Life around the tower
Abeno Harukas anchors the district both physically and economically, with a department store, offices and hotel stacked beneath its observation deck, and the streets immediately around it have grown into a dense, modern shopping and transit hub built almost entirely around the tower's presence. For years it held the title of Japan's tallest building, and the skyline view from its upper floors remains one of the best elevated views in the city.
Abenobashi shopping arcade
The Abenobashi covered shopping arcade runs south from the station, a more everyday, less tourist-oriented counterpart to Dotonbori's shopping streets, mixing long-running local shops with newer retail as the surrounding area has modernised. It's a good stretch to walk if you want a genuine cross-section of how locals actually shop, rather than a tourist-facing version of it.
The Hankai tram
Abeno is also the northern terminus of the Hankai Uemachi Line, one of the last old-style tram lines still running in Osaka, connecting south through residential neighbourhoods toward Sumiyoshi Taisha — a slower, more old-fashioned way to cover ground than the subway, and worth riding at least once for its own sake.
How Abeno connects to the rest of the city
Abeno sits at the southern end of the same Midosuji Line that runs through Umeda and Namba, making it an easy add-on to a day already spent around Shinsekai and Tennoji next door, rather than a destination requiring a special trip of its own.