The moment we alighted at Namba Station it was easy to get to Namba Walk as signage directed us to Exit 22.
Namba Walk is a popular underground shopping in the center of Minami and is divided into 3 different zones. There are countless of shops selling a variety of things from fashion (e.g. clothes, accessories, hats, scarves etc...), food and other daily goods. The Namba Walk also connects to other stations and even the Kansai International Airport. [Namba Walk Accessibility]
With the variety of shops it makes for good window shopping. However, with almost everything in Japan "Made in China", prices were really not that cheap and locally produced products cost even more. Unless you really like the item or the currency is in your favor, going all the way to Japan and buying something "Made in China" just doesn't seem to add any value to the travel experience. I mean I could go to Bangkok and get similarly designed clothes for lesser vs something from Japan with a "Made in China" label. 😑
This trip to Japan emphasized that rather than shopping, it was more about having a 'local' experience by trying the food, taking the public transportation (e.g. bullet trains, trains and buses), and visiting places with scenic and historical significance. Nevertheless, it is still interesting to walk though the malls and shops to window shop, and perhaps discover some local product that is a must-buy.
Namba Walk (Osaka)
A cute welcome sign!
A shop selling sweets
Udon for 580¥
Massage services ranging from 1,200¥ to 3,300¥
We walked around for a bit before we stumbled across a store selling Takoyakiand our stomachs rumbled, so we ordered. 😝😋 Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack that is made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. There a range of ingredients which can be added, some examples are:
minced or diced octopus (tako)
tempura scraps (tenkasu)
pickled ginger
green onion
Once cooked, the balls of delight are dosed with with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, and then sprinkled with green laver and topped with shavings of dried bonito.
Can't remember how much it was, but it was reasonable. I think we had
the spring onion version and one with an egg mayo salad topping.
With our craving satisfied, we exited Namba Walk and made our way to towards Dōtonbori, Ebisu Bashi-Suji Shopping Street and from there meandered our way to Dōtonbori, Shin Sai Bashi Shopping Arcade.
When travel collides with a byte, a unit of information made up of bits, TravelBytez is formed: snippets of ramblings on travel, food, shopping, living and anything else that comes to mind.
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