Osaka

Amerikamura Osaka, known more commonly amongst locals by the name Amemura, literally translates as “American Village” and unsurprisingly is a part of Osaka that’s been influenced by the pop culture of the United States. It’s a popular entertainment and shopping district that’s popular with Osaka’s youth and has an eclectic, energetic

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

Osaka is known as “the kitchen of Japan” and it doesn’t take visitor long to realise that this nickname is warranted. The people of Osaka love to eat and drink, and the options available to engage in both in are plentiful. The Osaka craft beer (Ji Bīru) scene really kicked off

One of the things I enjoy doing most when overseas is to observe the world around me and watch people go about their lives. For all of the attractions and sights that a given city might contain, it’s the people that give a city its life. Osaka is Japan’s second biggest city by

Osaka’s Kuromon Ichiba Market was established in the early 1900s during the mid-Taisho era and contains over 170 shops along a length of almost 600 meters. Although primarily catering to the restaurant industry, the market is open to the public and contains a huge variety of places selling all kinds

Cherry blossom season in Japan begins as early as January in Okinawa and moves north, ending as late as May in Hokkaido. For most of the major cities in Japan, the first blossoms (kaika) open in late March/early April, reaching full bloom (mankai) about a week later. Full bloom itself lasts about

Sennichimae Doguyasuji (which roughly translates as “Cooking Tools Street”) is a 150 metre long shopping arcade dedicated to providing cooking tools and equipment to Osaka’s chefs and restaurateurs. It is similar to Tokyo’s Kitchen Town, Kappabashi, but a lot more compact. Everything that a chef or restaurateur could want can be

Osaka was the first stop on my trip to Japan and I was keen to waste no time in discovering what the city had to offer food wise. Japanese has always been one of my favourite types of food and it didn’t take  long before I realised that what I knew about