable landmark. But HEP Five is not a single attraction; it is a vertical village of 158 shops packed into ten floors, and the directory is genuinely confusing on a first visit. This guide breaks the mall down floor by floor, with the shop categories, the tax-free logistics, the Ferris wheel pricing, the dining zone, and the access routes from Osaka Station — so you can plan a visit without wandering. HEP Five sits at 5-15 Kakuda-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka, a 3-minute walk from Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station and a 4-minute walk from the Midosuji exit of JR Osaka Station. It opened in 1998 as a youth-oriented fashion complex and has kept that demographic: the core customer is in their teens and twenties, and the shop mix reflects it. Hours differ by zone: Closings are irregular (unscheduled maintenance days), so check the official site before a dedicated trip. General information is +81-6-6313-0501, 11:00-21:00. HEP Five's layout is organized into three vertical zones — fashion on B1 to 6F, dining on 7F, and amusement on 8F to 9F — with the Ferris wheel entrance on 7F. Here is what is on each floor. The six fashion floors hold the bulk of the mall's 158 shops. B1 is anchored by the tax-free counter and a cluster of young women's fashion and accessories — ORiental TRaffic (shoes), archives, RETRO GIRL, and COQULE. The basement also has the character-goods shop magical chiikawa store, the cosmetics/drugstore AINZ&TULPE, and a Seven Bank ATM. The ground floor (1F) is the marquee floor. BEAMS sits right at the main entrance, carrying both men's and women's basics and lifestyle goods. niko and..., Dr. Martens, Journal Standard, and Rockfish Weatherwear anchor the international brands, while EMODA, MURUA, rienda, and clear cover domestic women's fashion. Floors 2F to 6F continue the fashion run. Standouts include the vintage store GRAPEFRUIT MOON (6F, US/European vintage), WEGO (5F, lolita and "ita bags" — a subculture specialty), 3COINS (6F, 300-yen lifestyle goods and anime collabs), and the Crayon Shin-chan Official Shop (4F), designed to look like the "Action Department Store" from the anime. Across the fashion floors, 89 of the 158 shops offer tax-free shopping, an unusually high ratio for an Umeda mall. 7F is split between the TAMLO gourmet zone — a food-hall-style area with five shared eating spaces and pop-up anime cafes — and the Ferris wheel ticket counter. TAMLO anchors include Tsukinomichi (refined Japanese cafe) and cafe&bar Hush (photo-worthy sweets). The floor also hosts the foreign-currency exchange machine, useful when you need yen in a hurry. Note: the famous Takoyaki Market is on 1F, not 7F — five top Osaka takoyaki vendors (Aiduya, the birthplace of takoyaki; Kougaryu from America Mura; Dotonbori Kukuru; Yamachan; and Juhachiban) share a single counter where you can compare styles side by side. The two amusement floors are dominated by the Bandai Namco Cross Store, a multi-shop complex that includes the ONE PIECE Card Game Official Shop and the Tamagotchi Shop. The real draw is the gashapon (capsule toy) selection: the Gashapon Department Store runs 500 machines and the Gashapon Bandai Official Shop another 300, for over 800 machines total — one of the largest gashapon floors in Umeda. Photo sticker booths (purikura) and the latest arcade games fill out the floor. The HEP Five Ferris wheel is the reason most first-time visitors come. The entrance is on 7F. A ride takes about 15 minutes, reaches a maximum height of roughly 106 meters, and on a clear day you can see as far as Osaka Bay. Each gondola is equipped with Bluetooth audio, so you can play your own music during the ride. Adult admission is ¥600; children under 5 ride free. The wheel is illuminated at night, making it a useful evening landmark as well as a daytime viewpoint. HEP Five is one of the most tax-free-friendly malls in Umeda: 89 of its 158 shops participate. There are two ways to claim the refund: Guests staying at Hotel Hankyu RESPIRE OSAKA, Hotel New Hankyu Osaka, or the Hotel New Hankyu Osaka Annex can pick up a hotel coupon, present it at the B1 tax-free counter, and receive a ¥500 discount coupon (valid on purchases over ¥3,000) plus a complimentary novelty gift.
HEP Five at a glance
Floor directory: B1 to 9F
B1 to 6F — fashion, character goods, and lifestyle
7F — dining and the Ferris wheel entrance
8F to 9F — amusement and the Bandai Namco Cross Store
The Ferris wheel
Tax-free shopping at HEP Five
How to get to HEP Five
HEP Five has entrances on the ground level and on B2. The ground-floor entrance is the most direct from Hankyu: exit Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station, walk toward the Hankyu Department Store concourse, exit by the SMBC bank, cross Hankyu Sun Plaza, and HEP Five is in front of you, recognizable by the red wheel. The B2 entrance is the underground route: follow signs for the Whity Umeda underground shopping street, look for the Baskin-Robbins on the B2 corridor, and the glass waterfall entrance to HEP Five is across from it. From JR Osaka Station's Midosuji exit, it is a 4-minute walk via the ground route. A multilingual information counter on 1F (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean) can help with shop locations and Ferris wheel tickets.
Practical Details
- Address: 5-15 Kakuda-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0017
- Hours: Shopping 11:00-21:00 / Restaurants 11:00-22:30 / Amusement 11:00-23:00 / Ferris wheel 11:00-22:45
- Nearest stations: Hankyu Osaka-Umeda (3 min), JR Osaka Midosuji exit (4 min), Hanshin Osaka-Umeda (5 min)
- Tax-free counter: B1, 11:00-21:00 (89 of 158 shops participate)
- Ferris wheel: 7F entrance, ¥600 adult / free under 5, ~15 min ride, 106m max height
- Information: +81-6-6313-0501 (11:00-21:00)
- Shop directory: HEP Five official shop list (English)
