japan :: osaka :: general

[bentobox]

Timing is a bit tough but I can look around for you.

db

[gold.]

word.

thanks for the help. also, i didnt mention ill be in kyoto and kobe as well for that trip so if that widens things up then by all means, let me know about those areas too.

[bentobox]

2 Superufuturians have made their way through Osaka in the last two weeks. Lots of Jinen sushi and debauchery abound.

[gold.]

3 more days til i head that way. ; )

[thomas_highstreet]

so, ill take a quick dip in osaka this winter...

anyone have any idea how i can find a pc-kissa in/around namba station? i wont have a phone and need to make quick comms. as soon as i arrive from tokyo. failing that a nice cafe with wifi should be fine!

T

[bentobox]

When you roll out of Namba station (heading North) you can walk up Midosuji toward Shinsaibashi station. I:m pretty sure there are Internet Kissaten around there. I will check and re-post shortly.

db

[thomas_highstreet]

awesome thanks!

im thinking i might just get a roaming sim card for my phone though... sounds alot less stressful than tryna track down manga-kissa's when i need to get in contact with anyone..

just reccomend me a nice place to use as a meeting point in/around namba station if you could? - it sounds like a plan walking up midosuji to shinsaibashi, im down with that if there's a nice cafe (thats open early - ill get to namba about 8am?)

thanks!!

[derek_]

hey guys, i'm travelling to osaka on the way to tokyo for a couple of days and was wondering if anybody could recommend me some places to eat. budget is less than 12,000 yen pp for each meal.

i've already got some info such as an okonomiyaki place called "kiji", anybody tried it?

*edit*

staying at Cross Hotel Osaka

[thomas_highstreet]

is nishinari too skanky to stay? seams to be the cheapest fairly well located place on offer (talking namba, shinsaibashi yo)

[bentobox]

awesome thanks!

im thinking i might just get a roaming sim card for my phone though... sounds alot less stressful than tryna track down manga-kissa's when i need to get in contact with anyone..

just reccomend me a nice place to use as a meeting point in/around namba station if you could? - it sounds like a plan walking up midosuji to shinsaibashi, im down with that if there's a nice cafe (thats open early - ill get to namba about 8am?)

thanks!!

Yeah, probably the best bet of places to meet is in front of a landmark by Namba station. Obvious contenders include Marui department store, Starbucks and Tower/Muji building. All are easily seen from the front entrance of Namba station.

[bentobox]

hey guys, i'm travelling to osaka on the way to tokyo for a couple of days and was wondering if anybody could recommend me some places to eat. budget is less than 12,000 yen pp for each meal.

i've already got some info such as an okonomiyaki place called "kiji", anybody tried it?

*edit*

staying at Cross Hotel Osaka

Never been to Kiji but for Okonimiyaki, it's pretty hard to beat Haru no Hana near UtsuboKoen. Also in that area, Earth Cafe is my jam.

Great teppanyaki atop the New Oriental Hotel. My boss has been taking our dinner meetings there of late. Ridiculously good and a great panoramic view of the city. It may be more than 12,000 a person although I suspect it's right in that range.

Jinen sushi in Shinsaibashi won't break the bank and is probably the best sushi in town outside of the uber expensive stuff in Kita-Shinshi.

Two great restaurants in Umeda area are Restaurant de Olivier (French, about 5-8000 a person) and Caliente (Spanish, 2-4000 per person).

Hope this helps out.

Best,

db

[bentobox]

is nishinari too skanky to stay? seams to be the cheapest fairly well located place on offer (talking namba, shinsaibashi yo)

I have some friends who live on the outskirts of Nishinari and while not posh, it is totally fine. That being said, I have taken a super scary walk down the sketchy part at night and I definitely would not want to be lodging there. Best to find something in Namba I think for slightly more.

db

[thomas_highstreet]

thanks for the straight info bento.

well to be honest, i don't mind dodgy neighbourhoods too much but a friend seemed a bit shocked when i said i will be staying there.. lol..

whats the base rate of cheap/budget hotels in namba?

i can get a room in nishinari for c. 2000-2500 (some are shared bathroom, more like university halls, but whatever, its a short stay and i don't have big important things to do).

thanks!

[herpsky]

what part of nishinari?

the Airin district in nishinari is the osaka equivalent of the Sanya area in tokyo. homeless and super sketchy shit everywhere. also, it smells like piss and shit everywhere.

i've never been but i heard it's like johannesburg.

[thomas_highstreet]

i dunno..

hotel chuo, hotel chuo new annex, hotel raikan? toyo, taiyo or something. they are filthy dirt cheap places. i dont know exactly what part of osaka they are in.. anyone care to give me the DL?

http://www.chuogroup.jp/en/ thats the father co.

[the bandanna almanac]

Maybe Tokyo Inn Juso. Might be good, free breakfast...http://www.toyoko-inn.com/e_hotel/00154/index.html

[the bandanna almanac]

hey guys, i'm travelling to osaka on the way to tokyo for a couple of days and was wondering if anybody could recommend me some places to eat. budget is less than 12,000 yen pp for each meal.

i've already got some info such as an okonomiyaki place called "kiji", anybody tried it?

*edit*

staying at Cross Hotel Osaka

Kiji is probably the best/most famous Okonomiyaki place in Osaka, its in the basement of the Umeda Sky Building. I know the place well, highly recommended if you are staying near or are stopping by Umeda.

