006 Sightseeing 018 Restaurant 021 Sightseeing Tour Japan’s premier Koreatown Eat your veggies under the open sky Pray to a bone Buddha 010 Accommodation Leisure 001 Bar Still Japan's largest Koreatown, Ikuno has Vegan and with no white sugar, additives or GMOs, Found next to Tennoji Park, Isshinji is famed for its 024 attracted innovators and skilled craftsmen from Sleep in the heart of the veg-heavy fare at Paprika is uber healthy and Buddha statues made from powderised human the Continent since ancient times. The scores of tastes even better when enjoyed on the terrace. bones – a unique and still ongoing custom. Hang out by the fountains Dive into the underground yakiniku eateries and other restaurants found old-school Osaka Chinese-style vegan dishes are available if you Believers from all over the country contribute here make a major contribution to Osaka's book ahead. Paprika Shokudo Vegan 3-B cremated remains to the temple, where a new Give up staying at a fancy hotel for a bed on the culinary diversity. Ikuno Koreatown 4-A statue is sculpted once every ten years. eastern side of Osaka Castle, where the spirit of Isshinji Temple 4-D the good old days lives on. Midoriya, housed in a renovated Japanese-style home, is traditional 022 Restaurant in all but one sense: the toilets are Western- 007 Shopping Snack on dirt-cheap skewers Discover the sound of the city style. Guest House Midoriya 4-A Stretch your legs with a walk around the You're bound to run into a local musician or mysterious Nodahanshin area, where this three at Osaka's finest record shop, where kushiage (fried vegetable and meat skewers) international favourites and up-and-coming specialist offers greasy delicacies for as low as indie artists from Kansai are generally given 012 Takeaway ¥90 per stick. You'll also want to chat with the equal exposure. Flake Records 3-B bartenders and the happy – and usually tipsy – Bag some anpan for the road regulars. Kushikatsu Goemon 2-A 019 Shopping Buy a spatula in a bookstore 008 Takeaway Before heading out to Kyoto or Kobe from Umeda Station, stop by this small anpan (sweet bread roll) Built where the occupying Americans once operated an airfield, this well-equipped park features Chow down on a glorious bento shop found at the entrance to the station's restaurant street. In addition to the orthodox bean paste- Despite the name, this fun bookshop in trendy fountains, spacious lawns, rose gardens and tennis courts – perfect when you need a break from filled version, they sell buns flavoured with the likes of chestnut, egg yolk and 'salt butter'. Amerika-mura is everything but ordinary: shopping at the nearby high-end boutiques. Utsubo Park 2-B Beloved by artists and musicians, the Namba area's centre for counter-culture and underground It's an open secret that rice shops make the Kokoro ni Amai Anpanya 1-B imported fashion mags line the shelves, and movements is a jumble of small bars, galleries and the like, rivalling Shinjuku's Golden Gai both in best bento lunches. The Makunouchi Bento practically all titles on sale can be browsed at terms of scale and quirkiness. Misono 4-C at this rustic market combines grilled fish, the basement café before buying them. There 025 Bar 027 Restaurant tempura, stewed veg, pickles and more for a Shopping Restaurant are also sections for kitchen supplies, stationery well-balanced deal that's also big on flavour. 013 016 Get buzzed in ‘Hell Valley’ Count the curry Stock up on explosives Taste the essence of and other knickknacks. Standard Bookstore 4-B Enmusubi 4-D Jigokudani or 'Hell Valley' is a narrow alley lined A Pakistani eatery claiming to offer the largest Osaka’s culinary culture Art Itching to shoot a few fireworks? Get your with restaurants and bars. If you’ve had enough variety of curry dishes in the world, Ali's also 002 011 Restaurant bangers and butterflies at this shop that keeps to eat and are just looking for a good drinking serves up falafel and other Middle Eastern- Appreciate Far Eastern pottery 004 Sightseeing Slurp futuristic soba The Osaka foodie scene is more than just them in stock even during the off-season, and takoyaki (deep-fried octopus balls): at refined hole, then head to Jigokudani Meido Bar. It’s a inspired fare, plus biryani, a South Asian mixed Nakanoshima is home to a multitude of museums, 023 Restaurant Gaze out over a Not all soba restaurants are traditional – make sure to also check out the many shops washoku restaurant Yu, the city's proud tradition tiny joint with just seven seats, but the talkative rice dish. You won't find any pork or alcohol including this one housing around 6,000 pieces