Dotonbori

Namba

The heart of Osaka, the city of extravagant food.

When one speaks of Osaka, many people recall the huge Glico billboard and the giant crab sign with moving legs. These symbols of Osaka are located around the Dotonbori River in Namba. Shopping streets run through the area, centered around the "Hikkake-bashi" bridge which crosses the river. Dotonbori is full of flashing neon flights and shoppers, and a Ferris wheel can also be found overhead, as though a theme park had suddenly appeared in the street.

You cannot miss Glico, Kani Doraku, and the Kuidaore doll!

There are several famous billboards and characters in Dotonbori. One is the well-known Glico billboard at the foot of the Hikkake-bashi bridge. The Glico billboard was first installed in 1935. Its design changes with the times and it is now in its 6th generation. Next is the billboard of the specialist crab restaurant "Kani Doraku". It is a huge crab with slowly-moving mechanical legs located about a 30 second walk from the Glico billboard. If you keep walking down Dotonbori past Kani Doraku, you will see a doll in striped clothes at the entrance to the "Naka-za Kuidaore" building. This is "Kuidaore Taro", one of the special characters of Dotonbori. If you see all three of these landmarks, you've covered Dotonbori well.

The city of extravagant food! Enjoy eating and walking!

Osaka is nicknamed the "city of Kuidaore". Kuidaore means to eat delicious foods until your stomach is full. So we recommend you walk around Dotonbori while eating crab and takoyaki. It's also interesting to eat foods and compare the tastes. The Tombori Riverwalk was completed on both sides of the Dotonbori river in 2004, so you can enjoy walking along the river and watching the water bus come and go.