WHERE TO SHOP IN OSAKA?

1. Dotonbori / Namba (The place with the famous Gulica Running Man)

This should be the liveliest place in Osaka when it comes to food & shopping. Never-ending displays of neon light boards, fanciful 3D attention catching advertising and a lot a lot of people.

Pachinko Challenge

Ever since I learnt about the game Pachinko (via online), I’ve been wanting to enter a Pachinko shop in Japan to try it out. Being a fan of arcades/jackpots and cheap thrills, I thought it might be an interesting challenge. There were so many pachinko shops along Namba, some looking dodgy while others look very inviting (like the one below) but.. I was too afraid to enter the shop alone. Never mind. Friend was with me the following day. We entered the Pachinko shop and left within 30 seconds. We felt weird (mainly uncles and mid to older generation at the machines), it smelt bad (full of smoke) and we were clueless. No signs of english, no pictorial instructions, nothing at all.

Mission failed, but I would love to try again perhaps with more daring/garang friends or a Japanese who knows something more..

Visiting Dotonburi/Namba is not complete if you can’t find the famouos and iconic Glico running man billboard. It looks so old school despite the ever-changing background. As you can see, mine was the Easter Island Statue.

My next shopping recommendation would be..

TOKYU HANDS!

It is located at Umeda, occupying 3 floors (10-12F) of Daimaru building. AND THE BIGGEST TIP I HAVE FOR YOU IS TO BRING YOUR PASSPORT WHEN YOU SHOP. There was a special foreigner discount ON TOP of tax refund but.. all of us left our passports in our accommodation. right

By the way, there’s a Rikuro Cheesecake at the bottom of Daimaru building. IT IS SUPER DELICIOUS. I brought it back to Singapore and despite eating it only 3 days later, the cheesecake was still fluffy, light, soft and tasty! MUST BUY.

Although Tokyu Hands is like the best shop ever as it sells practically almost everything.. it is super hard to resist stupid purchases because everything looks great.

Cmon.. Look at this. Spirited Away Bath House!! How cool can cool get?

Sakura theme kitchenware. oh gawd.

Fairy tale themed teapot and cup for afternoon tea. The head is the cup and the dress is the pot. SO PRETTY. photo

Rice cooker with serving size of 1-2 people. Feels very useful for me..

And the best part.. they have A HUGE COLLECTION OF NANOBLOCKS!

The Rilakkuma section was a little disappointing for me.. except for this mega 100cm rilakkuma which doesn’t have a price tag.

Extensive collection of Sanrio’s Purin.

Little Twin Star collection was even more disappointing than the Rilakkuma section.

Totoro was cute too. They had the full collection!

Latte art deco tools:

They even have Little twin star polaroid camera mini8 series. What a pity.. I already have the better 25 series.. Can only look and feel miserable.

No Japan trip is complete without a visit to the convenience shop/supermarket/DAISO. Love the dry noodles series!

The mandatory shopping loot photo before you pack your bag for good on the last night.

enjoy 🙂

Want to explore Osaka and shop your bank account away?
Flight to Osaka starts at SGD 114.41 >>hellowings.com/h/NydYS

Can't get enough of FlyHoneyStar's journey to Osaka? Follow her to Hokkaido, the Northern end of Japan.

*All text, pictures, and links are from FlyHoneyStars.com