of this one offers handmade noodles in a shop selling old toys, dolls and dagashi (cheap of adapting to customers' diverse tastes is Spice things up at the bookstore owner and cosy atmosphere make it a winner. here, however. Ali's Kitchen 3-B pottery mainly from Korea and China. The world- snacks). Matchamachi-suji Shopping Arcade 3-C Jigokudani Meido Bar 2-A symbol of Osaka with metallic decor and synth-heavy music. carried on with pride, ensuring a veritable feast Lunchtime-only curry shops popping up inside renowned collection of East Asian ceramics is It's usually open till late, but the somewhat every time. Naniwa Ryori Yu 2-C particularly plentiful, and is counted among the other stores are a familiar sight in Osaka. This The 1970 Osaka World's Fair was a turning point moody owner sometimes decides to close secondhand book retailer is where to taste spicy best of its kind anywhere. in Japan's modern history, and this spacious spontaneously – visiting before 10pm is your The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka 2-C 014 Café mixtures making good use of rare ingredients park serves as a reminder of that epoch-making safest bet. Denkisoba 2-C Take a coffee break by the water like mustard, cardamom and sansho pepper. event. Check out the Japanese garden and the Folk 2-C National Museum of Ethnology, or just take in Sip quality Joe on the terrace at this riverside the majesty of Taro Okamoto's 70m-tall 'Tower café that stands out like a sore thumb amongst 003 Leisure of the Sun'. Expo’70 Commemorative Park 1-D office blocks. You won't be able to miss it – or Soak in cultured surroundings its inviting aromas. Moto Coffee 2-C Built in 1937, this public bathhouse isn't what you'd call stylish – there's a Statue of Liberty on the roof, mind you – but offers a wonderfully down-to-earth soaking experience. Note that in Kansai, 'onsen' refers to public baths in general, whether they use actual hot spring water or not. 017 Shopping Gengahashi Onsen 4-A Pick up a pair of quirky slippers Run by a fast-rising clothing brand, the designers of which weave and dye their own fabrics, this shop also carries items by other young local creatives. Look out for the slipper- style geta sandals. Tabun Zettai Gallery Shop 3-B Sightseeing 009 Shopping 020 005 Bar 015 Restaurant Flip pages in a 026 Bar Kick back with tunes at the bar Travel back to the Bite into the finest beef in Japan Those looking for a laidback spot to enjoy music Kobe, Yonezawa, Matsusaka – luxurious wagyu historical hall Cross gender barriers over drinks will do well to head for Higashi- future of furniture is on parade at this unpretentious yakiniku joint Shinsaibashi, home to this comfy joint where near Itami Airport. Selecting only the finest and analogue records are played deep into the night. Postmodern kitsch meets '60s pop at this retro-futuristic home decor store where you just might run freshest pieces of meat, Sashi no Hana also The oldest public library still in operation in Japan, Nakanoshima is appropriately imposing from the Doyama is western Japan's top gay district, and gaudy shot bar Explosion, which welcomes patrons of all Entrance is free, except on special gig nights. into a chair or table by Shiro Kuramata, one of postwar Japan's most innovative designers. rules in the side menu and sake categories. outside and also boasts a grand interior, including a gorgeous spiral staircase. orientations, is one of its finest watering holes. Parties take place here on most Saturdays, drinks are a Cinematik Saloon 3-B Spiral in the Trip 3-B Sashi no Hana 1-C Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library 2-B reasonable ¥700, and there's no cover charge on most evenings. Explosion 1-B 031 Restaurant 034 Café 041 Sightseeing Stroll the neon streets of 047 Shopping Make sushi your souvenir Bite into a baguette Sightseeing in the castle park Osaka’s Akihabara 044 Shop amidst culture Before nigiri, there was oshizushi, the Osaka- Leading department store Takashimaya born sushi variety still served at restaurants Finding decent bread-based eats in Japan can What Akihabara is to Tokyo, Nipponbashi is to Have your Osaka stocks everything from high-end all over the city. For a taste of the classic, try be a chore, but the veg-heavy baked goodies Osaka. Electronics geeks and manga otaku will Get up-to-date watches and cosmetics to clothes and Yoshino, whose oshizushi dates back to 1841. at this spacious purveyor more than make the feel at home here, with those looking for more morning meal listings at artworks, including a wide variety of finely The rectangle-shaped, colourful dish can also grade.