The Top 10 Things To See And Do In Shinsaibashi, Osaka



Shinsaibashi is one of the most popular areas to visit in Osaka, with countless stores from high end brands to the familiar high street stores. This neighborhood is more than just for shopping though, with some of the most exciting attractions, delicious foods and fun bars and nightclubs. Be sure to make the most of your time in this thriving neighborbood in Japan with our list of the 10 best things to see and do in Shinsaibashi.

Tonbori River Walk

Running from Dōtonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge, the Dōtonbori canal is right at the end of Shinsaibashi shopping arcade. The Tonbori River Walk comes alive at night with live music performers, an abundance of shops, and restaurants. Visitors can enjoy their meals al fresco or relax inside one of the many cafés and bars looking out on to the river. Have a walk along the canal to soak in the busy and exciting atmosphere; take in the neon lights over Dōtonbori Bridge while you experience some of the best takoyaki.
Osaka © Sophie Knight
Osaka © Sophie Knight

Space Station

Head over to Space Station for some nostalgic gaming bliss.There are easily over 100 different games to play on all sorts of consoles, such as the Nintendo 64, Wii, Segas and XBox, to name a few. The staff are very knowledgeable about the games and are willing to help. The bar itself is an incredibly small venue and gets very busy so be sure to go on a weekday in order to get a chance to play some of the games.  If you are a gaming fan, be sure to go to Space Station as it encapsulates the developments of the gaming industry over the last decade or so.


Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade

Visit Osaka’s longest shopping arcade that starts from one end of Dōtonbori Bridge. The arcade boasts a wide variety of shops, with both local and well-known international brands, such as H&M, Zara, Bershka and Forever 21. Shinsahibashi is a great place to people watch and get a sense of the local trends and fashions. The arcade is jam-packed with restaurants and cafés serving everything from waffles and crêpes to pizzas. Here, you’ll find lots of little bars that are worth exploring throughout the arcade as well.

Kuromon Market

The Kuromon Ichiba market is well known for the freshness of its foods, catering to restaurants and households for over 190 years. Also known as Osaka’s Kitchen, this incredibly lively place is the main shopping area for fish, meat and vegetables. With the influx of tourists, there are plenty of restaurants serving fresh sushi, grilled fish, meat and shellfish. Other foods are served out of little stalls filling the market with mouth-watering aromas. Head over to the market, wander around and eat whatever entices you. 

Mitsu Hachimangu Shrine

Nestled away in the busy entertainment district of Amemura, located close to Shinsaibashi, the Mitsu Hachimangu Shrine has been standing since 749. The name ‘Mitsu’ means port, which suggests that the sea came inland up to the shrine in the olden days. The shrine was built in honor of a divine spirit that landed in the prefecture when the Great Statue of Buddha was being built in Nara. The shrine is currently the home of the guardian god of the South section of Osaka.

Hōzen-ji Temple

The Hōzen-ji Temple is a relatively new religious building founded by a monk in 1637. Most of the buildings were lost in the Second World War and now only two buildings remain. This quiet, tranquil area appears in the busy downtown area of Osaka. Visit the temple to see the Fudomyoo, a deity taking the form of fury, which is said to protect people against evil, conquer all demons and grant all wishes. People used to splash water as on offering to the deity and pray for their prosperity. Because of the large amount of water splashed, it looks as though the statue is made of moss.

Amerikamura

In the 70s, all the warehouses in this area were transformed to sell clothes, books, records and many secondhand items brought over from the West Coast in theStates. The media picked up on the uniqueness of the area and thus Amerikamura (Amemura), meaning American Village, was born. In the daytime, Amemura is a fun place to shop around and by night, it’s full of people frequenting the many bars and nightclubs. The little area is located just minutes away from the large Shinsaibashi shopping arcade and it is a must see for everyone who loves to people watch.

Dōtonbori Gokuraku Shotengai

The Dōtonbori Gokuraku Shotengai offers a culinary experience like no other. This place is an actual food indoor theme park, or in other words: a foodie’s heaven. The park is spread over three floors, designed to look like the Taisho and Showa era, complete with authentic fountains, houses, sewers and fortune tellers. There’s an abundance of small restaurants serving all kinds of delicious foods, from curries to noodles to dumplings. Guests can relax in this traditional Japanese comedy house with plenty of delicious snacks.

Alice on Wednesday

Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Alice on Wednesday is a great shop to grab some gifts and knick-knacks. The entry door is only a meter tall and the store reflects all the adventures that Alice goes through in Wonderland, including the bottles labelled ‘drink me’ and the chocolates labelled ‘eat me’. ‘Would you dare try one in case you shrank to the size of a mouse or grew to the size of a giant.’ The store is small so be ready to queue to get in. It is worth it to see childhood memories brought to life. 

Namba Parks

Namba Parks is a modern, popular shopping mall built in the heart of Namba, just moments away from Shinsaibashi. The shopping center is full of shops and restaurants with the bottom floor resembling a carnival. The most exciting part of the mall, however, is that it has an eight level rooftop garden that spans over several city buildings. The garden features trees, rock clusters, cliffs, lawns, streams, a waterfall, ponds and even a space to grow vegetables. Once you tire of shopping and sightseeing, there’s no better way to take in the scenery than to relax on this beautiful rooftop.8

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