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Shinsekai and Shitennō-ji

and a Shibe café

Shinsekai and Shitennō-ji

Dōtonbori Nightlife

Feb 6, 2019

The next morning, we awoke to the sound of our phone alarms going off. We got up, packed our bags, and got ready for the day.

We emerged from our hotel lobby in to early morning Osaka.

Compared with some of the areas of Tokyo we’d become most familiar with last year, Osaka’s streets were older and grungier.

We walked through the quiet streets, heading Northwest for the Shinsaibashi subway station.

We turned north on Mido-suji street, and crossed a few large blocks of city grid to arrive at the Shinsaibashi subway access.

We’d be traveling to Kyoto tomorrow through this station, so it was good to be able to scope out the route without luggage.

Taking the Midosuji line, we alighted at Yodoyabashi Station.

Exiting the underground subway station, we emerged near Yodoya Bridge, with some stunning views of the river and nearby architecture.

We headed east from the station, along the river.

Eventually, we arrived at our first coffee of the trip.

Brooklyn Roasting Company

〒541-0041 大阪府大阪市中央区北浜2丁目1−16
¥
Price
Coffee
Place

We entered the cozy, dimly lit Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Over coffee, we planned our next move. We decided to head south for the Shitennō-ji Temple—sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist temple in Japan—and then look around the retro-future Shinsekai area.

After coffee, we departed for Shinsaibashi station, and take the Midosuji in opposite direction.

Alighting at Tennōji station, we winded our way North, wandering through side streets and undercover alleyways.

Continuing North, we walked through quiet, residential sized streets.

Soon, we were approaching Shitennō-ji.

We crossed the street, and entered the temple.

Shitennō-ji temple was vast and impressive.

We wandered through the temple grounds, taking in the impressive sights.

After wandering around the vast temple grounds, and watching a procession in the main hall, we left the temple, and headed west from Shitennō-ji temple towards Shinsekai.

We turned off a main street on to quiet side streets, the Tsutenkaku tower looming into view.

Suddenly we emerged into the bright, future-retro Shinsekai area.

We wandered around the bustling area under the Tsutenkaku tower, and explored a nearby novelty gift store.

We continued to explore the area, finding a stall selling cheesy corndogs.

We then tried a dessert place selling dango — chewy rice dumplings, covered in a sauce of sugar, shoyu, and starch.

As early afternoon arrived, we headed south towards the station.

We headed back through downtown Osaka back to our hotel.


Later that afternoon, we headed back out towards Dōtonbori.

We found a fried chicken joint we had passed the previous night.

Kinnotorikara

1-5-12, Namba, Chuo, Osaka Osaka Prefecture
¥
Price
Fried chicken
Stand

Kinnotorikara prepares and fries chicken fresh to order.

We ordered our fried chicken, and picked up a bubble tea next door.

Once our order was ready, we explored a number of the seasonings and sauces provided.

The fried chicken was light and tasty.

Once we’d eaten our fill, and washed down the fried chicken with some very refreshing bubble tea, it was time to move on.

We headed back north, taking a diversion through an underground mall.

In the underground mall, we were stopped by police. They were running an awareness campaign, as apparently more pedestrians had recently been involved in car accidents.

After explaining the situation, giving us a both a free whistle and light arm band, we continued exploring the underground mall back toward the Dōtonbori strip.

We noticed a Shibe café, and decided on a whim to book ourselves in for a 5:30pm session.

With some time to spare in the area now, we explored the local area, making our way through to the Dōtonbori river.

We explored the local mall streets, and Hozenji Temple.

Soon enough, it was time for our Shibe cafeé appointment.

We headed back to the main Dōtonbori strip for the café.

Mame-Shiba Café

1 Chome-6-13 Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka
¥¥
Price
Shiba Inu
Café

We entered, removed our shoes, grabbed a drink, and sat in the café.

Half an hour, and many good doggo pats later, it was time to head off.

We left Mame-Shiba Café, and headed north for a well rated Chicken Ramen place.

Before long, we had arrived out front.

With the aid of Google Translate, we ordered our Ramen tickets from a vending machine, and headed inside.

鶏soba 座銀 にぼし店

¥¥
Price
Ramen
Restaurant

The Chicken Ramen was well prepared, but the flavour somehow both a little bland—and yet too meaty—for my taste.

After a still enjoyable dinner experience, we departed, and continued exploring the nearby area.

We discovered a nearby second-hand bookstore chain.

Book Off

Second hand
Book and videogame store

Inside Book Off was a massive amount of second hand trading cards, videogames, books, movies, and assorted merchandise.

We spent a little while exploring the store, and its impressive range.

Afterwards, we headed south through the arcade, intending to head towards a craft beer venue for a nightcap.

As we headed for the craft beer place, we happened across a coffee shop I’d been meaning to check out.

We decided to head in for a post-curfew coffee.

LiLo Coffee Roasters

¥
Price
Coffee
Place

We headed in to the cozy coffee shop, and ordered our drinks.

After a breather over coffee, we headed next door for a rather interesting bookshop.

Village Vanguard America Mura

Book
Shop

After exploring the various novelty items, we headed on for our long-awaited nightcap.

CraftBeerWorks Kamikaze

¥¥
Price
Craft beer
Bar

We settled in to the cozy bar, and ordered our drinks.

After a drink, we headed back to our hotel, passing Triangle Park.

Back at the hotel, we packed our bags for departure the following morning.

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Dōtonbori Nightlife
February 6th
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Traveling to Kyoto
February 8th
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