Osaka 2019: Dotonbori (道頓堀)

Since I had spent much of my day at Mt Shosha in Himeji, I didn’t arrive in Osaka until the evening but I was able to do a little sightseeing as the sun was going down. From my hostel I walked south down to the part of the city near Namba Station known as Minami. The city lights were steadily turning on as I walked along the river towards my destination.

That night I spent some time wandering around Dotonbori, which is a street running parallel to the river and one of the city’s leading entertainment, shopping, and food destinations. Dotonbori is lit up each night by thousands of neon lights and LED screens, and even if you have no intention of buying anything it’s fun just to walk around and take in the sights of this colorful street. This part of Osaka is also a good place to eat takoyaki if you’ve never had it before. I got some takoyaki while I was exploring Dotonbori and I’ll share photos of it in tomorrow’s post. Whenever I’m next able to return to Osaka there’s a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Dotonbori that I’m curious to try out since it always has a long line leading out the door. I’ve read online that the sushi is just average but it’s popular because the food is really cheap.

Before heading back to my hostel I made sure to stop by the famous Glico Running Man sign. This massive sign has been around in various forms since 1935 and the current version is a large LED screen that was installed in 2014.