Top 9 must-try Japanese restaurants in Osaka

When talking about Osaka, we can't help but mention noodle dishes such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki. In addition, there are many other delicious foods such as skewers, ramen, yakiniku, pork buns, etc. Here are 9 local restaurants that you must visit when you come to Osaka.

1. Takoyaki: Dotonbori Flour Products Museum

The symbol of the Dotonbori Flour Products Museum is a huge red octopus sign. It is a museum that focuses on "flour products" that are familiar to Osaka cuisine, and with the theme of "making, understanding, and tasting", you can enjoy takoyaki to your heart's content.

In the "Takoyaki Dojo KUKURU Takumi" on the basement floor of the museum, you can experience making original takoyaki. You can choose the ingredients you like to put in the takoyaki and experience grilling takoyaki using special tools. There will be service staff to assist during the production process, so even beginners can experience it with confidence.


The soft and exquisite takoyaki made by the craftsmen's exquisite skills is actually flavored with wine

2. Okonomiyaki: Mizuno

Mizuno (美津の) is an okonomiyaki specialty store located in Dotonbori, one of Osaka's most popular downtown areas.

Since its establishment in 1945, it has been a long-established restaurant that has been loved by locals and has been selected as a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide for six consecutive years. Mizuno insists on purchasing fresh meat and fish from butchers, fish shops and professionals, centered on the Kuromon Market, known as the kitchen of Osaka. The amount of goods purchased each day is just what is needed that day, and the freshness of the ingredients is very important.


Located in Dotonbori, a fierce battleground for okonomiyaki, this popular long-established shop has a history of over 75 years.

3. Fried skewers: Osaka Shinsekai Original Fried Skewers Daruma Shinsekai Main Store

Osaka Shinsekai Original Fried Skewers Daruma Shinsekai Main Store is the head office of "Fried Skewers Daruma" which is centered in Osaka City and has branches in various places.

Daruma uses its own special oil to make fried skewers, which makes the fried food very low in oil consumption and not easy to feel full, and is very easy to eat. The bread crumbs used in the bread are very fine and thin, but still have a crispy texture. There are 40 kinds of fried skewers, including beef, pork, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc. The freshly fried skewers are also dipped in the special sauce that has been repeatedly developed many times.


A famous restaurant that sells Kushikatsu, a representative dish of Osaka cuisine

4. Tempura: Ippo Main Store

Ippo is located in Edobori, Nishi-ku, and is one of the most famous old restaurants in Osaka. In 1850 (Kaei 3), the first owner of an oil shop founded a tempura restaurant. After five generations of inheritance, it has a history of more than 180 years.

When dining, the staff will take the guests to the private tempura box with a frying machine in front of the bar, and enjoy the tempura fried by the exclusive chef in the box for the guests. The safflower oil will be changed every time a group of guests changes. The tempura made with the freshest and most high-grade ingredients of the season can be said to be a delicacy of the famous restaurant, which makes every diner praise it.


A delicacy from a famous restaurant that has the flavor of the ingredients themselves, without feeling the greasy feeling of deep frying

5. Yakiniku: Yakiniku Okura

Yakiniku Okura is a long-established and well-known restaurant in Tsuruhashi, Osaka, which is known as the top yakiniku battleground. In the restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere like your own home, you can enjoy the fragrant yakiniku grilled with charcoal using a seven-wheeler.

The store's signature is the selection of a variety of meats of excellent quality and freshness. They insist on not using frozen meat, and only provide carefully selected domestic Wagyu beef of A5 grade or above that is personally purchased and selected by the owner every morning. The owner does not compromise on quality, and if he cannot find meat of satisfactory quality that day, he will even close the store.


This famous shop in Tsuruhashi is well-known to locals. It only offers the highest-quality meat purchased that day (from left: salted beef belly, salted beef cheek, and salted beef tongue)

6. Ramen: Mutetsubo Osaka

Mutetsubo is a popular ramen shop with ardent fans all over the country. The biggest feature is the tonkotsu soup base, which makes even those who prefer strong flavors surprised by its richness the first time they taste it. The soup base is made of only carefully selected high-quality tonkotsu and water. The tonkotsu weighing about 300 kilograms is thoroughly stewed and boiled, and it is full of collagen.

If you want a richer taste, please try the "rich" soup base with a lot of back fat.


This popular ramen shop has fans all over the country and always has long lines. The signature tonkotsu ramen soup is so rich that you will be addicted to it after just one bite.

7. Chinese cuisine: 551 Horai Main Store

551 Horai Main Store was established in 1945 and is a well-known Chinese restaurant in Osaka. The store is located in the Namba Ebisuji Shopping Street in the center of Osaka's Minami Ward.

The signature menu is the handmade pork buns that emphasize "daily production and daily sales". The sweet and chewy outer skin is filled with dice-shaped pork and onions. The juicy pork and the sweet taste of onions blend perfectly in the mouth, making people addicted after just one bite.


Osaka's signature dish, pork buns, is loved by everyone

8. Light Meal: Kitashinchi Sandwich

Kitashinchi Sandwich is a famous sandwich shop in Kitashinchi, northern Osaka. From the "Specially Prepared Domestic Deep-Fried Beef Fillet Sandwich" with carefully selected A3 grade beef, to the rare "Deep-Fried Eel Sandwich" which is a high-end sandwich, to the "Deep-Fried Pork Sandwich" with 16 layers of domestic pork tenderloin, to the "Whole Shrimp Sandwich" which uses 6 shrimps, the handmade sandwiches are extremely popular.


The popular dish "Fried Egg Sandwich" brings a new taste to first-time eaters

9. Bar: Afterschool Dried Sweets Bar A-55

Afterschool Dried Sweets Bar A-55 is a unique bar with the concept of "After school in a secret base!". Once you enter the store, you can hear the most popular J-POP (Japanese pop music) and cartoon songs from the 1990s to 2000s.

There are snacks such as delicious sticks and Hoshitaro snack noodles, as well as a variety of products that make people exclaim "I miss it so much" repeatedly, such as chocolate candies and mini cola candies. This is a place where those who have always wanted to "eat all-you-can-eat snacks" since childhood can realize their wishes.


The store creates a lively atmosphere like an overturned toy box