Night out: Dotombori and Shinsaibashi

Before visiting Osaka with friends last fall, we made a to-do list and among the places to visit are Dotombori, to see the famous Glico man and the giant crab; and Shinsaibashi for night-time shopping.

With a map on hand, we first headed to Mido-suji to check out the autumn leaves. Mido-suji Street that runs the center of the Shinsaibashi is the main street of Osaka that links the downtown Kita (north) around Umeda and the downtown Minami (south) around the Shisaibashi and Namba districts. Unfortunately, autumn was a bit delayed, only a few leaves have started to turn yellow. Curiosity led us to the Louis Vuitton and Chanel shops and we headed to Tokyu Hands to looks for Ip’s bag.  We did not get the bag though but we ended up buying cute stationary and pens!

After Tokyu Hands, we crossed the street and our feet  instinctly brought us to the entrance of Shinsaibashi!  It was an amazing long street full of nice shops.  The Shinsaibashi is the largest shopping area in Osaka where many boutiques and specialty shops are gathered, attracting local people and visitors. The new Uniqlo building was just right at the entrance.  It was already cold so we did not mind walking and gazing at the store displays and dazzling lights.

We walked the entire Shinsaibashi Shopping Center until we finally reached Dotombori. Dotombori is an entertainment district along the southern bank of the Dotombori River. The slowly flowing Dotombori River at night reflects the neon lights, creating the largest city in western Japang a unique atmosphere.  This is where we finally meet the Glico Man, a giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line by Glico, one of Japan’s biggest candy / snack manufacturer.  A few steps further we found the Kani Doraku Crab, a six and a half meter crab in front of the crab restaurant with mechanized arms and eyestalks.

After finally seeing the two famous landmarks, we decided to have dinner at McDonald’s to try out the Cheese Fondue!  Too bad, most of the McDonald’s offerings in Japan are not available in the Philippines.

Our trip to Shinsaibashi and Dotombori was fun we decided to go back to following night with Edith!