OSAKA | Namba Parks – Dōtonbori – Glico Man – Shinsaibashi

Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and back to Tokyo. Three weeks plus some extra days.

After Tokyo, Kanazawa featuring Shirakawa-gō, Osaka was our third stop on this 2025 Journey Across Japan. We came to Osaka for Expo 2025 (2025年日本国際博覧会, Nisennijūgo-nen Nippon Kokusai Hakurankai; and officially 大阪·関西万博, Ōsaka–Kansai Banpaku for short) and Universal Studios Japan.

To get to Osaka, one of the trains was the JR Thunderbird Express by JR West. Just for the name, Danny was excited about this one. The Thunderbird was a bit older than the Shinkansen trains we took. But old can also equal charm.

Namba & Namba Parks

Our hotel, the Swissôtel Nankai Osaka is located above Namba Station. Very convenient.

Namba (難波) is a district in Chūō and Naniwa wards of Osaka. It is regarded as the center of Osaka’s Minami (ミナミ, ‘South’) region. Its name came from a variation of Naniwa, the former name of Osaka. Namba hosts some of the city’s main south-central railway terminals, as JR, Kintetsu, Nankai, Hanshin, and three Osaka Metro subway lines all have stations within this region.

Namba Parks (なんばパークス, Nanba Pākusu) is a large office, retail, and entertainment complex in the Namba-naka district of Naniwa-ku. Situated just south of Namba Station on the Nankai Railway, the development occupies the former site of the Osaka Stadium. It was designed by American architect Jon Jerde of The Jerde Partnership and opened in stages during the early 2000s.

The complex consists of two main components: the 30-storey Parks Tower, which houses offices, and an expansive shopping mall featuring around 120 retail outlets. The mall is distinguished by its rooftop garden, which extends across several levels and has become one of the complex’s defining features.

Namba Parks was conceived as an urban oasis within one of Japan’s most densely built environments. The design integrates terraced green spaces that rise from street level through eight landscaped levels, linking the surrounding streets with groves of trees, rock formations, lawns, streams, ponds, and waterfalls. The intention was to reintroduce nature into the heart of Osaka and provide residents and visitors with accessible open space amid the city’s commercial bustle.

The lower floors of the mall host a variety of shops and entertainment venues. A carnival-style area occupies the first floor, while retail outlets extend from the second to the fifth floors.

Dining is spread across the upper levels: casual restaurants on the sixth floor and more formal establishments—serving Japanese, Korean, and Italian cuisine—on the seventh and eighth. The top level features an open-air landscape garden, an amphitheatre for live performances, and areas for community use such as small vegetable plots and pop-up market stalls.

Namba Parks has been widely noted for its innovative approach to urban design, combining commercial functionality with environmental and social considerations to create a distinctive multi-level green space in central Osaka.

At Namba Parks or in one of the adjacent malls, we found Luscious, an underwear shop selling briefs. Yes, briefs. A rarity in Japan. Sam bought some. I didn’t. My search continued.

Dōtonbori

Dōtonbori or Dōtombori (道頓堀, pronounced Doːtomboɾi) is a district in the Namba area of Chūō-ku. Stretching along the Dōtonbori Canal from Dōtonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge, it is one of Osaka’s most famous entertainment and nightlife destinations. Known for its bright neon signs, bustling and just overly crowded atmosphere, and culinary culture, Dōtonbori has long been regarded as a symbol of the city’s exuberant spirit.

One of its most iconic landmarks is the illuminated Glico Man billboard, depicting a runner crossing the finish line, which has become an enduring emblem of Osaka.

The origins of Dōtonbori date to 1612, when Nariyasu Dōton, a local canal administrator, began constructing a waterway to improve transport and commerce in the area. The project was completed in 1615 by Yasui Kuhē and Hirano Tōjirō, following Dōton’s death during the Siege of Osaka.

The new lord of Osaka Castle, Matsudaira Tadaaki, named the canal Dōtonbori in his honour. In later retellings, the work was attributed to a fictional entrepreneur, Yasui Dōton, a story popularised in the early 20th century. A court ruling in 1965 established that Yasui Dōton never existed, confirming the project’s true origins in local historical records.

Dōtonbori’s character as an entertainment district was established in 1621, when the Tokugawa shogunate designated the area for theatres and playhouses. By the mid-17th century, it was lined with Kabuki and Bunraku theatres, as well as the celebrated Takeda Karakuri mechanical puppet theatre.

Restaurants and teahouses soon flourished to serve visitors drawn to the bustling nightlife. Although most of these original theatres were destroyed during World War II, the Osaka Shochikuza theatre remains a surviving example of the area’s stage heritage.

Redevelopment of Dōtonbori began in the 1960s, when projects were undertaken to improve the canal’s water quality and stabilise its banks. Subsequent regeneration in the early 2000s transformed the canal’s promenade into a lively pedestrian zone, with cafes, bars, and illuminated billboards facing the water.

