To get to Namba/Shinsaibashi, take the Osaka Metro Midosuji line from Umeda to Shinsaibashi station, which takes approximately 10 minutes. It’s a very popular area with specialty stores, luxury brands, and well-known department stores such as Takashiyama and Daimaru. There are also lots of bars and restaurants and that are open until the early hours of the morning, so there’s never a quiet moment!
The shopping district, Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade ~ Ebisu Bashi-Suji Shopping Street
Osaka’s most famous shopping district that truly has everything. It is centered around famous fashion brands such as Onitsuka Tiger, ZARA and UNIQLO, but there are also cafes, souvenir shops and much more. It attracts tourists and local shoppers alike, especially on weekends. The UNIQLO Shinsaibashi branch is Japans first global flagship store, standing tall with 4 floors of clothes. With its huge selection, it’s easy to find the right size, as well as limited collaborations with both domestic and overseas designers. As well as this, the area is filled with major drug stores including Matsumotokiyoshi, SUNDRUG and TSURUHA Drug to cater to foreign tourists who flock to buy Japanese cosmetics and skin care.
■Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade
Dotonbori’s insta-famous spot, ‘Glico Man’.
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When walking over the Ebisu Bridge on the way from Shinsaibashi station to Namba station, you can see the often photographed and well loved ‘Glico Man’ sign. It’s a large electronic signboard installed in 1935, showing the first ‘Glico’ package design. It was created by Ezaki Glico Co., famous for its snacks including Pocky, Pretz, and Papico ice cream. The sign lights up with LEDs every day from 30 minutes after sunset until midnight. A recent upgrade to the LEDs also makes the background change! Many people take pictures here doing the ‘Glico Pose’ – standing on one leg with both hands in the air!
Time to get some seasonal ingredients! Kuromon Ichiba Market
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The Kuromon Ichiba Market, also known as “Osaka’s Kitchen’, is an indispensable shopping area for people living in Osaka to purchase ingredients. Seasonal vegetables, fresh fish and meat are sold here. The main thing here are fishmongers, and for those who love fresh fish and shellfish you can even enjoy fresh sashimi and barbequed fish right there. You can even try tuna or fugu! Our recommendation is the tuna specialty store ‘Kurogin’. You can feast on their ‘Sanshoku Bowl’, which contains thick slices of fatty, medium-fatty and lean tuna and is topped with salmon roe.
Osaka’s famous food, 551’s Butaman
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In the Kansai region, everyone knows the tune of ‘551 Horai ♪‘, a famous commercial for Osaka’s most popular butaman store. Here you can eat freshly made, steaming hot butaman (a steamed bun with pork inside). They are handmade by a craftsman, using fresh ingredients that arrive daily. Thanks to that, the buns are fluffy and filled with a special mustard sauce with no preservatives. Another popular item is the ‘ice candy’, of which the flavor hasn’t changed since 1945.
■ 551 Horai
Open hour： 11:00～22:00
HP：http://www.551horai.co.jp/shop/honten.html(Only in Japanese)
※There are brunch shops in Shinsaibashi Daimaru, Namba Station, and others in Osaka area.
We hope you enjoy shopping, sightseeing and gourmet food like these butaman and seafood bowls in Osaka’s Namba/Shinsaibashi area!
