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Shinsaibashi + Namba

Namba and Shinsaibashi form the heart of Osaka. Home to thousands of bars and restaurants, several department stores, a half-dozen movie theaters, the Den-Den Town electronics district and Amerika Mura, Minami has something for everyone.

To the east is the Horie area, a more upscale neighborhood with dozens of restaurants, boutiques and art galleries, where Osaka's style-conscious twenty-somethings come to shop, eat, see and be seen.
Back on Midosuji Street, there are two famous department stores, Daimaru and OPA. The main Osaka branch of Citibank is just down the street from the latter. Shoppers may also be interested in Tokyu Hands, a famous DIY store on Nagahori-dori with floors and floors of novelties, art supplies and tools.

Traveling south, visitors will come to the Dotonbori-gawa canal and its famous nightlife district. There are restaurants on both sides of the waterway, but the south side, east of Midosuji, is the heart of the district. Here you'll find the local landmark, Kuidaore, a multi-floor restaurant serving both Japanese and Western food. A famous animatronic clown stands in front of the massive eatery. Another Osaka landmark is Kani Doraku, a crab restaurant with a giant mechanical crab on the front of the building that has become a symbol of Osaka.

Other attractions in the area include the Ebisubashi bridge, where thousands of tourists pose to have their pictures taken in front of a row of buildings covered with giant neon signs, including the famous Glico "running man". The river area has recently been renovated to include an attractive promenade, featuring a new, bizarrely-shaped Ferris wheel connected to the Don Quijote Dotonbori store. The Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade runs to the north and south from Ebisubashi and the Dotonbori-gawa canal.

Namba, south of Shinsaibashi, is famous for its theaters and the shopping complexes, Namba City and Namba Parks, which boast scores of fashionable boutiques, and remarkable architecture. There are two kabuki theaters, the Osaka Shochikuza Theater and the Shin Kabukiza Theater. Traditional puppet plays are performed at the National Bunraku Theater.

Namba Hatch, a popular concert venue, and Osaka City Air Terminal [OCAT], a shopping center and transportation hub, are to the west of Namba Station on Sennichimae street. Taking Sennichimae in the opposite direction leads to Bic Camera, a giant discount store offering bargain prices on cameras, electronics and household goods.

From the taxi stand in front of Takashimaya department store and Nankai Namba Station, a five-minute walk east on Nansan-dori takes you past Tower Records to Den Den Town, Osaka's electronics paradise. Den Den Town has hundreds of shops selling everything from cameras to computers to anime videos and comic books. Ninomiya has a huge duty free shop with five floors of the latest gadgetry and technological wonders, and Camera no Naniwa sometimes has special discounts for foreigners. Just behind the Ninomiya main store there's also an intriguing little area where used kimonos are sold.

Namba and Shinsaibashi have some of Osaka's best places to eat, including Shuhari, a stylish European restaurant in Minami Horie with Zen-like, modern decor. Nishin, in the Big Step building in Amerika Mura, serves robata yaki [dishes cooked over a hearth], in a comfortable and traditional atmosphere. El Pancho, by Sony Tower on Nagahori-dori, is a great Mexican restaurant, and Mekong, in Minami Semba, has wonderful Vietnamese food.

Nearer to Namba Station are Gyukaku, a Korean barbecue restaurant, and Ninnikuya, an establishment that lives up to its name, which means "garlic shop". For Indian cuisine, Santana offers a wide variety of authentic and spicy North Indian fare. Slices serves utterly scrumptious slabs of Canadian-style pizza, and is also one of the best places in town for bubble tea. If you're looking for a meat fix, look no further than the Brazilian churrascaria Eterna. Finally, big American-style burgers, cheese nachos and the like can be found at the Hard Rock Cafe in nearby Honmachi.

Shinsaibashi is also home to some of Osaka's most popular bars, including the Pig and Whistle, a traditional English Pub; The Cellar, a cozy basement pub with live music scheduled most nights of the week; Sam and Dave Nagahoribashi, which plays a variety of club music and tunes to get down to; Bamboo, a stylish new fusion bar with affordable eats and drinks; and Murphy's, Japan's first Irish pub. In the Kita Horie neighborhood to the west of Amerika Mura is the expat spot du jour, Cafe Absinthe, a Mediterranean-style cafe and bar.

In Amerika Mura, serious clubbers will want to spend a late night at Underlounge, which plays host to international and homegrown DJs. South of the Nankai Namba station, Saomai is a relaxed, stylish club that supports up-and-coming DJs. And, if you're just looking for a fun night out, PURE, in Dotonbori, is the place to go, with all-you-can-drink on weekends and a seriously up-for-it crowd.

There are many fine hotels in Namba, including the Swissotel Nankai near Namba Station, the renowned Hotel Nikko Osaka in Shinsaibashi, the Comfort Inn, and the Dotonbori Hotel, which offers low-priced accommodation in a convenient location in the heart of Namba. If you would like to try one of Japan's famous capsule hotels, the Capsule Hotel Asahi Plaza is due south of Triangle Park in Amerika Mura.