24 hours in Japan's kitchen
what a dream day of eats in Osaka would be
When we initially started planning our dream to trip to Japan, I had no intention of visiting Osaka. There’s nothing wrong with it- there was just nothing drawing me to it and it seemed a bit… chaotic.
Of course, once I got into researching, I learned that much like Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France, Osaka has earned the title of Japan’s kitchen. Well, with a reputation like that, what kind of travel-for-food girl would I be if I DIDN’T make a stop?
Osaka’s food scene was different than what I expected… and far different from Tokyo and Kyoto. It’s incredibly diverse, with influences that felt Chinese leaning and full of street food. I will go into what makes Osaka Japan’s kitchen, and why I can get behind Osaka bearing this crown, but for now, I have flights to catch. Since I want to dedicate more time to a full Osaka guide- for now, here’s a little taster.
And by taster, I mean what I think you should eat if you have one day in Japan’s kitchen.
I’ll be straight forward, the more iconic foods of Osaka, like the famed street food takoyaki, were NOT my favourite bites. So while they are on this list… don’t sleep on the other powerhouse bites I have included.
First stop: Kuromon Market
Now, let’s begin your day at the famous Kuromon market for breakfast part one! As someone who wakes up ready to eat, and has an absolute tank in blood sugar if I don’t within two hours, I struggled with Japan’s later opening times. Yes, even cafes. You may need to hit up a konbini for your early morning coffee fix.
Anyways, the Kuromon market is a famous fish market in Osaka selling all sorts of well, fish (sashimi, wholesale, sushi, etc.), that has gotten rather touristy as of late. This means it has a lot of traps and high prices, but gems still exist!
And the biggest gem of all: the oden at Ishibashi Shokuhin. Oden is pure comfort, and felt perfect as a light breakfast bite. Oden is a sort of stew. A variety of different vegetables and other things like fish cake are sat in long simmering, light broth. This place lets you choose what stewed item you want, and plops it straight from the bubbling broth into a shallow bowl and ladles more broth on top.
We chose the potato, fish cake and radish. The fish cake, while may not sound appealing to North Americans was the best by far. Lightly fishy and with a spongy texture, it was a great sponge for the broth. In fact, they all were. The potato and radish soaked up the broth so well, and the flavour was simple and delicious. Feel free to peruse the other items at this shop: it looked unbelievable. I regret not getting what looked like caramelized sweet potato or the lightly fried octopus. Yum.
Caffeine stop: Ourlog
I assume you want to, ya know, sight see in between eats. I would really recommend living out your shogun dreams and visiting Osaka castle. You’ll need to grab the train (easy) from Kuromon, but I recommend making a caffeine stop along the way.
Look. Ourlog is is not the most conveniently located. But after going to some of the top destinations in the world for coffee and matcha, I can honestly say that I had one of the best matcha lattes and best flat white of MY LIFE at Ourlog. It is truly a must stop. In fact, out of the 96 coffee/tea stops I’ve ranked on Beli, Ourlog is #1. Number ONE! We joke that we have to return to Osaka just for this place.
The matcha latte is a bit different here, as it comes as a layered drink with a bit of espresso and cream on top. I was skeptical, but was instructed to drink it as is- no mixing! You guys. Unbelievable. Despite all that was going on, the matcha was still the star, and as I drank I kept getting different tasting sips as the espresso slowly became more prominent. It just worked.
The flat whites were fun because we got to choose our bean blend and wow- PERFECTION. The cafe is also spacious and is a nice space to just sit; at least, the location near Utsobo park is.
Breakfast part two: Omurice story
After exploring Osaka castle you’ll be hungry and while I’m not sure how iconic to Osaka omurice is, it is an iconic Japanese food I was dying to try, and my GOSH it was good at Omurice story.
Picture buttery rice topped with the most perfect looking fat omelette on top. You cut into the omelette with your knife and it unfurls, revealing the most custardy just set egg on the inside. The ideal egg texture. This with the accompanying demi-glace sauce is perfection!! This may have been one of the best egg dishes/ breakfasts of my life. Well, it’s more like lunch at this point since it doesn’t open until 11:00pm, but if I’m eating an omelette my brain goes: breakfast.
