GuideOsaka, Kansai, Japan8 min read
Osaka Street Food: Eat Until You Drop
Kuidaore, from Dotonbori's neon to the standing bars of Shinsekai
Average rating 4.7 out of 5
4.73 reviews
Osaka has a word for eating yourself into ruin. Here is how to do it properly, one skewer, one dumpling and one ball of molten octopus at a time.
Kuidaore, Osaka's favourite word
Tokyo dresses up, Kyoto bows, and Osaka eats. The city's merchants coined kuidaore, to ruin yourself through food, and four centuries later the word still hangs over the canals of Dotonbori like a promise.
The joy of eating here is that almost nothing is expensive and almost nothing needs a booking. Counters are built for strangers, cooks shout across the grill and the person next to you will tell you what to order whether you ask or not. The trick is pace: one plate per stop, a small beer or a highball, and then out into the street again.
Start at dusk on the Ebisu Bridge, when the Glico runner lights up and the takoyaki queues are still short. Work east along the canal, cross into Hozenji Yokocho for a quieter second stop, and finish in Shinsekai under Tsutenkaku tower, where the rule at every kushikatsu bar is printed on the wall: no double dipping in the shared sauce.
Come hungry, bring cash and wear something that can survive a splash of okonomiyaki sauce.
Dotonbori after dark
What to order, in order
- Takoyaki from a canal-side stall, eaten standing and too hot
- Okonomiyaki cooked on the teppan in front of you
- Gyoza at a six-seat counter in Hozenji Yokocho
- Kushikatsu in Shinsekai: lotus root, quail egg and beef
- A late bowl of kitsune udon, Osaka's sweet fried-tofu noodle soup
Cash and coins
Where to start
About this story
Emma EditorAuthor
Sakura JourneysPublisher
Reviews
Write a reviewAverage rating 4.7 out of 5
3 reviews- BCBen Cohen5 out of 5 stars26 Sept
The ryokan and onsen advice was spot on. We felt confident instead of nervous about the customs.
- ICIsabela Costa5 out of 5 stars21 Sept
Thoughtful, precise and full of small details, like which station exit to use. Brilliant.
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