Our 183rd entry in this blog is our trip to Osaka’s famous shopping district, the Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street in Chuo, Osaka, Japan.

This has been a bustling center of retail since the mid-18th century when famed kimono shop Matsuya opened what later became Daimaru Department Store. The development of Shinsaibashi-suji parallels the growth and change in its host city Osaka. Expensive items are just a common site in this area, this is like the Ginza of Osaka.

This shopping street can be enjoyed from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on your shopping appetite. With a history of 380 years, it was already an established shopping area in the Edo Period. Shops of all kinds and for all ages line the street, a roofed arcade 600 meters long.

Shinsaibashi is connected to Dotonbori, a well-known Osaka sightseeing area. You’ll find several jumbo-sized and unique signs in Dotonbori! There are also many eateries where you can enjoy Osaka dishes, such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki.

The unofficial mascot of Dotonbori is the Glico Man, a large neon sign featuring a man running on a blue race track positioned directly above the Dotonbori bridge. The billboard was first erected in 1935 as an advertisement for Glico, the Japanese food company that produces Pocky and Pretz.

Looking at all the foods and desserts lining up the streets, we should get ourselves one!

We enjoyed our quick tour at Shinsaibashi. Although we were not able to buy anything as we are travelling lite this time 🙂 So basically, it’s all food, food, and food 🙂 Until next time Shopping Street of Osaka!