Dotonbori Osaka

Dotonburi is the heart and soul of Osaka. It’s full of energy at night, with numerous restaurants, boutiques, drug stores, pachinkos and souvenir shops. People come here to eat, shop, people watch, enjoy the canal, be mesmerized by the masses of neon lights and pose with the Glico Man!

You can find a lot of food variety here; from takoyaki, okonomiyaki, melon pan and ice cream, sushi, yakiniku, to Chinese and Korean food. If you are after takoyaki and okonomiyaki, this is indeed the right place to try different version of them.

Takoyaki is a well known Osaka street food. They were invented in Osaka around 1935 and have since spread to the rest of Japan. ”Tako” means octopus and “yaki” means fried or grilled. This bite-sized balls are made from a flour and egg based batter filled with pieces of octopus, ginger and scallions, and frequently topped with mayonnaise, bonito flakes and takoyaki sauce.

The whole street is fascinating. There are many giant food decorations above shops on the street. You will see a giant crab with moving arms welcoming you for a crab delight or the giant blowfish in front of Zuboraya for those who are game enough to try the Japanese blowfish.

* pix from google

And then, there’s the Glico Man. He can be seen from the Ebisu bridge which runs over the Dotonburi canal. When I first saw it, I thought it’s an advertisement for a sports brand because the man was doing a victory pose on a running track. Then I noticed the Glico sign above the man, and realized it is actually the advertisement for Ezaki Glico, the manufacturer for the very famous confectioneries, Pocky and Pretz.

Dotonburi is an entertaining place. It’s a must go in Osaka!