A Paradise of Food and Shopping? Enjoy the Stroll along Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street Part 1

Namasute! I'm Manju from Nepal. I absolutely love eating while walking and finding great bargains!

So I came to Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, a paradise of food and shopping, and walked from one end to the other. In Part 1, I'll introduce Tenjinbashi 1-chome to 3-chome.

Osaka's famous Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street stretches from Tenjinbashi 1-chome, Kita-ku, Osaka City, near the Tenjinbashi bridge over the large river, all the way to 6-chome. This shopping street is the longest in Japan, about 2.6 km in total length—super long! Measured by Osaka Metro station distances, it spans three stations on the Sakaisuji Line: Tenjinbashi-suji 6-chome Station, Ōgimachi Station, and Minami-morimachi Station. Along the entire street, about 600 specialty shops stand side by side without any gaps.

From food shops like sushi, okonomiyaki, tempura, and desserts, to shopping stores for clothes, cosmetics, pharmacies, and souvenir shops—everything you want is here!! So let's go explore Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street right away. You'll walk a lot, so comfortable shoes are a must!

First, start from the trendy shop "Taiwan Breakfast Specialty Shop wanna manna" in Tenjinbashi 1-chome. About a 7-minute walk from Minami-morimachi Station, the closest station to 1-chome, you'll see a cute green shop with a stylish appearance! They say this shop is a breakfast specialty store among the currently popular Taiwanese cuisine.

The shop opens at 8 a.m., but according to online reviews, people line up before opening, so I avoided breakfast time and came at 10 a.m. Luckily, I didn't have to wait.

The menu has many tempting items, like Taiwanese-style soy milk—salty soy milk, and a filling Taiwanese-style rice ball—signature rice ball, etc. The drink in the set changes daily, and it's even free refills—happy! Today's drink is Taiwanese-style soy milk. I chose the Taiwanese crispy sandwich—shaobing, which I thought would go well with soy milk.

Ta-da! Doesn't it look delicious and tempting?

The lightly fried bread with fragrant sesame seeds and a slight crunch, filled with Taiwanese-style pork and egg. The daily snack in the set is peanut butter sandwich. Bread plus bread! It's a bread-only feast! Laughing, let's taste it!

This Taiwanese soy milk is really good! The soy milk has a refreshing and smooth texture, and apparently it's homemade. I chose the unsweetened version, and you can taste the natural sweetness of soybeans—very healthy!

Starting the day with such a hearty breakfast, you can work well from the morning. It feels like it could also be lunch or dinner. They say takeout is also popular.

From here, the street has an arched roof. You won't get wet on rainy days, and it's shady in summer, making it easy to walk. Before lunchtime, shops haven't opened yet, and I saw local people strolling leisurely.

Passing 1-chome, turn right and walk a short distance to Osaka Tenmangū Shrine. This shrine enshrines the god of learning, Sugawara no Michizane, and is affectionately called "Tenman Tenjin." The area has a very quiet atmosphere that brings peace of mind.

I popped in to pray. Hoping the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon...

Passing through the shrine, you'll find the Rakugo performance hall "Tenma Tenjin Hanjōtei." I'd love to watch a Rakugo performance someday.

Turn right here to reach "Hoshiai Pond," used for divining whether wishes will come true. You buy a wishing ball and throw it at the trays in the pond. It's said that if the ball lands on a colored tray, the corresponding wish will come true. Greedily, I aimed for the gold tray in the center that grants all wishes, but missed... I thought standing close would make it easy, but it was surprisingly hard. I even stood on tiptoes and threw with all my might...

Returning to the arched shopping street, I found a shop with a nice atmosphere decorated with lanterns. The shop name is "Tenma Tenjin MAIDOya." Looks interesting.

I went inside and saw beautiful cut glass that dazzled the eyes. This craft is apparently called Tenma Kiriko. It's like sparkling gems—so beautiful! Though made of glass, it has a Japanese feel and gives a subtle warmth.

This seems to be a souvenir shop gathering Osaka specialties. The store displays many local, delicious-looking Osaka foods and crafts—perfect souvenirs for a trip to Osaka.

They also say they will release raw fermented sake made with sacred water from Osaka Tenmangū. Drinking it seems both healthy and blessed by the gods!

I also found these. Part of the proceeds from these products is donated to the COVID-19 fund.

There are both popular items familiar to Osaka locals and new products even Osaka people don't know—a great variety.

In Tenjinbashi-suji 2-chome, you absolutely cannot miss the croquettes at "Nakamurasu." There's always a long line, but I couldn't resist queuing up to buy one croquette and enjoy eating while walking. The croquettes are fried sweet and crispy—so delicious.

Passing Osaka Metro Minami-morimachi Station, head to the shopping street in 2-chome. At the entrance of this arched shopping street, there's a model of the "Welcome Doll" decoration from the summer traditional event Tenjin Festival's boat procession! I immediately took a commemorative photo for the shopping street. Such photo spots are fun too.

Arriving at 3-chome, I found a shop with a calm atmosphere. At this 240-year-old "Kunisige Cutlery Store," various beautiful knives like kitchen knives and scissors of all shapes are displayed.

This shop apparently made samurai swords in the Edo period, so their knives are truly beautiful. The sharpness of Japanese knives is amazing. It even gives you the illusion that your cooking skills have improved!

Look! On the arched roof of 3-chome, there are torii gates representing the approach to Osaka Tenmangū Shrine.

This is called the Flying Torii. Maybe you'll receive blessings from the gods by walking under it?

I strolled aimlessly and saw many interesting shops, like kitchenware stores and antique shops.

Also, this area is famous for many secondhand bookstores. Each bookstore has its own unique type and selection of books, so hopping from one to another is also a pleasure.

I visited many shops and then returned to the turning point. I'll continue walking and exploring more interesting shops and food places.

In Part 2, I'll introduce Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street 4-chome to 6-chome! Stay tuned?

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Travelogue Table of Contents

1. ● The longest in Japan!? What is Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street?

2. ● Start from Tenjinbashi-suji 1-chome!

3. ● From Osaka Tenmangū to Tenjinbashi 2-chome

4. ● Tool shops, secondhand bookstores, and daily goods in 3-chome

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