HEP is a major shopping mall and entertainment center in the

Umeda is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field". History Umeda was historica ...

commercial district of Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is a shopping mall consisting of a HEP Five and HEP Navio. HEP stands for "Hankyu Entertainment Park". The building is operated by

Hankyu Hanshin Holdings is a Japanese multinational '' keiretsu'' holding company which owns Hankyu Corporation, the Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Toho Co., Ltd., and affiliate companies. On October 1, 2006, Hankyu Holdings changed its name to the present c ...

's real estate investment trust (

REIT A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

) subsidiary Hankyu REIT and co-owned by Hankyu REIT (45%) and Hankyu Realty Co. (55%).Hankyu REIT sells 5% interest in HEP five to Hankyu Realty
(Notice Concerning Transfers of Domestic Real Estate Trust Beneficiary Interests)

HEP Five

HEP Five receives about 17 million visitors annually (2007), making it one of the most visited fashion boutique buildings in the Osaka urban region. The core customers at HEP Five are young people, mostly female, from high school age to their early twenties. The building itself houses over 100 shops (mostly fashion retail shops catering to young consumers), with restaurants, an event hall, amusement facilities (such as

Joypolis is a chain of indoor amusement parks created by Sega and run by CA Sega Joypolis. Beginning on July 20, 1994 with the original location sited in Yokohama, Japan, Joypolis centers have since opened in several cities in Japan and later China. T ...

and the

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

), a hanging replica of 2 whales designed by

Tatsuya Ishii , also known as Tatuya Ishii (born September 22, 1959) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, artist, and industrial designer from Ibaraki Prefecture. Biography In 1985, he debuted as vocalist in the band . In 1992, their single won the Japanese ...

Ferris wheel

The HEP Five building is easily located as it has a large red

with a diameter of 75 metres protruding from its roof (the highest point of the wheel is 106m above the ground, including the height of the building), which is accessible for a fee.

Building data

HEP Navio

References

External links

Official website

Official websiteHep Hall

Hankyu REIT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hep Tourist attractions in Osaka Buildings and structures in Osaka Shopping centres in Japan Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Kita-ku, Osaka Umeda