Osaka: A Tipsterati Guide
Osaka is overwhelming. It's a crowded, brash city that assaults your senses. Loud music pours out of stores and colourful, mega-large signs and billboards compete for your attention.
Top row: ©Wendy Gan 2025; Bottom row: ©F.L. Blumberg 2025
Tourists throng the streets and, as you explore, you see an unending number of restaurants to choose from. No wonder Osaka is called Japan's kitchen.
If you like intense, adrenaline-pumping cities like Hong Kong or New York, then Osaka will suit you perfectly. It's stimulating and energising: there is always something intriguing to observe on the streets, some street snack to munch on, or an interesting shop to pop into. Visit other places in Japan if you want tranquility. Osaka is for being jolted alive.
Where to eat
A very sleek joint that serves up a well-balanced and absolutely delectable oyster-and-pork-broth ramen. Everything is perfectly judged, from the firmness of the noodles to the shiso flowers and the thin slice of sudachi that garnishes the bowl. It's an elegant and classy bowl, as befits a place where the kitchen team (all dressed in black) will interrupt their work to bow politely as you enter.
Fukutaro (Main Store, Namba)
You're in Osaka, so you have to eat okonomiyaki, the savoury pancake that is one of the city's specialties. But where do you go? Fukutaro is a very safe bet and a great experience. It's popular with both foreign and domestic tourists, so we advise that you go before the place opens and put your name down on the sheet placed before its doors. Once ushered in, you sit down and order, then enjoy the hustle and bustle. The okonomiyaki master at the front works on multiple pancakes at the same time. The yakisoba master at the back fries up pile after pile of greasy noodles.
The wait staff hurry about, delivering your okonomiyaki order with a small shovel onto the hot plate before you. You dive in, carving a slice to bring to your plate. Layered with batter, cabbage, egg, meat, then lathered with sauce and mayo, it looks like a mess, but why does it taste so inexplicably good? It's smoky, savoury, a touch sweet from the sauce; it's textually crisp in spots, but otherwise gloopy and velvety from the soft batter. Everything is melding in your mouth and all that is registering is that this is hearty and delicious. This isn't the most refined dish in Japan, but it'll make your tastebuds very happy.
The original Parfaiteria Pal is in Hokkaido, but Osaka has a branch that is well worth visiting. Each parfait is a painstaking combination of flavours and textures. The result is a feast for the eyes, as well as for your mouth. The desserts here a little pricey, but they are a lovely way to round off your night in Osaka.
Please note that Parfaiteria Pal has a policy whereby each patron must order either a parfait or a drink.
©F. L. Blumberg 2025
A small standing matcha bar where you can order a matcha latte or ice cream and a pancake stuffed with red-bean paste called a dorayaki. Perfect place for a little pick-me-up after wandering the streets of Osaka. The staff are friendly and they take pride in what they do.
Where to stay
There are many, many hotels to choose from, so much depends on your plans for your visit. Are you planning to pop into Kyoto often? Then staying near Osaka station might make the most sense for you. Are you only focusing on Osaka? Then stay in Namba or Shinsaibashi, because this is where all the action is. Are you hopping onto the shinkansen to head to other parts of Japan? You could consider staying near Shin-Osaka station then. My vote would probably be for Namba or Shinsaibashi for a full-on Osaka experience.
Things to do
If you enjoy onsens and theme parks, this is the place for you! Spa World has a variety of themed onsen baths and saunas, so you can relax amidst Greek statuary or lush Balinese foliage. It's kitschy, but that's part of the fun. Spa World is also an entertainment complex, so if you get hungry after your bath, you can choose to dine at their restaurants. You can also pay extra to gain access to their water park with water slides and to their games facilities. Darts? Ping pong? Anyone up for billiards? Tired after all your exertions? There are rooms with lounge chairs for you to rest in. You could also head back to the baths for round two. It's not hard to see how a whole day can be spent in Spa World.
A small museum near Dotonbori that tells the story of Osaka's entertainment district in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries through woodblock prints of popular Kabuki actors in famous plays of the day. If you'd like to understand how woodblock prints are made, do sign up for their woodblock printing workshop, where you will be guided through the process to create a print. It will give you an insight into the high levels of artistry required, as well as a new appreciation, for the vibrant and detailed prints on display.