Today, the 170-metre stretch between Tazaemonbashi and Ebisubashi bridges forms the heart of modern Dōtonbori.

The area is synonymous with kuidaore (食い倒れ), a local saying meaning “to eat oneself into ruin”, reflecting Osaka’s reputation for indulgent food culture. Street food such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and kitsune udon are closely associated with the district, which hosts countless eateries ranging from traditional stalls to major restaurant chains.

Among the most notable are Kinryū Ramen, famous for its giant golden dragon signs and 24-hour service; Kani Dōraku, a crab restaurant distinguished by its mechanised crab billboard; Imai, a historic udon establishment; and Hariju, a long-established beef restaurant.

The legendary eight-storey Cui-daore restaurant, founded in 1949 and once claiming to be the world’s largest, popularised the district’s mascot, the drum-playing clown Kuidaore Tarō.

Many of Dōtonbori’s landmarks have become cultural icons. The Glico Man sign, first installed in 1935 and now in its sixth LED-lit version, continues to mark the area’s centre beside Ebisubashi Bridge.

Other distinctive sights include the mechanised crab of Kani Dōraku, the blowfish lantern of the former Zubora-ya restaurant, and the Ebisu Tower Ferris wheel built into the Don Quijote store façade. Illuminated gateway signs mark both ends of Dōtonbori Street, while the canal’s footbridges—such as Tazaemonbashi, Aiaibashi, and Ebisubashi—link the shopping districts of Namba and Shinsaibashi.

Ebisubashi Bridge, located beside the Glico Man, serves as a popular meeting point and symbol of Osaka’s lively street culture. Originally built to connect with the nearby Ebisu Shrine, it is often crowded with visitors taking photographs beneath the glowing signs of Dōtonbori’s skyline.

The bridge has also been a focal point for local celebrations, including the legendary gatherings of Hanshin Tigers baseball fans, reinforcing Dōtonbori’s reputation as the exuberant heart of Osaka.

Shinsaibashi

Shinsaibashi (心斎橋) is a district widely recognised as the city’s principal shopping area. At its centre lies Shinsaibashi-suji, a long, covered shopping arcade running north from Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, parallel to and east of Midosuji Avenue.

The district is home to a mix of department stores, fashion boutiques, cafés, and international brands. On the western side of Midosuji stands Amerika-mura (‘America Village‘), an area known for its youth culture, vintage shops, and street fashion. Shinsaibashi is easily accessible by the Osaka Metro, with Shinsaibashi Station providing direct access to the shopping streets.

The name Shinsaibashi originates from one of Osaka’s many historic machi-bashi (‘town bridges’) that once spanned the city’s canals and were maintained by local merchants.

The original Shinsaibashi Bridge crossed the Nagahori-gawa Canal and was built in 1622 by Shinsai Okada, one of the merchants responsible for the canal’s construction. The bridge, measuring 35 metres in length and 4 metres in width, was named after its builder. As the entertainment districts of Shinmachi to the north and Dōtonbori to the south gained popularity, the streets surrounding the bridge became increasingly prosperous, forming the nucleus of what would become Osaka’s premier shopping district.

The original wooden bridge required frequent repairs, and in 1873 it was replaced by a 37.1-metre-long iron truss bridge imported from Germany—an innovation that made it a local curiosity and a point of civic pride.

In 1909, the iron structure was replaced with Osaka’s first stone bridge, built in a Western style with twin arches and decorative four-leaf clover carvings. Illuminated by eight gas lamps, the bridge earned the affectionate nickname ‘Eyeglasses Bridge‘ (Megane-bashi) because the reflection of its two arches in the canal created the shape of spectacles.

Urban redevelopment in the post-war era transformed the area dramatically. In 1964, the Nagahori-gawa Canal was filled in to create Nagahori-dori Avenue, and the stone bridge was dismantled.

Its carved railings and lamps were reused to construct a pedestrian overpass, which later appeared in the 1989 Hollywood film Black Rain. The overpass itself was eventually removed during the 1990s to make way for Crysta Nagahori, an underground shopping mall that opened in 1997 beneath the reclaimed road. Elements of the original bridge, including sections of the stone railings and lamps, were incorporated into a small pedestrian bridge above the mall, where water now flows beneath its glass ceiling to evoke the former canal.

A reconstruction of the 1873 German iron bridge was completed in 1973 to mark its centenary. This replica, faithful to the original design, now stands as a pedestrian overpass in Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park, preserving a tangible link to Shinsaibashi’s early history and Osaka’s era of canal-based commerce.

A taste of Osaka’s hustle and bustle

Our first (half) day in Osaka gave a us preview of what to expect at Expo 2025 and Universal Studios Japan: crowds and general busy-ness. Oh, boy, it was bus-y. But that’s part of the Osaka vibe.

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