01
Dotonbori
The neon canal at night, takoyaki and okonomiyaki, the Glico Running Man. The Osaka most people picture.
Stop 01 · Base · 3 nights
Quick facts
Our starting city. Loud, food-obsessed, less polished than Tokyo and proud of it. Three nights to find our feet in Japan, eat ourselves stupid, and take a day trip to Hiroshima.
Hotels and ryokan we are considering. We will lock in and book together.
Seeded from what we already wrote. We will add, cut and reorder.
The neon canal at night, takoyaki and okonomiyaki, the Glico Running Man. The Osaka most people picture.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1583 keep (1931 reconstruction) ringed by maple trees and a moat. Best in autumn light.
Osaka's kitchen. A 580m covered arcade of seafood, wagyu skewers and fruit. Graze your way through.
Retro 1960s Osaka frozen in time, home of kushikatsu, deep-fried skewers eaten with cold beer.
Authentic local places we want to eat, and room for more.
Family-run okonomiyaki since 1945, Michelin-listed, daily fish from Kuromon. Expect a queue; send someone to hold the line.
More →Two lantern-lit stone lanes of old-school spots beside Hozenji temple. The calm, traditional side of Dotonbori. Best early evening; split a group of six.
More →Where Osaka office workers actually drink: tiny izakaya and standing bars in the backstreets behind Namba. Go early.
More →Freshest casual tuna sashimi in Osaka, eaten at the counter in the 1902 market. Go in the morning; few seats, so rotate the group.
More →Proper Kobe beef shabu-shabu and sukiyaki at the source, an easy hop from Shin-Osaka. Book well ahead for six. In-city alternative: Tsukada at KITTE Osaka.
More →A loose plan, editable as we book things.
Land at KIX, drop bags, ease in with an evening walk through Dotonbori and Namba. First takoyaki.
Early shinkansen out, Peace Memorial Park and the dome, okonomiyaki, back to Osaka for dinner.
Osaka Castle in the morning light, Kuromon Market to graze, Shinsekai and kushikatsu at night.