Dotonbori, Kuromon Market and What to Eat in Osaka

Running parallel to the Dotombori-gawa canal between Nipponbashi and Namba, Dotonbori has been Osaka's theatre and dining district since entrepreneur Yasui Doton began digging the waterway. Today its facades compete with three-dimensional giant sculptures, including waving mechanical red crabs at Kani Doraku, angry fibreglass octopuses, oversized gyoza dumplings and puffing fugu blowfish lanterns, while the large LED billboard of the Glico Running Man shines above Ebisubashi Bridge. You can read more about planning your time in our three-day plan.

By day vs by night: Kuromon Market, Hozenji and Doguyasuji

• Kuromon Ichiba Market: south-east of Dotonbori at Nipponbashi Station, this covered arcade holds fishmongers, wagyu butchers, pickle makers and fruit stalls. Come to find grilled scallops in the shell, fresh sea urchin, fatty tuna sashimi, soy milk doughnuts and marbled wagyu skewers seared to order.
• Hozenji Yokocho and Mizuno: just one block south of the neon strip of Dotonbori, a narrow stone-paved alley lit by paper lanterns leads to Hozenji Temple, where locals ladle water over a statue of Fudo Myo-o entirely cloaked in thick emerald-green moss.
• Sennichimae Doguyasuji Arcade: walk south toward Namba through Osaka's professional kitchenware street, where shops sell hand-hammered Sakai chef's knives, copper tamagoyaki omelette pans and cast-iron takoyaki moulds.

Six Osaka dishes you must eat

1. Takoyaki: Dashi-seasoned wheat batter is poured into hemispherical iron moulds with a chunk of boiled octopus tentacle, pickled red ginger and tenkasu crisps, flipped at lightning speed with steel picks until crisp outside and molten-custardy inside. Try the classic sauce-and-mayo version at Wanaka or Kukuru, or the dashi-soy version without sauce at Aizu-ya.
2. Okonomiyaki and Negiyaki: a thick, comforting savoury cabbage pancake mixed with yam, dashi, pork belly slices, squid or prawns, griddled on a hot iron teppan table and brushed with brown sauce, mayonnaise, green aonori seaweed and dancing bonito flakes.
3. Kushikatsu: bite-sized skewers of beef, lotus root, quail egg, asparagus, prawn and red ginger coated in fine panko breadcrumbs and flash-fried golden, as outlined in our Shinsekai guide.
4. Kitsune Udon: thick, chewy wheat noodles in a clear, aromatic kombu-and-bonito kelp broth topped with a sweet simmered pocket of fried tofu.
5. Butaman and Rikuro's soufflé cheesecake: follow the aroma in Namba to buy a hot box of juicy pork-and-onion buns from 551 Horai and a warm, wobbly raisin-bottomed soufflé cheesecake from Rikuro Ojisan no Mise.

Base yourself in Namba or Shinsaibashi if you want evening street food, canal lights and a single-seat train to the airport. You can compare areas using our neighbourhood guide for more details on accommodation.