Japan 2.0: Osaka’s Dotonbori, Namba temple and Den Den Town

Glico sign Osaka - The cat, you and us

After visiting Osaka during the evening & night a day before (check here our first Osaka post in case you missed it!), we had the feeling that the city had a lot to offer during daylight too… and we weren’t mistaken: Dotonbori’s giant food signs and the big posters next to the Glico sign are even more surreal if you visit them when the restaurants are closed.

Dotonbori during the morning was quite a shock, we were lucky to have a hotel in the area, so just by crossing one street we were surrounded by all the restaurants and ready to have a Ramen for breakfast. Well, I’m kidding, we didn’t eat Ramen, although they had a 24h service and was perfectly possible. Instead we took our time to admire the giant signs with no tourists around, only owners of the shops starting off their day. It was fun to discover which type of restaurant was behind the shop blinds: a giant octopus must mean it’s a takoyaki, a big hand holding a nigiri for a sushi place, and so on!

Dotonbori giant signs - The cat, you and us Dotonbori giant signs - The cat, you and us Dotonbori giant signs - The cat, you and us Dotonbori - The cat, you and us Dotonbori - The cat, you and us Dotonbori giant signs - The cat, you and us Glico sign Osaka - The cat, you and us Glico sign Osaka - The cat, you and us Women only metro boarding point - The cat, you and us Osaka sakusaku waffle - The cat, you and us Cat and a dog in Osaka - The cat, you and us

In the afternoon we headed to Namba Yasaka shrine, which we had included in our wishlist after seeing a surprising picture at Kitsune-kun’s Instagram. The place looks as it belongs to a fairytale land such as Disney but it is in fact a historical shrine. What draws the visitors attention is a giant lion head (Ema-Den) with the mouth open that measures around 39 feet high and is truly impressive in person.

But that wasn’t the only wonderful thing waiting for us in that little corner of Namba: while approaching the temple we started hearing drums from inside the temple. A couple of people were gathered around the entrance, listening to a Japanese traditional drums and flute group playing inside the lion mouth, that worked as a stage. The moment was completely magical, and Dani noted the fact that the music resembled Naruto’s theme song. Ha! Sorry for our lack of deeper knowledge in traditional music, I can now read how the anime reference may sound.

Do you know that the open mouth of the lion is built to scare evil spirits? I’m sure the music helped to increase its magical efficiency!

Namba dragon temple - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple traditional concert - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple traditional concert - The cat, you and us Japanese White face masks - The cat, you and us Namba dragon temple - The cat, you and us

In a perfect modern meets traditional way, from the shrine we walked towards Den Den Town, the electrical-manga-merchandising neighborhood. Den Den Town is like a shrunken Akihabara with a retro gloss; you can expect to find here stores such as Animate or K-books that are also popular in Tokyo. We bought here blind boxes and a Rilakkuma soap container (that I was looking for but had been unlucky before!), and did a lot of window shopping.

For dinner we had a reservation at a praised Yakiniku restaurant back at Dotonbori, that put a perfect ending to the Osaka experience. We almost set the restaurant on fire with our clumsy bbq skills… but hey! but that will be another day fun story.

K-books Osaka - The cat, you and us Animate Osaka - The cat, you and us Animate Osaka - The cat, you and us Den Den Town at night - The cat, you and us Ebimaruhonpo - The cat, you and us Dotonbori at night - The cat, you and us Matsusakagyu yakiniku - The cat, you and us Matsusakagyu yakiniku - The cat, you and us Dotonbori at night - The cat, you and us

Only for the food Osaka is a perfect stop in your Japan itinerary, but its special charm stole our hearts in many ways we didn’t expect! We were in Osaka for a short stay but since we had many recommendations we are thinking on having a separate post with our addresses here, would you find it useful that we separate into Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto? Or an overall guide?

Next step will take us to Kyoto and I can’t contain my tears with emotion. I think it is my most beloved memory from the honeymoon and being back was going to be scary (up to our expectations?) yet a necessary stop.

More of our Japan 2.0 adventures:
Tokyo – Part I: Shinjuku & Harajuku
Tokyo – DisneySea
Kamakura
Hakone and the Takuminoyado Yoshimatsu onsen
Osaka – Part I: Osaka Castle, Umeda views and Dotonbori at night
Himeji Castle (& the Hello Kitty café)
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6 Comments

  1. Cassandre ADDS...

    I am very much looking forward to reading about the time you almost set fire to the restaurant. I can very easily picture this happening to me ! Indoor barbecues are quite dangerous when you think about it haha !
    I had no idea the dragon shrine existed, SO SPECIAL ! Thank you for sharing. Love always
    Cassandre

    7th February 2017
  2. Lauren ADDS...

    Beautiful photos- thank you for sharing! I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, so for now I’m living vicariously through your posts! :D
    -Lauren
    http://www.chic-ethique.com/

    8th February 2017
  3. omg the cat stroller! Also HAH I agree with what Cassandre said :P -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

    8th February 2017
  4. Fiona ADDS...

    Oh Osaka through your eyes is magical! I love those empty streets and drummers within the lion’s mouth and the cat in the stroller :) :) I’ve never heard of Den Den town but that makes me want to go back and explore Osaka more!!!

    8th February 2017
  5. Jane Y. ADDS...

    Oh all the signs! And i love how the cat is in the stroller :)

    8th February 2017
  6. Nieves ADDS...

    Me gusta mucho la foto de noche en Osaka, estás guapísima, todo en la ciudad es de una tradición y un cuidado de los detalles exquisitos! El templo es precioso y vosotros siempre ponéis en estas fotos el cariño que tenéis a este país, me ha hecho una gracia especial el cochecito en que paseaba un gato, habéis pensado algo así para Juno?

    9th February 2017

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