The Best Shopping Streets in Osaka for Street Food and Souvenirs
For an epic walking day around Osaka, every foodie and shopaholic needs to put this walking itinerary on their list of things to do in Osaka. Hitting every major shopping street and hot spot, you'll be able to successfully see the best of Osaka's city center in just one day of hoofing it.
Below I'll share a general route to take, the shopping streets in Osaka to be on the lookout for, and what you might expect at each stop.
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Start at Osaka Castle
Whether you are starting at the cruise ship port or your Osaka hotel, many visitors to Osaka will want to tack this onto their day.
After a solid hike up the hill from the metro station, find some street food stalls for snacking or a cold drink before exploring the castle interiors.
It would be wise to start early and to 1000% get your ticket in advance to skip the line. I'd been before, but this second time I went with family and they all walked away disappointed, unwilling to get in a line that looked hours long.
Do yourself a favor and get that Osaka castle ticket in advance! The cost is only $4, so if you know your date it's worth it to buy yours now.
Osaka Street Food and Shopping Itinerary
After you have wandered the castle and gotten your fill of history and scenery, it's time to get shopping. Locate the appropriate metro station (Morinomiya) and get on board!
You'll know you are in the right place because you will find a playground, public restrooms and a Starbucks near this station. Remember that Osaka Castle is a large place with multiple exits by train.
Take Morinomiya Station to Nagahoribashi or Shinsaibashi Station. Click here for Metro maps and fares.
From there, you'll visit the following in order (more details on each below), for a total of around 45 minutes to 1 hour of walking.
Note: don't underestimate how tired you will be just from seeing the castle! Factor this in if you need to make cuts to the itinerary.
Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street
Depending on your type of shopping, this area is targeted for name brands, department store style shops, and regular priced stuff. It's very trendy, busy and popular.
Located just across the river from Dotonbori's madness, it's an easy one to visit.
The surrounding areas are also full of quirky retailers selling hip clothing (think Godzilla cardigans) and other offbeat items, so don't be too quick to rush straight to the shopping street entrance.
Note: for some reason this is called 'kitchen street', but I didn't see why - to be fair, I turned around quickly after seeing the crowds.
If you like shopping for kitchenware, be sure to add Asakusa's Kappabashi street to your itinerary in Tokyo. It's an easy walk from the Sensoji Temple area.
While you are in Shinsaibashi, be on the lookout for my absolute favorite store in Japan - Daiso. This 100 yen shop is a chain and they sell the best souvenirs - all for around $1. Don't miss it!
Dotonbori
Next stop is Dotonbori and lunch.
The area is reknowned for insane crowds and even more over the top signage on their buildings.
Take lots of photos and pop into the overpriced souvenir shops before ducking into a personal favorite of mine and a true hidden gem - a kushikatsu lunch at Kushinobo Osaka Hozenji.
If you are unfamiliar with kushikatsu, this is the ultimate street food experience in Osaka. Basically, it's fried food on sticks.
You'll find it everywhere, including at the next stop - and my favorite stop on this list, Kuromon Market.
Kuromon Ichiba Market
Regardless of the fact that you probably just ate lunch, you'll want to save a little room for some street food at Kuromon market.
Expect fresh sushi, candied strawberries, seafood and the shining star - Kobe beef, all at this market. If you need just a taste of wagyu, then it's super affordable here. They will cook it to your liking right in front of you. Wagyu beef skewers were around 1,500 yen in 2023.
You could get fresh uni (sea urchin), grilled prawns with cheese, shucked oysters, and so on. It was a marvelous place!
Wander the market for snacks or desserts, and pop into the few shops for souvenirs, like the kitchen shop I found full of my favorite Kyocera ceramic knives.
When I worked for a Kyocera subsidiary I used to get great discounts on these knives and give them out for Christmas every year.
People always come back telling me one of two things: "This is the sharpest knife I own", or simply, "I cut myself really badly with this knife". Ha! So you know they're good! Even better when you find them on sale.
This is the offending knife, and at a good price too - buy it now so you don't have to check your bag on your return from Japan!
Get your shopping and eating in and when you are ready to walk it off, move on to Denden Town.
Nipponbashi Denden Town
Famed for being similar to Akihabara in Tokyo, I expected similar levels of anime, electronics-filled department stores, and Harajuku girls everywhere, but instead it was more of a walk-through experience for me.
We did, however, see the Mario Kart racers speed by down the street, which was a total hoot. If you've heard of this fun activity, this is where you do it!
Shinsekai Retro Street
The final stop may be better suited for an evening romp to see the neon lights all aglow. The area is known for being trendy and retro all at once.
A lot of street food tours visit Shinsekai, but this one is a good option to get you started. You get to sample 15 dishes on a tour that feels fit for a local.
To best sum what to expect at Shinsekai's retro street, think of every film that tries to depict the future of humanity - how wild and crazy it may be - and then think of how that filmed aged. Like 1984, or Blade Runner. This is Shinsekai.
There's a cool write up about it here, where they describe Shinsekai as a "retro futuristic old town" and "Osaka's future past".
In other words, it's a whole vibe.
Best to be taken in on a tour I expect. I didn't get to Shinsekai myself, as my feet bottomed out on me in favor of my cruise ship room for a nap. (Let me see how well you would do with a toddler in tow!).
Which reminds me, if you are traveling to Japan with a toddler, be sure to check out my Kid's Travel Journal, "Scavenger Hunt Japan".
It makes for a great scrapbook of memories for your kiddo, and teaches lots of cool stuff about Japanese food, culture and language, too!
Enjoy eating your way around the best shopping streets in Osaka!
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