Day 4 Part 5 - Namba, Dotonbori and Shinsekai

I got to Namba Station at about 17:00. I bought a spare shoulder bag in a shop called DCM Daiki and had a look around outside. The area didn’t seem that busy. I was looking for Dotonbori. I tried a few exits but couldn’t find it so went back into the station and found an English speaking information desk. The person who helped me had amazing English which was a good job because directions to Dotonbori were a little complex. I used my Kindle to show him a photo of where I wanted to go which he found very interesting as he had not seen this type of device before.

The easiest way to get to Dotonbori is to go through the labyrinth of underground walkways. These walkways are full of shops and different train line entrances. They were teaming with people. Each exit is numbered and the walkways are divided into different sections labelled with letter and number combinations. The closest exit to Dotonbori is exit 14 which is in the C1 area of the walkways.

At about 18:00 when I left the underground, the streets were even busier. People were walking in every direction. I didn’t know which way to walk so, using my Kindle again, I asked for help from a Japanese woman who was stood nearby. At this point I could ask basic questions in Japanese and understand some basic sentences but not a great deal. Luckily she spoke a little English and with the aid of Google Maps on her phone she pointed me in the right direction.

When I got to the Dotonbori, I picked a random direction to walk in and explored the area. I seemed to be heading away from the busy parts, so I bought some snacks in a convenience store and headed back in the direction I came from.

The area surrounds Ebisu Bridge (Ebisubashi). This bridge is in the midst of bright neon signs, thousands of shops, restaurants and izakaya in numerous open and covered shopping streets and is in line with one series of covered shopping streets.

Some of these Japanese shopping streets are over 2km long. A few kilometres away is the Tenjinbashi-Suji Shopping arcade which claims to be the longest in Japan at 2.6km long.

I walked around for about 2 hours then had some more food and then I went back to JR Namba Station to catch a train back to Shin-Imamiya.

Shinsekai

When I got to Shin-Imamiya Station, I walked to Shinsekai with the aid of Google Maps. It took about 10 minutes to walk there and I arrived about 21:00. Shinsekai is relatively small area which consists of a few blocks teaming with Izakaya and other businesses but was quiet which offered an alternative to busy Namba.

The area is a bit run-down and has a bit of a seedy reputation. I took a few photos and headed back to the Shin-Imamiya to return to Osaka Station.

Osaka Station

I arrived just before 22:00. As I was walking through the station I bumped into a couple of Harry Potter cosplayers. I took a photo and briefly chatted with them before I continued on my way.

I had a quick look outside and listened to a busker playing in front of the station before I caught the train back to Kobe.

Index

Day 1 - Manchester to Osaka
Day 2 - Arriving in Japan
Day 3 - Kobe and Osaka
Day 4 Part 1 - Kobe Chinatown again
Day 4 Part 2 - Osaka Station and Kyobashi
Day 4 Part 3 - Tennoji Station and Abeno
Day 4 Part 4 - Abeno Harukas and Shin-Imamiya
Day 4 Part 5 - Namba, Dotonbori and Shinsekai
Day 5 Part 1 - Kyoto
Day 5 Part 2 - Gion
Day 6 Part 1 - Osaka to Tokyo
Day 6 Part 2 - Halloween Cosplay in Shibuya
Day 7 - Harajuku