第四章 · STOP 04 · 大阪
Osaka · New Year
4 nights · NYE
4 nights · NYE
Four nights of takoyaki steam, river reflections in Dōtonbori, and New Year's Eve rung in at a quiet neighborhood shrine.
Osaka is the eating city — takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, kitsune udon — and it leans into it. From our base in Shinsaibashi we're within walking distance of the Dōtonbori canal and Osaka Castle, and a short Shinkansen ride from Kobe for the beef and the Nunobiki ropeway. New Year's Eve in Japan is gentle and local: shrines light up just after midnight and people queue peacefully for the year's first prayer.
An apartment-style stay in Shinsaibashi — walking distance to Dōtonbori and Namba, with quick access to every Kansai line.
Takoyaki from a street window, okonomiyaki cooked on the table, kushikatsu in a standing bar, and matcha soft-serve somewhere in between.
Glittering signs, the giant running Glico man, narrow streets of lantern-lit izakaya — Osaka at its most cinematic.
Kobe beef for lunch — teppanyaki at the counter — then the Nunobiki Herb Garden ropeway up the hillside for city-meets-harbor views.
The city's most iconic landmark — a stroll through the moat-ringed park, then up to the top floor for a panorama across the whole of Osaka.
The glass escalator ride up through open air between the twin towers, and the rooftop Floating Garden Observatory — one of Osaka's great sunset spots.
A neighborhood shrine visit just after midnight for the year's first prayer — amazake, bell ringing, and a huge shared sense of calm.
Shinkansen in from Hiroshima, drop bags, straight out for takoyaki and river lights.
Teppanyaki Kobe beef for lunch, then the Nunobiki Herb Garden ropeway and a slow walk down. Home for a casual dinner in Shinsaibashi.
Morning at the castle and its moat-ringed park, a kissaten lunch, afternoon wandering Shinsekai, kushikatsu for dinner.
Umeda Sky Building at sunset, a relaxed dinner, then a neighborhood shrine just after midnight for hatsumōde — the year's first prayer.
