Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Street

A roughly 160m-long shopping arcade lined with 50 or so stores that sell kitchen utilities, machines and tools targeted at professional chefs and cooks. Of course, you don’t have to be a professional to shop here, so if you’re interested in cooking, it may be worth having a look for new kitchen utensils here. The […]

Kushikatsu Daruma “Daruma Daijin”

A large-scale, scary-looking old man based on the fourth shop owner was put in place in 2008 and remained there ever since. There is also a full-body version in front of the shop. Size 6.4m tall, 4.1m wide Photo tips Try taking two shots with the full body in front of the store

Osaka Eki-Mae Building（Basement）

There are four large buildings on the south side of JR Osaka Station, each joined underground. The 1st and 2nd floors underground include a food court with reasonably-priced high-quality restaurants, making the area popular with office workers both for lunchtime and dinner. Many of the businesses have been there for a long time, giving it […]

Yaekatsu

お好み焼 美津の

Osaka Tenmangu Shrine

This shrine is where the Tenjin Festival, one of the three greatest festivals in Japan, is held. The shrine has a long history stemming from 650, when Emperor Kotoku built Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace. The “Shrine of General ” was founded to the northwest of the palace as a guardian deity. In 949, the God of […]

Kuidaore Taro

The Kuidaore Taro doll dressed in red and white striped clothes and large black and dark rimmed glasses holding a taiko drum is considered a very famous and popular figure in Kansai. It was originally the mascot of a large restaurant chain Osaka Meibutsu Kuidaore which was established in 1949 and went on to achieve […]

America Mura

A popular place among young people in Kansai and the birthplace of many trends, America Mura is a place where many Kansai youth and teens hang out. Despite being beign only 300m by 500m in area, there are numerous import & second-hand stores, general stores, cafes, galleries, music instrument shops and more – a chaotic […]

4 Chome Nanba/1 Chome Nanbanaka

There is a relatively large gay town in Osaka centered on the fourth district and Namba-naka area of Namba. There are roughly LGBT 60 clubs/restaurants, with 40 of those being gay bars and many for elderly people. One of the main characteristics of the Minami gay bars is their small and fiercely individualistic character. Foreigners […]

Sōhonzan Shitennōji

A temple with a long history, a rarity in Osaka. It is the first ever state-sponsored temple in Japan built by order of Prince Shotoku (574-622) in 593. He was also a magnificent statesman who is revered by Japanese even today. Shitennōji has been destroyed countless times by fire caused by wars, lightening, and typhoons, […]

Abeno Harukas

Standing proud as the tallest skyscraper in Japan (300 m tall, so it’s not that impressive…the tallest structure in Japan, however, is Tokyo Skytree at 634 m.) On the top floor, presenting a grand view of Osaka roughly 300 meters high, (60 floors up) is the observation deck Harukas 300. Below, a department store stretching […]

Carl Ojisan

“Carl Ojisan” is a simple, farmer-like bearded old man and the character that represents the “curl” snack. The sign was originally made by large food company Meiji Seika in 2008. On the hour, Kerota a frog comes out of his hat. Although once popular, in recent years the snack’s popularity has slumped and it is […]

Tempura Kisaka

Although the average cost of dinner here sits at around ¥20,000, the restaurant offers a tempura set at ¥1300 during lunch which includes: eight different tempura rice, miso soup other various side dishes Not only is this a fantastic deal, but you’ll also be able to watch the chefs fry the tempura right in front […]

Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport is used by roughly 30 million people per year, and it is the second busiest international airport in Japan, serving roughly 70 countries and 270 cities. See below for destination cities and timetables. Airline Information　Airlines　Flight Schedule * There are also LCCs flying between Asia Pacific countries/regions (Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, […]

Takoya Dotonbori Kukuru Mainstore “Big Octopus”

This realistically-designed octopus installed in 2000 looks almost like the real thing. The one next to the Dotonbori Glico sign is the “father” and the one at the front of the shop is the “eldest son,” while the “mother” and “second son” can be found in the Dotonbori Konamon Museum. The father octopus’s eyes sometimes […]

Janjan Yokocho Alley

The narrow and long Nanyodori Shotengai has a street length of 180 meters from the south to the north, with a width of 2.5 meters that starts from the Dobutsuen-mae Station on the metro, all the way to Tsutenkaku, and it is known as Janjan Yokocho Alley. The nickname Janjan Yokocho Alley comes from the […]

Chayamachi

Chayamachi is the trendiest part of Kita, located on the north side of Hankyu Umeda Station. With fashion stores that feature some of the most popular brands amongst people in their 20s and 30s and street-level stores, it is the birthplace of many fashion trends. There are also many trendy cafes that are great if […]

Design Pocket Osaka Main Store

A shop that specializes in making fake food models. There are over a thousand different kinds of food models that look exactly like the real thing. You can also take a tour to find out more about how they are made.

Horie

Horie is perhaps the most refined and high-class area of Osaka, full of shops (including fashion, general goods, furniture), cafes and so on. If the nearby “America mura” is the place for rebellious young people, then Horie is the place for trendy young people. Horie is more open and spacious in comparison to the other […]

まぐろや黒銀

世界中から厳選して仕入れた本マグロを扱う鮮魚店。 その場でさばかれたマグロを、刺身や寿司、丼などで提供している。 持ち帰りはもちろん、店内にあるイートインスペースで楽しめる。

Kinryu Ramen “Kinryu”

The green dragon sticking through the red wall is very lifelike and looks as if it could move at any moment. Put in place in 1992. The sign itself could almost be considered an elaborate art piece due to its intricate details.   Size Approx. 6m in length  

Tsutenkaku

Tsutenkaku is the symbol of Shinsekai, and it is even called the “Eiffel Tower of Naniwa (Osaka)” – likely an over-exaggeration. It was built in 1912 but deconstructed in 1943 after experiencing a fire, and rebuilt in 1956 with a great increase in height from 64 meters to 103 meters. The 5th floor is known […]

ぶ武

Umeda Sky Building / Kuchu Teien Observatory

The high-rise Umeda Sky Building was constructed so that the two individual buildings join at the top to form a design that looks like a floating spaceship. With a global reputation, every year the building is visited by over a million tourists and was once featured in a British magazine article on the “Top 20 […]

OWL OSAKA

About: A high-quality and trendy nightclub with a white owl as its logo. The lighting and interior design is extravagant and the sound quality is also good. Many world-class DJs perform here. Although always busy at night, before the last train in particular the energy in the club peaks and people tend to get excited. […]

Whity Umeda

Whity Umeda forms a large part of the underground shopping center below Osaka Station. The shopping center is visited by around 600,000 people per day – the most visitors out of any shopping center in Japan. There are over 70 restaurants rich in variety, with reasonable prices in comparison to the pricey food stores inside […]

きじ

天保山マーケットプレース

Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Umeda Store

Yodobashi is a large domestic electronics store chain, and this store has the highest turnover in Japan (approx. 120 billion yen) and the largest floor space (approx. 30,000 m2). There is a great selection of items and multilingual staff, and also around 30 affordably-priced restaurants and cafes on the 8th floor.

Ohatsu Tenjin Dori Street

The local pub district in Osaka. The Ohatsutenjin Shopping Area has 80 restaurants of bountiful variety, the narrow roads lined by long-established shops with good reputations. Known as the “bar street,” the 20 or so restaurants are well-known amongst the locals.