Osaka, Japan — Food and Dining
Restaurants in Osaka, Japan
Restaurants
Recommended restaurants
Edobori Yamaguchi
For tourists not thoroughly initiated into Japanese culture and etiquette, this Japanese restaurant is a good place to visit for a traditional kaiseki meal. Many similar restaurants are reluctant to accept foreigners as guests, but Edobori Yamaguchi specializes in teaching tourists about Japanese food and how it should be served and eaten. It is a plus that the food served is indeed excellent.
3-6-49 Edobori, Nishi-ku
Tel: (06) 6441 4901.
Website: www.edobori.co.jp
Price: $$$$
Ganko Umeda Honten
You can't go wrong at Ganko Umeda Honten. A generalist rather than a specialist restaurant, this big eatery covers most bases within Japanese cuisine (from sushi to okonomiyaki and beyond) and it does it well. A comprehensive menu and great food make this a popular choice.
1-5-11 Shibata
Tel: (06) 6376 2001.
Price: $-$$
Hon Sekiguchi
Located near Kuromon market in Sennichimae to the east of Namba, Hon Sekiguchi has been serving Kansai-style sukiyaki (one pot meal) for more than 130 years, and it is still going strong. The sukiyaki and shabu-shabu (similar, but more savoury and less sweet) are very flavorsome and made with top-quality black cattle beef. Guests can choose between Western-style table seating or Japanese dining rooms with tatami mats and low tables.
2-2-7 Sennichimae, Chuo-ku
Tel: (06) 6641 2303.
Price: $$$
Kani Doraku
This restaurant is probably most famous for the huge mechanical crab movings around on its outside wall - it has become a symbol of the whole Dotonbori area. But the food here is actually very good, provided you like crab. Crab prepared in all possible ways is available - crab shabu-shabu, crab kaiseki, crab salad, crab with sushi etc - and it is all good.
1-6-18 Dotonbori
Tel: (06) 6211 8975.
Price: $$-$$$
Mizuno
This third-generation family restaurant is located in Dotonbori and is famous for its okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancakes). This dish is supposed to have originated in Osaka, and you're unlikely to find a better place to eat it than Mizuno. Vegetables, meat, squid, shrimp and cheese are among the typical topping ingredients. Try to get a seat by the big iron plate where the chefs prepare the food. It's fascinating to watch them in action.
1-4-15 Dohtonbori, Chuo-ku
Tel: (06) 6212 6360.
Website: www.mizuno-osaka.com
Price: $$
Umeda Hagakure
This is an Osaka classic, with long queues forming every day particularly at lunchtime. The reason for its popularity is the famous udon (noodles) it serves with its own specially made soy sauce. At its busiest this is not a place to linger, so there's limited time to savour the food, but for a quick meal you can't do much better in Osaka.
1-1-3 Umeda
Tel: (06) 6341 1409.
Website: www.hagakure.cc/umeda/index.html
Price: $
Nightlife
Osaka’s nightlife is vibrant, hectic and extremely diverse, and there is an enormous number of bars, clubs, restaurants and entertainment venues throughout the city. The Dotonbori area is probably the most famous nightlife spot, with its huge number of eating, drinking and amusement establishments and omnipresent neon lights.
Bars: Pig and Whistle, across Building 2F, 2-6-14 Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, is an English-style pub that is popular with locals and visitors alike. Kirin Plaza Osaka, 7-2 Soemoncho, Chuo-ku, is a relaxing yet stylish bar and pub that brews its own beer on site. One of Osaka’s most popular cocktail bars, Cinquecento, Matsumiya building, 1F 2-1-10 Higashi Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, offers a great selection of Martinis and cocktails. Bamboo, Nichio Silky Tower 1F, 2-7-22 Higashi Shinsaibashi, is another popular cocktail bar with a fusion theme both in terms of interior, food and drinks.
Clubs: Sam & Dave (website: www.samanddave.jp) is a chain of nightclubs that are all characterized by a high energy factor and plenty of fun and drink, enjoyed by foreigners and locals alike. Most popular is probably the venue in Nagahoribashi, Building 1F, 1-21-19 Shimanouchi, Chuo-ku, but its cousins in Shinsaibashi, Kawahori Building 4F, 1-3-29, Shinsaibashi-suji, Chuo-ku and Umeda, 1F, 4-15-19 Nishi-tenma, Kita-ku also attract good crowds. Another place high on party atmosphere is Saza-E, Chayamachi Voice 16-4, Chayamachi, Kita-ku (website: www.saza-e.com), which easily fills its four floors with dancing partygoers enjoying the disco, hip hop, R&B or whatever it is the DJs are channelling through the loudspeakers. A more trendy alternative is Grand Cafe Osaka, B1F Spazio Building, Nishi-Shinsaibashi 2-10-21, Chuo-ku (website: www.grandcafeosaka.com), where the crowd is usually as eclectic as the music, which ranges from house, garage, dance, hip hop, techno and psyche to reggae, R&B, pop and rock.
Live Music: Blue Note Osaka, 2-3-21 Sonezaki-shinchi, Kita-ku (website: http://osaka-bluenote.co.jp/obn/top.html) is one of Osaka’s finest live venues, featuring top international and Japanese artists within a musical landscape ranging from jazz and blues to soul and R&B. Much louder and more hard-hitting are the rock, punk, metal and noise acts playing at the vibrant Live-House Fandango, 1-17-27 Juso-Honmachi, Yodogawa-ku (website: www.fandango-go.com/eg/index.htm). Just as popular is Shinsaibashi Club Quattro, Shinsaibashi Parco Building 8F, 1-9-1 Shinsaibashi-suji, Chuo-ku (website: www.club-quattro.com), where the range of live music is even wider - from reggae to hard rock and beyond.
Zepp Osaka, Nannko-kita, Suminoe-ku (website: www.zepp.co.jp) is a large venue staging a variety of events and pop and rock music concerts featuring both international and Japanese artists. Namba Hatch (website: www.namba-hatch.com), 1-3-1 Minatomachi, Naniwa-ku, features both up-and-coming artists and big international names playing rock, pop, jazz, soul, country, hip-hop, blues and R’n’B. Large arenas used for big concerts with international pop and rock acts include Osaka Koseinenkin Kaikan, 1-14-15 Shin-machi, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi (website: http://kapara.jp/hall1.html), Osaka-jo Hall, 3-1 Osaka-Jo, Chuo-ku (website: www.osaka-johall.com), and the Osaka Dome, 3-2-1 Chiyozaki, Nishi-kuwhich (website: www.osakadome.co.jp).
Osaka Guide is a bi-monthly guide in English with listings of festivals, events, concerts, exhibits, suggested tourist spots, maps and useful contact numbers. It is available from Osaka’s many visitor information centers.
