Dontonburi

If I had to sum up the pinnacle of Osaka tourism it would be neon lights. Sure, the food is probably more famous and rightly so. I had some my best meals there! Okonomiyaki is a heavenly dish that was originally from Osaka. A scrumptious savory pancake with fish inside topped with sweet sauces, mayo, and dancing fish flakes. Honestly if I could eat this for every other meal I would die happy.

Another well known thing about Osaka is the laid back attitude and unique dialect of its residents. There are a lot of rules in Japan, like no talking on the subway, no public displays of affection, and no drinking on the streets. And then in Osaka, I happily saw plenty of people breaking these rules. In a country famous for its rigidity, Osaka is the bending point.

And if you want to see where it bends the most check out Dontonburi! This touristy area is a delightfully sinful place akin to Las Vegas. It’s home to countless restaurants, shopping arcades, and bars/clubs. The main attraction is a strip of water that carves its way through the center and the following streets are exploding with commerce and fantastic signs.

It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, you’re going to find a massive massive crowd of people bustling their way through the streets. And as soon as the sun goes down, there will be even more who will be drunk! There’s such a high density of clubs and bars along the strip that you can easily go to a different club every hour by foot and still not hit them all up!

I will say you should be careful where you open your wallet in this area. There are a lot of cheap knock off products being sold. And I went to one restaurant where they tried to charge me a table fee of $5 which I noticed no locals were having to pay. Just be smart, read the fine print, and ask questions before hand if your not sure. The local law enforcement may not be on your side.

There’s a pass you can get that gives you access to things like a Ferris wheel, boat rides, and a museum. If you spend the entire day doing all the things on the list then it’s worth the money. But it’s actually more expensive if you only go to a few of the things. And some of them (I’m looking at you virtual raft adventure ride) are a waste of time. The boat ride tour was pretty cool though.

It was here by the water that I found myself really enraptured with the way the light was bending on the waves. Everything about this environment was always changing. The colors and the brightness of the light coupled with the shape and duration of the waves were always evolving into something new to capture. For a few hours I felt like I was expressing a certain kind of love for the world with these images.