Beer Belly in Higobashi in a good place for some nice Kansai Ale. Prices are a bit high but worth it if you like beer, and good eats.

Most of the good places to eat are to be found in Kitahama, Umeda, and Kitashichi.

[dismalfuture]

Little Johannesburg in Tokyo or Osaka is fucking intriguing as fuck. A must do for me.

[dismalfuture]

Actually come to think of it, I bet it resembles Korea. LOL

[bonjin]

I lived kinda close to Dobutsuen-mae eki (Nishinari-ku) for like a week, and it was definitely sketchy at night. Arrived late at night when I got there, the whole area smelled like piss, herpsky weren't kidding. Took a night stroll to look for food but everything was closed or boarded up, homeless drunks everywhere and people running around in fucking ski masks. Police sirens just outside my window non-stop at night. I came straight outta sancha so I wasn't really prepared for that shit.

[dismalfuture]

that sounds pretty much like Korea. lol.

[bonjin]

hahaha, but with koreans. maybe that's better? i dunno. never been to korea but i loved the koreans i was hanging out with in tokyo. they slept like 2 hours a night, worked like fucking machines when in school and spent the rest of the night drinking and smoking cigs. never seen people drink so much and so often. my kinda people.

[bentobox]

I lived kinda close to Dobutsuen-mae eki (Nishinari-ku) for like a week, and it was definitely sketchy at night. Arrived late at night when I got there, the whole area smelled like piss, herpsky weren't kidding. Took a night stroll to look for food but everything was closed or boarded up, homeless drunks everywhere and people running around in fucking ski masks. Police sirens just outside my window non-stop at night. I came straight outta sancha so I wasn't really prepared for that shit.

Quoted for truth. Probably the only truly sketchy part of Japan I can think of (maybe there is some shade in Yokohama as well).

Re: Staying in Juso, I suggest you don't. You will inevitably want to go out in Minami and in the event that you don't want to party till first train, it's a moderately spendy cab over the bridge to get back there.

db

[the bandanna almanac]

Re: Staying in Juso, I suggest you don't. You will inevitably want to go out in Minami and in the event that you don't want to party till first train, it's a moderately spendy cab over the bridge to get back there.

db

After reading that I don't know what I was thinking, haha. Yeah Bento is totally right Minami is a better area to stay in definitely you can find some cheap business hotel to stay at or something.

[derek_]

Kiji is probably the best/most famous Okonomiyaki place in Osaka' date=' its in the basement of the Umeda Sky Building. I know the place well, highly recommended if you are staying near or are stopping by Umeda.

Beer Belly in Higobashi in a good place for some nice Kansai Ale. Prices are a bit high but worth it if you like beer, and good eats.

Most of the good places to eat are to be found in Kitahama, Umeda, and Kitashichi.[/quote']

Didn't have a chance to read your comment before I left for Japan. I'm in Osaka at the moment and went to Kiji at the basement of the Umeda Sky Bldg. for dinner last night, it was just my gf and I inside the shop at 6pm so the manager prepared something "special" for us as we hadn't had okonomiyaki before in Osaka. It was a mind-blasting combination of egg, bean sprouts, chicken, mushrooms. Also ordered a yakisoba, which was equally as tasty. Left around 7:30 pm and it was packed by that time.

Will be walking around Shinsaibashi and Dontonbori today.

[the bandanna almanac]

Didn't have a chance to read your comment before I left for Japan. I'm in Osaka at the moment and went to Kiji at the basement of the Umeda Sky Bldg. for dinner last night, it was just my gf and I inside the shop at 6pm so the manager prepared something "special" for us as we hadn't had okonomiyaki before in Osaka. It was a mind-blasting combination of egg, bean sprouts, chicken, mushrooms. Also ordered a yakisoba, which was equally as tasty. Left around 7:30 pm and it was packed by that time.

Will be walking around Shinsaibashi and Dontonbori today.

Good to hear you enjoyed it, my wife and the owner of kiji are kinda close she used to work there when she was in high school. (there is a really embarrassing picture of her by the register that I always point out to people I take there) The owners son also has an okonomiyaki place near hankyu and JR stations in umeda.

[derek_]

Went to Jinen Sushi for lunch, had the whole place to ourselves again, where is everybody? :| For dinner, went to Kamakura because I couldn't wait to eat it in Shibuya.

[bentobox]

Big hip hop party tonight at Onzieme.

10th Anniversary of Soul Free.

Hit me up on PM if you want to come and I'll sort you out with guest list.

db

[thomas_highstreet]

couldnt be arsed with nishinari so booked a hotel in shinsaibashi instead.

anyone up for drinks tonight (sun) or tomorrow (mon)?

failing that, what are my best bet for ventures into osaka clubland (hopefully shinsaibashi locale) - im not to fond of supa-gaijin vibes, but i suppose i am one and beggers cant be choosers.

T

[the bandanna almanac]

couldnt be arsed with nishinari so booked a hotel in shinsaibashi instead.

anyone up for drinks tonight (sun) or tomorrow (mon)?

failing that, what are my best bet for ventures into osaka clubland (hopefully shinsaibashi locale) - im not to fond of supa-gaijin vibes, but i suppose i am one and beggers cant be choosers.

T

Next weekend I am up for whatever.