Osaka – a surreal and amazing adventure!
Visiting Dotonbori street Osaka was a surreal and amazing adventure!
Osaka was the last city in our two-week four-city tour of Japan after exploring Fukuoka, and Hiroshima, and Tokyo.
I absolutely loved Dotonbori Street, the principal tourist area of Osaka, and the star of many movies.
And why not – when the street is animated by giant robotic crustaceans!
Apparently, it was all started by the the Kani-Doraku crab restaurant, when they created their giant animatronic crab billboard, which proved so popular with tourists that all the other restaurants followed suit!
Now everyone wants their photo taken with the weird and wonderful animated creatures and superhero characters.
None more famous all over Japan than the giant illuminated Glico ‘running’ Man (est 1935) and now an icon of Osaka.
Dotonbori street
Dotonbori Street Osaka runs along the Dotonbori river canal from Dotonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge and is filled with fabulous boutiques and shops.
Once again, as in Tokyo, seeing the fabulous Japanese-bohemian style clothing on offer, I had serious fashion envy and felt so frustrated with my 7kg carry-on only size backpack. Whhhaaaaa – I did sooooo want that lace skirt!
HIGHLIGHTS OF OSAKA
OSAKA – COLOURFUL SPARKLING NEON-LIT STREETS
It was wonderful wandering along the canals and bridges and seeing the sights of Osaka in the daytime but even more exciting when we returned after dark.
The area of Dotonbori Street was sparkling in all its neon-light glory!
DOTONBORI STREET FOOD
We’d stopped of at a few street food stalls for lunch – Osaka is said to be Japan’s street food capital – but now we were looking for a restaurant for dinner. We were spoilt for choice!
DOTONBORI STREET OSAKA RESTAURANTS
We even found a fabulous Japanese curry house through an old door and down some steps into a unconventional looking basement with graffiti covering the walls – which we added to – while we waited for our Katsu Curry!
Osaka is also a city of modern high-rises and affluent-looking neighbourhoods.
For example, our hotel was on a street lined with Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Rolls Royce showrooms.
We stayed at (affiliate link) The Holiday Inn Osaka Namba – just a few minutes walk from Dotonbori Street and the centre of all the interesting sites and restaurants.
We booked all our accommodation in Japan with (affiliate link) Booking.com
Two nights in Osaka gave us a great flavour of this energetic city.
We really enjoyed everything about Osaka’s central tourist district.
But, to be honest, after two non-stop weeks of excitement and sightseeing and travelling from Fukuoka, to Hiroshima, and onto Tokyo, we were feeling quite exhausted. I know – it’s an age thing!
But if you want to do more than we did in Osaka – like spend a day at Universal Studios, visit a Grand Shrine and Osaka Castle, and also perhaps the Aquarium – then you may like to spend a few days longer in this wonderful city.
Our third and last night was spent at Osaka airport and a hotel to meet with an early morning flight. It’s worth bearing in mind that although transport links are really good – Kansai International Airport (KIX) – is about 45km (over 20 miles) away from the city centre.
We stayed at the convenient (affiliate link) Kansai Airport Washington Hotel.
Do click on the Japan Image Box below to see all my other posts on our fabulous Japanese adventure.
Featuring The World’s Largest Buddha Statue at Fukuoka to Hiroshima and a 1200 year-old cup of tea at Miyajima Island and onto Tokyo and finally here in Osaka.
I’m already dreaming of my return to explore more of Japan. What a truly amazing country and fantastic travel destination!
Are you planning a trip to Japan?
What cities do you plan to visit?
Have you found my posts interesting and informative?
Let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
