If you’re coming to Osaka from Kyoto or Tokyo, chances are you’ll step off the Shinkansen at JR-Osaka and will be met with the sleek image of modern Japan. High rises hem you in. The sound of thousands of feet thumping the ground tells of office workers hurrying to and from work, students milling around the station’s shopping malls, and – if you’ve arrived later in the day – partygoers looking for their next drink.
Think a slightly more subdued Shibuya Scramble. But go below the railroad tracks and tap out of the ticket gates and there’ll be an innocuous hallway that stands apart from the minimalistic offices and the footsteps. Go inside and you’ll be hit with a scene straight out of the 1950s: the Shin-Umeda Shokudougai, a sprawling maze of restaurants and bars that offer workers and passers-by alike a slightly less chaotic respite from the hustle and bustle above ground.
History
The Shokudougai (meaning ‘food street’) opened its doors on 15 December 1950 amid the turbulent post-war years. Japan was under US military occupation, which had enacted a policy known as the ‘Dodge Line’ that same year to re-orientate the Japanese economy at the cost of significant short-term hardships for Japanese workers. Osaka, despite sustaining intense damage during the Pacific War, was recovering and rebuilding, beginning the process of becoming the vibrant city it is today.
Originally conceived as a means of helping retired workers of Japanese National Railways (now Japan Railways) eat good, cheap food, the Shokudougai contained eighteen restaurants run by amateur chefs. After asking for help from some well-established restaurants, the shops continued to grow in quantity and quality, and by 1970, the year of Osaka’s first world expo, tourists from Japan and the wider world alike came in droves to sample the eats offered by Japan’s city of food.
Now, there are over 100 bars and restaurants crammed into a tiny space that used to house just eighteen. With its central location and unique local atmosphere, you’ll definitely want to come back for seconds or go fully Osakan and embrace 食い倒れ (kuidaore) — the local instinct to eat yourself into oblivion.
Top restaurants in the Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Okonomiyaki Sakura
Image credit: Hot Pepper
Nothing says Osaka like okonomiyaki: a hearty dish made of eggs and batter filled with whatever you like that’s a firm favourite for all Japanese food lovers. Half the pleasure of okonomiyaki sits with the chefs themselves — cooking the dish on a hot grill right in front of you, mixing batter and ingredients at speed.
Once cooked, the batter is coated with a generous slather of okonomiyaki sauce and finished off with beautiful ribbons of mayonnaise, the flavours all working in tandem and cutting through one another. If you’re looking for a simple, no-frills okonomiyaki that’s generously priced, then brave the queues for Okonomiyaki Sakura, a tiny restaurant with a fifty-year history that seats about ten and boasts a loyal base of regulars on weekdays.
Price: ~2000 yen
When to go: Any time of day – it’s never a bad time for okonomiyaki!
Atmosphere: Cosy, communal eatery where locals and tourists dine side by side
Aka no Ren (赤のれん)
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Perhaps you’ve just arrived in Japan and you’re craving that first taste of authentic sushi that your home country can’t quite live up to. Perhaps you’ve eaten your fill at a cheaper conveyor-belt sushi place like Sushiro and you think you’ll never stomach the sight of raw fish again. Either way, step into Aka no Ren (‘The Red Curtain’) and find the cure to your ills.
Once inside, you’ll immediately be met by a rare sight: the owner, Murakami-san, operates this sushi bar as a one-woman show. It’s an intimate experience, with a small counter in front of Murakami-san’s workstation serving as the only seating, but with the owner’s signature Osaka charm and smile, you’ll feel right at home in no time. At the counter, the various cuts of fish procured from the nearby Kuromon Market (黒門市場) in the morning are laid out on display, and if it all looks too good to choose, you can leave it up to the owner after specifying how many dishes you’d like to eat. Having the chance to watch a master at work, chatting to her customers as she forms each piece of sushi, offers a great slice of local Japan. And with one piece priced at around 300 yen, you can eat the night away without breaking the bank.
