Osaka’s another popular destination and packed with tourists. I personally recommend to stay in Osaka because it’s right in between Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima so you can go sightseeing during the day and still have night life back in the big city.
HungryFlo’s Top Picks – Osaka
Osaka
1) Fukutarou 福太郎
2) Acchichihompo あっちち本舗 道頓堀店
3) Takonotetsu 蛸之徹 角田店
4) Rikuro Ojisannomise りくろーおじさんの店 (新)なんば本
5) Ujienkissako 宇治園 喫茶去 心斎橋店
6) Duboraya づぼらや 新世界店
More to come, stay tuned!
Kuromon Ichiba Market 黒門市場
Kuromon Ichiba Market is a popular food market for locals and tourists! Most important thing to remember is “Cash is King” in Japan, especially at food markets so bring more cash! Kuromon Ichiba Market sells all sorts of produce like fugu, fruits, vegetables, shirako and sashimi.
FYI, shirako is actually male cod fish sperm sacs. Yup, you read it right, sperm sacs (2nd picture listed above) So if you see it and feel adventurous, at least you know what you’re trying.
Around noon on weekends, one of the popular fish store Sea Bank 深廣 has a little Toro auction. They’d start ringing bells to get everyone’s attention and starts slicing the tuna. Super fatty toro is ￥3,500 and medium fatty toro is ￥2,500. We opted for the super fatty toro and it had about 10 slices. We sat down at little table inside their shop and ordered 2 charcoal grilled shrimps too. It’s very easy to spend all your cash at food markets in Japan but it’s totally worth it!
Address \\ 2 Chome-4-1 Nipponbash-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 06-6631-0007
Hours \\ Monday – Sunday: 9am – 6pm (Shops varies)
Payment Method \\ Cash Only
Website \\ Kuromon Ichiba Market (English Website), Sea Bank 深廣 (Japanese only)
Fukutarou 福太郎
Fukutarou is reasonably priced and the second highest rating okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka. Fukutarou is a local favorite hidden in the beaten path. While all the tourists are lining up for okonomiyaki in the busy streets of Namba, Japanese locals are lining up here.
The chefs would cook your okonomiyaki at the front of the shop and then shift to the teppanyaki grill in front of you. You can cut portions onto to your plate and leave the rest on the grill to keep it warm. Aside from the famous okonomiyaki, they also have other side dishes like yakisoba, baked scallops and oysters. Fukutarou is opened everyday throughout the year but only serves lunch on weekends and holidays. If you’re craving for a late night snack, this would be a popular spot to hit up!
FYI, there’s a few locations but this location is the highest rating. There’s also a store in Tokyo Skytree so if you’re in Tokyo, you can still try this local favorite!
Address \\ 2-3-17 Sennichimae Chuo-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 06-6634-2951 (Does not take reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Friday: 5pm – 1am
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 12am
Average Price \\ ￥1,000 -￥1,999
Payment Method \\ Credit Card Accepted
Rating \\ 3.63/5
Website \\ Fukutarou (English & Japanese)
Acchichihompo あっちち本舗 道頓堀店
Acchichi is a popular takoyaki joint right by the busy Tombori river. There’s usually a line up but the chefs are super pro and there’s at least 8 takoyaki pans so it’s not too long of a wait. If anything, people are stalling the line watching the high speed cooking skills, it’s quite fascinating!
There’s an option to dine in at the restaurant, but smoking is permitted after 4pm. If you can’t stand the second hand smoke, you can order takoyaki and beer to go and sit by the Tombori riverside (yes, drinking on the streets is permitted in Japan!). It’s pretty chills eating takoyaki by the riverside while sipping on beer!
Acchichi is opened long hours, especially on weekends, so it’s a great late night snack option. It really hits the spot after a long night of partying!
Address \\ 7-19 Souemoncho Chuo-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 050-5868-5078 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 2am
Friday & Saturday: 9am – 5am
Average Price \\ Lunch – ￥999
Payment Method \\ Cash Only
Rating \\ 3.58/5
Website \\ Acchichi (Japanese Only)
Takonotetsu 蛸之徹 角田店
Takonotetsu was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show No Reservation Osaka so we had to swing by. Osaka’s known for takoyaki and okonomiyaki so at Takonotetsu, you can experience cooking it yourself. It’s gotten popular amongst foreigners so I recommend to go earlier to skip the line up.
