What Hankyu is known for

Osaka department store chain that opened in 1929 above Umeda Station as the world's first railway-terminal department store, under Hankyu Railway founder Ichizo Kobayashi. The Umeda flagship reopened in 2012 after a seven-year rebuild.

Hankyu's department store business traces to 1925, when Hankyu Market opened in Umeda as a retail division of what was then Hanshin Electric Railway, under company founder Ichizo Kobayashi. In April 1929 this grew into the full Hankyu Department Store, described as the world's first department store built directly into a railway terminal. With two basement floors and eight above ground, it was by far the largest department store in the country when it opened. The company became independent of the railway operator in 1947. The Umeda flagship underwent a seven-year rebuilding project and reopened in 2012 with 15 floors; the company now operates as part of the H2O Retailing group.