Yesterday I went on a walking day trip, starting from Namba and finishing at Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori. Well, most of the day I Was around Shinsaibashi-suji, the busiest shopping district in Osaka, Japan. This day diary is from September 19, 2019. It was a beautiful day outside and nice weather, not too hot.
Passing Through Dotonbori Street
Shinsaibashi is on the other side of the Dotnobori river to the north. Namba is on the other side. I actually took a train from Shin-imamiya to Namba because my legs needed a bit of rest. I had plenty of walking to do anyways.
I passed through Dotonbori, which as always was packed with locals and tourists. The only time where you can see it with fewer people is around 3-4 am. I remember coming there early in the morning from Kyoto at 4:30 am and not many people were there. This was my first time visiting Dotonbori.
Later on, I would come back to Dotnobori to watch the Kamen Joshi live street show. Around 14:00.
Arriving at Shinsaibashi-suji
Shinsaibashi-suji is the center place of Shinsaibashi. I call it “The largest flat shopping mall in the world”. It’s a very long shopping district packed with a countless number of shops of all kinds. As an example, brand name shops and chain stores. You can find anything you can dream of there, including cosmetics, clothing, toys, a new Pokemon Center (grand opening was on the same day I was there, more about it later), Jewelry, street food, restaurants, tourist shops, ancient book stores, information center, bag, shoe shop, etc.
Exploring the Many Different Shops
It’s a long 2.6km street, so prepare for some walking. To begin with, the first shop I entered was was the Disney shop. It was lovely there but nothing that I wanted to buy there.
Afterward, I was searching for some clothing. Someone invited me to enter a place. It was a store that had several floors. It was supposed to be a discount store. I entered inside, a huge store, not hint for anything from the outside. But it was empty. I was the only one there.
I felt quite sad because most people won’t enter inside with so many attractions outside. This is why the put people outside of the shop and ask them to invite people to check the store.
Nevertheless, I went out after a few minutes and continue walking.
I had no problem walking in the street because above, there is a roof, so it feels like being in a shopping mall. From time to time you get to a gap where you need to cross a pedestrian crossing. A bit of sun, then back to the shades.
I came across a nice antique book shop called “Antique Books Nakao Shoten”. The prices there for many of the “ancient” books were very high. I mean, I was once in a book bazaar at Shitennoji. I’ve seen many similar books, even at much large variety for around 300-1000 Yen. However, I am not an expert in the field. It just seems overprices.
I checked many stores and enjoy seeing the different products. However, after spending a few hours, not buying anything, I’ve decided to head back.
Heading Back to Dotonbori
I walked back towards Dotonbori; came around 14:00 and stayed there until Kamen Joshi girl group show. I ate some delicious Gyoza dumplings and bought a Sapporo beer to freshen up.
Here are some more photos from Dotonbori from that same day.
As you can see from the photos, the weather was clear and it wasn’t too hot.
I went home at about 17:00. Later on, I bought some food at Mega Don Quijote and spend the rest of the day at the room, relaxing.
Overall, it was a nice day to hang outside. I found some places that I actually want to revisit. I plan to do it today, September 20th. Especially check out the new Pokemon Center at Shinsaibashi. Once I’m there, I’ll take some photo and share it with you.
More Photos from the Day Trip
To end this post, some more photos from the trip. Many of those photos were taken using my Nikon DSLR camera, some with my OnePlus 6 phone.
I hope you have a great day. Thanks for reading.