Around Nakatsu Station, you’ll find hidden cafes, restaurants, and standing bars tucked beneath elevated tracks, creating a streetscape that feels unmistakably ‘Showa-era.’ Surprisingly, the number of passengers is relatively low: while Umeda Station sees about 500,000 daily users, Nakatsu Station has just over 10,000 per day. From Nakatsu Station’s narrow platforms, looking toward the national highway, you can see JR’s Umeda freight line and the cluster of high-rise buildings in Umeda. The vast open land in front of the skyscrapers is the former site of Umeda Freight Station, which was closed in 2013 and is now being redeveloped as the ‘Umekita’ district. The Nakatsu area offers not only cafes and restaurants but also distinctive shops; one standout is Samurai Jeans, a denim manufacturer originating in Osaka, whose flagship store attracts many overseas customers. If you walk about three minutes north from Hankyu Nakatsu Station, you’ll reach the local power spot Toyoshima Shrine, enshrined as the guardian deity for over 400 years and believed to bring blessings such as victory, warding off misfortune, and safe childbirth.