Herbis Osaka

A 40-floor, 190 m mixed-use skyscraper built by Hanshin Electric Railway in Umeda, Osaka, completed in 1997. The tower combines offices, The Ritz-Carlton Osaka (floors 30–37), and retail, and stands as a western anchor of the Umeda underground network.

Use

Office tower

Area

Osaka City Kita

Completed

1997

Floors

40 above ground, 5 below

Height

190 m

Developer

Hanshin Electric Railway

Architect

Takenaka Corporation

A Mixed-Use Tower at the Gateway to Umeda

In 1997, Herbis Osaka was completed in the heart of Umeda, the major railway terminal of Osaka, rising 40 floors above ground, with five basement levels, to a height of 190 metres. The project was developed by Hanshin Electric Railway, with design and construction handled by Takenaka Corporation. Standing close to Hanshin Umeda Station, it brought a large-scale combination of commercial, office and hotel space to one of Japan’s busiest urban crossroads.

The name HERBIS is a portmanteau of Heart, Retail, Business, International and Sightseeing, reflecting the building’s varied programme. Floors 30 to 37 are occupied by The Ritz-Carlton Osaka, which has been counted among the city’s leading luxury hotels since it opened. The tower is connected by underground passages to JR Osaka Station and Hanshin Umeda Station, forming the western anchor of Umeda’s extensive subsurface network.

Umeda Redevelopment and Herbis in Context

Umeda has been Osaka’s central business district since the late Meiji period, shaped by successive waves of railway-led development. Herbis Osaka was Hanshin Electric Railway’s contribution to that ongoing story, completed in 1997 — two years after the Great Hanshin Earthquake — as part of a broader revitalisation of the company’s station-front land. The following year saw the adjacent Herbis Plaza open (1998), with Herbis Plaza ENT added in 2004, together forming the full Herbis Osaka complex.

Summary

Completed 1997, 40 floors, 190 m. Herbis Osaka is Hanshin Electric Railway’s flagship mixed-use tower in Umeda, bringing offices, luxury hotel accommodation and retail under a single roof. Well connected underground to the main Umeda stations, it remains a landmark of central Osaka worth visiting.