Dotonburi is probably the most iconic spot in all of Osaka. It's the equivalent of Shibuya in Tokyo except it has a river that runs through it, the Dotonburi river. The river is actually a canal that was dug in 1612 and completed in 1615.
Located in the Namba district of Osaka it's a $2.30, 15 minute train ride or free 53 minute walk from Osaka station.
I arrived from the opposite direction after visiting Tsutenkaku Tower and Abeno Harukas.
The nice thing about Dotonburi is everything is located within a few blocks so it's very easy to get around by foot. Those few blocks are densely packed with trendy shops, designer brand shops and restaurants too many to count.
The north side of Dotonburi has most of the clothing shopping.
The south side. of Dotonburi is lined with restaurants, coffee shops and snack shops full of Osaka soul food like takoyaki or kushiage.
However, if you're looking for Mexican food, I recommend El Pancho about few blocks up on the north side. That is where I stopped for an early dinner.
The portions are quite large, that was only a half nachos, and it's very authentic. Price is average, $10 for nachos, $6 a beer.
Once outside I decided to explore the area I was in and walked back towards the river.
A politician was giving her stump speech outside of El Pancho.
Walking south east down the one-way streets. Many streets around here are one-way.
This is a desert in a can vending machine. Those are cream & fruit cakes and according to my wife are pretty popular.
I think this "Casino" is actually a host club or bar. Gambling in general is banned in Japan so a casino would be illegal. It was a catchy sight though.
This area has a lot of bars, host/hostess clubs, salons for those hosts/hostess, "love hotels" and even gem and mineral shops!
This cake shop, Princess Cake Alice, was pretty amazing. I kick myself for not trying one of their sweets now.
After about 10 minutes of walking I made it back to the river just in time for sunset.
In order to view the sunset though I had to get up high. Well you see that giant, yellow structure, that's a kind of ferris wheel at the Don Quixote. Donkey, as we all it, is a famous department store all over Japan. This Osaka store is special though and I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was only $6 so up I went.
The statue of the kushiage guy slowly rotates and for some reason I found it pretty funny to watch.
As the ride creaked along I realized I was going a lot higher than I had though. Near the top though the views became quite nice.
Although I missed the sunset, the ride and the views were pretty cool.
You can see Abeno Harukas off in the distance on the left side.
Looking behind me, north towards Osaka station.
The ferris wheel took 15 minutes to complete and if you visit you have to ride it. Especially around sunset or night.
Moving on, I walked along the boardwalk for a bit just seeing what there was to see now that it had become evening and the lights were on.
As I crossed a bridge for this picture I saw a boat loading up and thought I had to ride that at well!
But I would do that a little bit later. There was a lot to see before the boat ride.
As I was walking the lanterns along the boardwalk began to light up and set an additional mood to the area. It was a great addition in my opinion.
People had started to come out for the evening, albeit not a lot since it was a Monday.
It was nearing 7:30pm and I had been up and walking around since 5am so I headed back to the boat ride to take it easy and see what there was to see from the water.
The boat costs $10 and lasts about 15-20 minutes. It takes you up and down the river to areas you might not normally walk by. It was definitely worth the $10. Hop on board!
The boat firsts takes you a few blocks east.
Some of the bridges are very low so you must watch your head.
Under this bridge you make a u-turn and head out for the longer portion of the ride.
Looking up as we pass Donkey.
Don't stand up!
At a certain point the river widens and the scenery changes.
On the left was this interesting looking building, a convention hall.
On the right was a riverside restaurant with many customers waving to us.
Just pat this point you turn around and begin to head back. I was taking a lot of video so I missed some pictures, but I got a few on the way back.
We all made it back to the mooring and I walked back to the Glico sign for some additional pictures.
Realizing I had about a 1.5 hour train ride and more walking back to my hotel in Kyoto I called it a day. What a day it was though, 4 sites in 1 day, Osaka Castle, Tsutenkaku Tower and Abeno Harukas and Dotonburi. These are 4 different sightseeing spots you can do 1 in day without too much rushing. Of course there are tons of other things to do in Osaka too, so now that Japan is open to tourism you have a chance to visit and explore!
I've got 1 more place to show you in Adventures In Kansai P6, Kobe. Kobe was another great city for me right on the bay. It definitely has it's own character so, I'll be back next week with that post.
I'll leave with this video by Don Quixote for their ferris wheel.
And their website https://www.donki.com/kanransha/
Thanks for reading!
