The stars of Osaka
shimmering from on high. the Bible Club for a peaceful cocktail.
Osaka’s specialty dishes often feel like they’re purposely trying to provide a stark contrast to the measured refinement on offer in neighbouring Kyoto.
While they offer delicate, regal meals, in Osaka, it’s all about enormously satisfying and often greasy food that goes fantastically well with beer.
There are many dishes to choose from but perhaps the most quintessential is okonomiyaki. Translating more or less as “whatever you like cooked”, it’s a curious, savoury almost-pancake.
The two dominant styles in Japan are Hiroshima and the local one in Osaka. For English menus and slick service, head to Chibo in Dotonbori to give it a try.
Osaka’s reputation for street food creates a false impression that perhaps it simply doesn’t know how to be refined, but the Michelin Guide has, in recent years, sprinkled constellations of its cherished stars across the city.
For a very high-end experience that aims to show another face of Osaka, head to Koryu in Dojimahama, where local chef Shintaro Matsuo works magic with local ingredients.
Expect a very intimate atmosphere, no small amount of formality across the tasting menu, and an unforgettable dining experience.
While many people rush to nearby Kyoto or Nara for their slice of feudal Japanese history, there’s still a small taste to be had in Osaka at its eponymous castle.
Reconstructed several times over the years (most recently in the late 1990s), it still maintains a sense of what it would have looked like in its pomp, completely with its cherry blossom-filled gardens.
While the modern iteration is much changed from its first construction, the building saw action in World War II, and in the earlier Boshin War.
These histories and others are detailed in the neat on-site museum.