Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho is a food theme park where visitors can enjoy takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, and other local favorites of foodies’ paradise Osaka under one roof, in a nostalgic setting reminiscent of the streets of 1960s Osaka. Kuishinbo Yokocho is a one-stop destination for sampling Osaka cuisine offered by long-established purveyors. Admission is free.
What is Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho?
Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho is a food theme park located within the Tempozan Marketplace shopping mall. At Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho, you can choose from a large variety of local Osaka cuisine, offered by 20 or so small but excellent restaurants, while enjoying the nostalgic setting inspired by the rough-and-ready neighborhoods of 1960s Osaka. Naniwa is the old name for Osaka. Kuishinbo means “gourmand,” and yokocho means “alley.” In Osaka, traditionally nicknamed “the country’s kitchen,” or the “town where people eat their way to ruin,” it is only expected that the food tastes good; the food has to be both good and affordably priced to satisfy the demanding palates and tight purse strings of the typical Osakan. This culture has turned Osaka into a magnet for food and food ingredients from across the country, and has made Osaka home to a rich array of excellent cuisine
Highlights of Osaka’s local food scene you don’t want to miss
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Takoyaki <Aidu-ya>
Takoyaki, or ball-shaped savory dumplings containing octopus meat, originated with the “radio-yaki” devised by the founder of Aidu-ya. Aidu-ya serves very special takoyaki that are flavored with dashi (Japanese soup stock), which makes them flavorsome without needing extra sauce.
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Okonomiyaki <Botejyu>
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style savory pancake. Eating okonomiyaki with mayonnaise, a style popular in Japan today, was first introduced by Botejyu.
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Kushikatsu <Katsu>
Kushikatsu, or breaded deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables, became popular in Osaka as a street food. All sorts of ingredients are served with a crispy coating, which you dip in a sauce before eating.
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Omurice <Hokkyokusei>
Hokkyokusei is a long-established restaurant credited with inventing omurice, or Japanese rice omelet. The menu includes items exclusive to the Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho branch, and also offers choices of different sauces and rice flavors.
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Rice Curry <Jiyuken>
Unlike most other Japanese curry rice restaurants, Jiyuken serves its curry and rice pre-mixed and topped with a raw egg, to which you add Worcestershire sauce to taste. The restaurant was established in 1910, and its iconic “rice curry” has remained a perennial Osaka favorite.
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Ikayaki <Momodani Ikayakiya>
Ikayaki, a thin pancake containing chopped squid, is one of the many konamono (wheat-flour goodies) Osaka is renowned for. Fresh chopped squid is mixed with batter and cooked to make a pleasantly springy-textured pancake. Quick and portable, ikayaki is a simple yet excellent-tasting local Osaka food.
Nostalgic streets of Osaka
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Statue of Kuishinbo Ebisu
The mascot of this theme park, the Ebisu figure starts singing when pressed on its soles.
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Recreated 1960s streets
Reproductions of Showa-era street furniture, like the round, red post box and street lamps, transport you back in time to the Osaka of bygone days.
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Showa-era paraphernalia
Period posters, toys, and other popular items of Japanese nostalgia are on display.
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Amezaiku
Amezaiku means sugar sculpture. At Kuishinbo Yokocho, artisans demonstrate the Japanese art of shaping candy into animals and other figures. Demonstrations are held on an irregular basis.