Fashion & Trends On Osaka’s Orange Street

Osaka’s Orange Street is a part of Osaka that’s full of the latest fashions and trends, boutiques, interior design stores and hip cafes. Formerly a furniture district, today this 800 metre long narrow backstreet is Osaka’s equivalent of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, London’s Shoreditch and Melbourne’s Fitzroy etc.

Orange Street is actually the street’s nickname. It’s real name is Tachibana dori, Tachibana being a type of citrus fruit native to Japan.

The street has a very different feel to it compared to other parts of Osaka, and whether this is actually the case or not, it certainly feels like an area that’s developed organically and is still taking shape. There are a lot of small, independent shops here that are genuinely interesting to peruse.

Old Tachibana dori hasn’t completely gone yet, and there are still a number of pre-war furniture shops and Meiji-era antique shops in the area, although it’s evident that these are fast disappearing to accommodate Orange street’s new direction.

One thing that’s certain about Orange Street is that it’s one of the best parts of Osaka to get a decent coffee. There are quite a few decent cafes, either stand-alone or as part of other shops. In fact, shops that serve a variety of purposes aren’t uncommon on Orange Street.

One of my favourites in the area was Biotop, which was an eco-focused flower shop x clothing store x general interesting items store x cosmetics shop x restaurant x cafe. The coffee here was really good, with a range of beans and brewing methods on offer.

I was lucky enough to walk into Biotop when they had a Maison Kitsune pop-up. I’m a big fan of Kitsune and used to love browsing their Paris boutique when I lived in Europe so was really happy to stumble across this.

Pesa North was another great shop that had a little bakery/patisserie inside with some great pastries.

This type of area would of course not be complete without the obligatory bicycle shop or two.

I wasn’t aware of Orange Street the first time I visited Osaka and was really glad that I spent some time there the second time around. It’s got a different vibe to other parts of the city and is well worth checking out if you’re interested in what’s on trend in Osaka now.