Omurice story is tucked away outside the touristy area but we did walk from Osaka castle and found it to be a very cute walk. If you can time things right, I’d aim to get there ten minutes before opening. It’s not enormously popular, but it is small and people who came at opening were stuck waiting.
The og omurice with demi-glace comes with bacon, but Dan loved his version with teriyaki chicken and sauce. So worth a stop. Even if this dish isn’t Osaka Iconic.
Evening Snacking: Street Food!
If Osaka is famous for one thing, it is street food. Specifically, heading to the lively Dotonbori street, taking photos with the iconic Glico man and following your nose to the best food.
I did not love Dotonbori. Frankly, I did not even like it. It’s congested and the food gives trap. I wanted to try iconic street food though, and while I had some spontaneity, I did some research too.
Takoyaki: One of Osaka’s most iconic street foods is Takoyaki. It kind of reminded me of taking a savoury leaning pancake batter, cooking it into ball and folding octopus chunks in. You will be barraged by vendors pouring batter into molds streetside, especially on Dotonbori and it will smell heavenly. Do not get sucked in.
Instead go to Takoyaki Wannaka Sennichimae. The takoyaki was fresh, almost had a molten quality inside and had two fat chunks of octopus. They also offer a sampler of their takoyaki, so you can try a variety versus ordering a bunch of one kind.
Okonomayaki: Also Iconic with a capital I!! Again, a sort of pancake situation… but also not really? At its base it’s a savouring leaning batter mixed with cabbage then cooked on a griddle. That’s about as pancake as it gets. It’s can be stuffed with just about anything. Seafood. Pork. It can be a variation called negayaki and be brimming with green onion, or Osaka also does a version with yakisoba noodles that is exploding with the thin noodles. It’s then slathered in a slightly sweet brown sauce and dressed a generous slather of mayo.
A lot of places will make it front of you and you can eat it off the griddle, resulting in deliciously crispy bits. In all honesty, I didn’t love the one I had. It just didn’t hit, and perhaps it was the place but maybe I just didn’t jive with Osaka style. I’ve had Hiroshima style before, and it was more crepe light versus the puffed up Osaka version.
Some places that were recommended though, since I believe you should still try:
Okonomiyaki Okaru
Konamontaru Okonomiyaki
From this point on, feel free to do a bit of perusing to see what catches your eye. We ate some duds (a crepe that was the consistency of a cracker) but had a big win with a tayaki filled with cheese and honey- divine!
End the night off: Drinks and skewers
The most famous street in Osaka is pretty partyish so you may as well end your night with some drinks and delicious skewers!! Osaka is known for their Kushikatsu, which is just things on a skewer that is fried. I did not have this. At this point in the trip, I was cravinnnnng some real protein and I don’t love fried food.
Several places in Osaka offer kushiyaki. Your choice of protein popped on a skewer and grilled before your eyes. The char is impeccable, and if you go to the right place, you’ll end up with juicy pieces of meat.
That’s what we were treated to at Batten Yakitoh which has an expansive drink and kushiyaki menu! My favourite was the intestine. Don’t knock it till you try it. I love organ meat, and the intestine had an excellent crisp, almost candied quality to it. Immaculate texture and a really solid taste! More meaty than organy. We also got a premium beef skewer which just melted in our mouths. The rice bowl with pork is also so good!
The skewers are served with a healthy mound of cabbage (for good digestion) that each skewer is placed upon one after the other as they finish cooking. The juice from the meat ends up saturating the cabbage which makes for a tasty bite at the end.
Bonus: If you have space for more snacky bites, I 1000% recommend getting the giant pork steam buns at 550 Horai!
There you have it. 24 hours of eating in Osaka. There are more bites I had that rocked my socks, but alas, stomach space is finite. I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks!
You hit all the great spots!! Yes, Osaka is indeed the soul and stomach of Japan! Thank you for sharing your transcending experience