Eating Out and Shopping In Osaka
Regional Dishes, Designer Brands and Electronic Goods
Osaka is a foodie's paradise and a shopper's heaven with many traditional restaurants, the chance to bargain for electronics and shop for designer brands.
The Kansai region is known as the kitchen of Japan for the varied selection of foods on offer and the relatively low cost compared to other cities. Osaka is Japan's second city and a fashion centre too with clothes to suit all budgets not to mention lots of bargains on the technology for which the country is world famous.
Eating Out In Osaka
Osaka is famous for certain speciality foods like Okonomiyaki - a savoury pancake made with wheat flour, cabbage, eggs and water and served with various fillings and toppings. Traditionally this is mayonnaise and seafood flakes and a sweet tasty sauce but other fillings are available like avocado and tomato. The pancake is cooked on a griddle which diners often do themselves sitting at a specially designed table. Similarly, yaki soba (fried noodles) can be cooked in this way and the two dishes are usually available together. Prices vary but start under $10.
Tako yaki is another traditional Osaka dish and is widely available in the street for around $2 for six. Literally ‘octopus balls’, these wheat flour dumplings are cooked in a shaped griddle and contain a small piece of octopus served with the same sweet sauce as okonomiyaki.
Places to head for such speciality foods are dotonbori-dori in Shinsaibashi in the south. Here street vendors serve the two traditional regional dishes as well as Chinese Ramen. Kaiten sushi restaurants where the food revolves on a conveyor belt are also found in this area and some, like Ryugu-tei at 2-5-2 Shinsaibashi-suji, offer all-you-can-eat deals for about $15 for men and $12 for women! While sushi is famous across Japan and is its biggest culinary export, Osaka serves up its own version called oshizushi – pressed layers of vinegared rice topped with fish and cut into small bite size squares.
Osaka has large Korean and Chinese populations and these foods are available across the city particularly around Tsuruhashi in the east on the JR Loop Line. Many other foreign foods are widely available too including Thai and Indian which are most prominent in the more touristy areas of Shinsaibashi and Namba in the south and Umeda in the north of the city. Western foods are also found in abundance. The Aussie themed Outback Steakhouse Restaurant in Umeda serves up good portions (take the Yotsubashi subway line to Nishi-Umeda station) and many foreigner bars offer fish and chips such as Irish Murphy’s in Shinsaibashi at the Lead Plaza Building near Nagahoribashi station.
Shopping In Osaka
The most popular places to shop in the city are also in Namba, Shinsaibashi and Umeda. The incredible Namba Walk is an underground shopping street that links Namba JR station with the Kintetsu, subway and Nankai lines. It’s full of small boutiques, restaurants and souvenir shops and definitely worth a browse. Take the Yotsubashi, Midosuji or Sennichimae subway lines to get there. Nearby Namba Parks is a multi-level shopping centre with classier restaurants and shops including a large book store and several department stores it's easy to find as the two centres are linked.
For electronic goods Den Den Town five minutes from Namba in Nipponbashi 3-chome is the place to head for and bargaining, often a no-no in Japan, is acceptable here. Bic Camera, also in Namba and Yodoyabashi Camera and Sofmap in Umeda are also good places for electronics. The Apple store is also in Nishi-Shinsaibashi.
For designer brands there are many large department stores and plazas in Umeda. The Hilton Plaza in western Umeda houses such big names as Louis Vuitton, Versace, Tiffany and Bvlgari to name a few. Many other brands like Gucci, Prada and Chanel can be found along Shinsaibashi-Suji that runs east to Mido-Suji-dori. For trendy, more unique garments the best stores are in Amerika Mura and Europa Mura in Shinsaibashi in the south.
A shopping trip to Umeda should also include a visit to the Hep Five shopping complex just North of Hankyu Umeda Station. It has eleven floors and a giant Ferris wheel on the roof with great views of the city; a perfect way to unwind after a hard day’s shopping.
