Osaka
Dotonbori neon, a standing bar in Shinsekai, and kushikatsu with the no-double-dip rule.
Osaka, Japan
3 nights
Mar – May, Sep – Nov
from ¥54,000
The route
Osaka is the least self-conscious night city in Japan. Dotonbori is loud and lit like a pinball machine and completely unbothered about it, which is exactly why it works.
We eat standing up more than sitting down. The kushikatsu rule — one dip in the communal sauce, never two — is enforced by the entire room, and watching a first-timer learn it is part of the evening.
18:00
Dotonbori canal
The neon everyone photographs, from the bridge that is not the crowded one.
19:00
Kushikatsu
Fried skewers, communal sauce, one dip only. The rule is real.
20:30
Shinsekai standing bars
No seats, cheap highballs, conversations with strangers.
22:00
Late ramen
The bowl that ends the night, at a counter that opens when the offices close.
