Living in Portland means that if we need to visit a Snow Peak store and will only be riding a train, there are two options, an equal number of stops away. The first is Snow Peak’s US headquarters, HQ4, here in Portland. Taking either the blue or red line train from our home means sitting for 12 stops, followed by a 20-minute walk to the door. The other Snow Peak location that is 12 stops away includes the 11 from our home to Portland International Airport, and then 1 more from Osaka International Airport to Snow Peak Osaka.
Snow Peak’s primary Osaka location, while located quite a ways out of the urban core and Dontonburi area where most travelers will stay, is incredibly close to Osaka International Airport. What takes an hour from downtown Osaka, is only a few minutes as you leave the airport and the first stop on your way into the larger urban areas.
This makes the location both inconvenient and incredibly convenient - all depending on how you’re arriving to the Osaka area. If you manage to fly in to Osaka, it’s hard to not stop at the store - stretch your legs, grab a bite after your flight, and look out back over the Pacific Ocean that you just spent hours flying across. But if you’re taking the train to Osaka, you may want to simply use this guide as a way to experience it vicariously.
- Getting to Snow Peak Osaka Rinku Town
- What's Snow Peak Osaka Like?
- The Snow Peak Outlet
- Accommodations
- Food & Drink at Snow Peak Osaka
- Limited Edition Items
- Final Thoughts
Getting to Snow Peak Osaka
This was the first stop on our June 2025 travel to the country. While not as robust or long as the last time we had visited, with how easy this location was for us to get to, it was a no-brainer. While my body and back home were still acting like it was 1 am, the distance from where I would be spending the next few days to here made it really hard to justify visiting.
For those staying in the downtown Osaka area, like most travelers, you’ll need to allocate around 3-4 hours to visit this Snow Peak location. As time while traveling is so limited, that is a hard justification to make to browse camping equipment. Especially when there are other locations that are so convenient, like the Land Station at Kyoto Arashiyama, or the Land Station in Tokyo. But if you’re so determined, you can reach Snow Peak Osaka from most places with only a single transfer by train. Because of the distance, it’s not recommended to take a Taxi due to the cost. Expect to pay around $30 for a one-way trip.
If, like me, you’re flying into Osaka International Airport (KIX), it’s quite a bit simpler. From the one train line that leaves the island-based airport, your first stop is on the mainland in the shopping center where Snow Peak Osaka is located.
What’s Snow Peak Osaka Like?
Like many Snow Peak locations around the globe, its physical presence masks what is inside. And like many Snow Peak locations in Japan, this one is more or less located within the bounds of an outdoor mall. But while the exterior walls could house any typical mall shopping, such as the Baskin Robins next door, the exterior grounds immediately feel like you’re at a Snow Peak location.
Perched on the shoreline, right next to the walking paths that allow visitors to enjoy the scenery and shopping, are a series of Jyubako tiny homes that are available to rent for the night, but more on that later.
Inside, you'll find what you may have come to expect at many of the medium-sized locations Snow Peak makes available. A small cafe with limited selection and a moderate amount of camping gear. While this is not a Land Station style door, it offers something unique with a large selection of closeout gear you won't find anywhere else.
The Snow Peak Outlet
While Snow Peak's Rinku Town location outside Osaka is not an outlet store entirely, there is a full wall dedicated to discontinued or scratch + dent items was quite the surprise. These products spanned multiple years and included Festival releases like the Green Stacking Shelf Container, various kerosene stoves, tents, tarps, and miscellaneous tableware. But perhaps the biggest surprise was that they offered a few 'online only' items in-store as part of their outlet, giving tourists a chance to pick them up - unfortunately, no paper towel holder though.
Accommodations
As mentioned, located just outside the storefront and facing East on the Pacific Ocean across the bay of Osaka sit multiple Jyubako tiny homes. If you've stayed in or are familiar with the American version, you'll find these quite a bit smaller and more rudimentary. They lack a bit of length and height, and the kitchenette is replaced with a table.
The likely deal breaker for most is that the only restrooms and showers are public just down the boardwalk. If located on a Campground like Tocachi Poroshiri in Hokkaido was, I wouldn't view this as too big of an issue. However, Snow Peak's Rinku Town is still very much located in a mall. And while one side of your room will offer you a patio and grassy area to sit with a Garden Table and Benches, the other side is just a parking lot.
It puts the Jyubakos in an awkward spot, literally and figuratively. But I think they are most easily described as an accommodation that simply doesn't work well for foreign tourists. You're close to the airport which may be nice after a lot of travel, but not far enough from the urban core where another train ride would be the end of the world. And at $170 per night (at the time of writing), they don't offer the price benefit of other Snow Peak Jyubako locations.
Food & Drink at Snow Peak Osaka
While half of the store is gear, the other half is a Snow Peak Cafe with a full-fledged food and drink menu and plenty of seating. With enormous bay windows overlooking the bay, I instantly imagined this as a wonderful place to sit and have one final meal while visiting the country as the sun sets across the water. While we didn't get a chance to eat this time around, my past experiences at many Snow Peak dining options have never left me disappointed - and I'm sure the Rinku Town location is no different.
Limited Edition Items
If there was a theme for Snow Peak's Rinku Town Osaka location, it would how unexpected everything felt. There were simultaniusly no real limited items for this location (an Eco Cup was the only item), yet there were limited items I had assumed sold out everywhere else such as the Snow Peak Red Wine released in September 2024, the special online-only color of anodized Ti-Double Mugs, and Festival Releases from Fall 2023.
Final Thoughts
If there was an easy answer to the question, "should I travel to Snow Peak Rinku Town while in Osaka?" it would be this - yes if you're coming to/going from Osaka International Airport. Otherwise, it is quite a trek for anyone but the most determined of Snow Peak collectors.
But if you fly into KIX, hop on the train for 5 minutes, take a stroll along the coastline and through the beautiful parks nearby, grab a bite to eat and forget the horrendous food you likely ate on your flight, and soak in the fact that you're in a new country - and it's going to be a good trip.