Price: 300 yen per piece
When to go: Early to late evening
Atmosphere: Chatty and low-key, dining face to face with the lovely owner
Kamon (鴨門)
Image credit: Tabelog
This five-seater eatery slings up plates of one thing and one thing only: duck tsukesoba. If you like either of those things, or possibly even both of those things together, then this is the restaurant for you! Tsukesoba, a dish where soba is served separately to the soup, requires both perfectly chewy noodles and a flavourful broth to really shine, and this place has mastered both.
The soup, made from a dashi stock and topped with deep-fried tofu, spring onions, lemon and of course the eponymous duck, almost lifts itself out of the bowl as you raise the noodles from it, and is delicious both hot and cold. If you ask the chef, you can also get some soba soup to top off the meal. Stock is quite limited, and this place gets popular, so it’s best to visit around lunchtime as a pit stop before going further afield in Osaka.
Price: ~1500 yen
When to go: Early afternoon
Atmosphere: Very local, fast-paced lunchtime dining
New YC (ニューＹＣ)
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Despite its name, there’s nothing new about New YC, and that’s a good thing. It’s been at the Shokudougai since the beginning, and gives a taste of traditional kissaten atmosphere and coffee. Its drip coffee is so good it’s got a local reputation as the place to go if you’re a bit of a coffee snob, thanks to its use of coffee beans from its parent company, a specialist coffee importer.
Its food offering is just as impressive: be sure to try a kissaten classic – the omelette sandwich – or the vegetable sandwich, which comes with a side of sliced cabbage that only the manager is trusted to slice.
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Price: <1000 yen
When to go: Perfect first thing in the morning, or in the early evening
Atmosphere: Classical Japanese café
Hokkai (北海)
Not only do the Japanese love to drink, they often like to do it standing up. UK readers may already be familiar with the idea of standing outside a rammed pub without losing comfort or enjoyment, but if you’re new to the standing-and-drinking game, behold: the 立ち飲み (standing bar). Standing bars (立ち飲み, tachinomi) gained popularity in the early Shōwa era as a place where workers heading home could grab a quick, cheap drink without bothering to settle in. They’ve since become an institution in their own right, still offering customers that quick, cheap drink that it all started with.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to start your standing-bar journey, then enter Hokkai, a Shokudougai favourite that serves Nikka whisky from Hokkaido. A great point about this place is that if you ask for whisky on the rocks, they’ll crush the ice from a big cube right in front of you, adding to that old-style authenticity. While the drinks may not showcase local Osakan cuisine, but with warm owners who welcome all with a smile, whisky lover or not, it still brings the Osaka charm and friendliness to the table. Another thing to note: when you finish the peanuts they serve alongside the whisky, it’s customary to throw the skins on the floor to add to the texture and atmosphere of the bar. Sold? Good!
Price: ~1500 yen
When to go: When you’re looking for your next drink
Atmosphere: Laid-back bar where the owner welcomes requests for recommendations
Yakko (奴)
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
This standing bar, literally called ‘guy’, might be the perfect place to end a night at the Shokudougai. If you’ve ever seen the fantastic 深夜食堂 (Midnight Diner, a show where a restaurant owner makes anything his customers request), then you’ll immediately love it here. Customers trade tales about who ate what the other day and how good it was and come in asking for all sorts of things that aren’t on the menu, but the owners are happy to oblige.
If you’re not clued up on old Osakan man discourse, then feel free to sample some of the many daily dishes laid out on the counter, which the chefs keep adding to as the night stretches on. The food is designed to sit perfectly with a cold beer or a cup of sake, and the owner, always happy to see faces both old and new, is the perfect accompaniment to both.
Image credit: Shin-Umeda Shokudougai
Price: 1000 yen
When to go: When you’re finishing up your night but still have some room for food
Atmosphere: Incredibly lively and friendly
Summary
Thanks to the long history of the Shokudougai, each restaurant and bar in the complex has something unique to offer that goes beyond their menus. Be it Showa-era décor, a wonderfully witty proprietor, or an atmosphere that borders on the chaotic without ever descending into true madness, each spot in this winding street offers a glimpse into what Osaka was — and what, in its own way, it will continue to be.
This living slice of history changes with the city that sprawls above it as each day locals and tourists come to eat away the troubles of the day. If you’re planning a trip to Osaka, make sure that you sample what Shin-Umeda Shokudougai has to offer.