Other than the traditional takoyaki, they have different twists to choose from like green onion, shisho cheese, corn, pineapple and spicy cod with cheese. Each table has their own set of sauces and toppings so you choose what to add onto your takoyaki. And if you’re still hungry, the okonomiyaki and yakisoba will for sure fill you up. It’s a great place for travellers on a budget!
Address \\ 1-10 Kakudacho Kita-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 050-5869-8099 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Friday: 11:30am – 3pm
Saturday & Sunday: 11:30am – 10:30pm (Last order)
Average Price \\ Lunch – ￥999, Dinner – ￥1,000～￥1,999
Payment Method \\ Cash Only
Rating \\ 3.52/5
Website \\ Takonotetsu (English & Japanese)
Rikuro Ojisannomise りくろーおじさんの店 (新)なんば本
Rikuro is the ultimate Japanese cheesecake in Osaka! Unlike the typical dense and heavy cheesecake, the Japanese style cheesecake is super rich but light and fluffy; kind of like a sponge cake! This Rikuro shop in the Namba district is the busiest so they always have the freshest cakes!
The line up outside is for customers that’s buying the whole cake (only￥675). So if it’s your first time and want to see what the hype’s about, you can go inside and order a slice to skip the line up. While you’re seated, you can see the whole production line. There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing those bouncy cheesecake come fresh out of the oven!
There’s quite a few locations but this one is most popular and convenient. But if you’re just making a pit stop at the Shin-Osaka station, you can find a Rikuro booth on the 3rd floor. It’s just a booth so the cheesecake are pre-packaged. Although it’s not freshly made, but it’s still damn good after you heat it up a little.
When in Osaka, Rikuro is a must for me! Highly recommend it!
Address \\ 3-2-28 Nanba Chuo-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 0120-57-2132 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Sunday: 9:30am – 9pm (Last order)
Average Price \\ ￥999
Payment Method \\ Cash Only
Rating \\ 3.54/5
Website \\ Rikuro Cheesecake (Japanese Only)
Ujienkissako 宇治園 喫茶去 心斎橋店
Ujienkissako is right in the heart of the busy Shinsaibashi Shopping street so it’s a great place for a little tea break. Ujienkissako is on the second floor and they’re known for matcha desserts! They serve matcha ice cream, jelly, red bean and mochi all year round and only serves matcha shaved ice during summer seasons.
The first floor is a huge tea shop where you can buy tea leaves, accessories and sweets. If you don’t have time to sit down for dessert, you can always get their soft serve ice cream by the entrance. Matcha soft serve is a must, but the roasted tea soft serve is pretty amazing too.
Address \\ 1-4-20 Shinsaibashisuji Chuo-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 050-5592-4427 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Sunday: 10am – 7:45pm (Last order)
Average Price \\ ￥999
Payment Method \\ Credit Card Accepted
Rating \\ 3.50/5
Website \\ Ujienkissako (English & Japanese)
Duboraya づぼらや 新世界店
Duboraya has the iconic pufferfish lantern at entrance, you can’t miss it! One of Osaka’s delicacy is pufferfish (fugu). Fugu is lethally poisonous so chefs must be highly trained as Japan has strict laws regulating the chefs and restaurants.
We were told there’s not much taste to fugu so we just got fugu sashimi just to say we’ve tried it. Fugu honestly doesn’t taste like anything and the texture is just like chicken.
After trying a few slices, my right hand started to get numb. I thought it was just me but my boyfriend’s left foot was getting numb too. Apparently the really good chef would leave a really tiny portion of poison so you can feel the numbness (So we were told). We also order a set of sashimi as a little snack. There’s a full fugu course option but personally, it’s not worth spending $100 – $200 for it.
Address \\ 2-5-5 Ebisuhigashi Naniwa-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\ 06-6633-5529 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Sunday: 11am – 10:30pm (Last order)
Average Price \\ Lunch – ￥1,000 -￥1,999, Dinner – ￥6,000 – ￥7,999 (Fugu sashimi ￥1,400 only)
Payment Method \\ Credit Card
Rating \\ 3.54/5
Website \\ Duboraya (Japanese Only)
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