Bar-hopping with an English-speaking guide
Bar-hopping with an English-speaking guide
Hello! I'm Jill from Sweden.
I finally made it to Osaka, the city I've been dreaming of, and I'm having a great time exploring♪ I've been visiting various attractions in Osaka and every day is fulfilling!
Today I came to the lively Namba station on the Osaka Metro!
Of course famous tourist spots are fun, but since I'm here, I wanted to experience Osaka more deeply.
At Namba station, I noticed some interesting patterns on the pillars and walls. Upon closer look, they seemed to be multilingual local guide services! I curiously walked through the underground shopping street Namba WALK and eventually found this: Osaka JOINER.
All guides speak English, and there are also guides who speak Spanish, Chinese, etc., so foreign tourists can confidently choose the language service they want. Very thoughtful!
What's even better about this tour is:
・Small groups are welcome, no reservation needed, you can join anytime
・The time and content can be customized, like being shown around by a friend
・You can also visit hidden local establishments that would be hard for foreign tourists to find on their own
Regular tours have fixed meeting points, times, and content, but a tour like this is attractive because you can join whenever you have free time!
My Japanese is limited to greetings, so being able to communicate in English without a translator is great! This time, I invited my French friend Gabriel, whom I met in Japan, to join the bar-hopping tour I've always wanted to try!
Bar-hopping is called 'hashigo-zake' in Japanese. It means not staying too long at one place, but going from bar to bar drinking. In an area like Namba with so many great bars, it's hard to choose just one, and being able to visit several in one night feels like a great deal♪ Especially for tourists like us who want to make the most of limited time, it's a rare opportunity.
This time, our guide was a Japanese student named KOTA. Before setting off, he asked us in detail what we like, dislike, want to eat, etc.! Vegetarians, gluten-free eaters, or people with allergies can feel safe joining♡
After KOTA helped us roughly plan the itinerary, we set off~!!
Osaka JOINER collaborates with over 200 shops around Namba, and the guide takes us to the shops we want to go to, fulfilling our wishes. So exciting!!
Our first stop was about a 5-minute walk from Namba WALK. We entered the Ura-Namba area, full of small shops. There, we found 'Masuda Shoten,' which caught our eye with its Japanese noren curtain!
At the back of the tavern was a counter, and they led us to a refrigerator saying 'Pick your favorite drink~' with a spectacular lineup of sake from all over Japan! I had no idea which to choose! I relied on Gabriel, who used to be a bartender, but even he wasn't sure which to drink.
The sake labels were beautiful, and although I wanted to try them all, we told KOTA our preferences and asked the staff to choose. 'This is Japanese sake!? Sweet and fruity, delicious!' Gabriel and I enjoyed it thoroughly!
With sake in hand, we immediately hit it off with the office worker uncles sitting next to us~♪ In every sense, the depth of Japanese sake is profound. So tasty!
Next, we went to a beer stall called 'schwa2 (ShuwaShuwa).'
It was open to the street, so it was easy to see how busy it was, and even first-timers could pop in comfortably. The interior was stylish with colorful illustrations on T-shirts and posters! The first place had an izakaya vibe, so it was nice to choose a completely different, casual beer stall for the second spot♪
This shop boasts a wide variety of craft beers and hard ciders. I love beer, and there were so many choices, it was hard to decide! Gabriel picked a can from the back fridge with an illustration he liked. The counter was close to the owner, who gave detailed explanations.
The beer poured from the keg sparkled golden☆☆ The beer glass was big, so satisfying! (You can choose the glass size.)
Then the owner brought out recommended small dishes: spicy smoked nuts, thinly sliced raw meat, and mackerel bruschetta. The dishes were as refined as restaurant food, all pairing perfectly with the beer!
Although it was a standing bar, there were tables too, so you could sit and enjoy slowly★
Before I knew it, we had made many friends and shared the food♪
Finally, the third stop! We went to a place called 'MIZOGU,' on the second floor of a retro mixed-use building.
Wooooo! You'd never find this place without the tour.
There seemed to be many regulars, some alone, some in groups, and everyone looked happy.
I ordered a Calpis shochu cocktail there, and cheered with the people we met at the second shop!!
The owner originally ran a Thai restaurant, so the menu mainly features Asian ethnic dishes like Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. The dishes are simple, but everyone ordered 'this water spinach is amazing!'
The plates were also cute in an Asian style, and the perfect seasoning made us eat and drink without stopping! I wanted to try more dishes, but my stomach was already full (laugh). Too bad today, but it gives me another reason to come back to Japan!
The owner and customers were all friendly, starting with 'Where are you from?' and before we knew it, language barriers were broken, and we became close like friends♪
It was such a pleasant time that I forgot the clock. I told Gabriel that this lively experience would definitely become a memory of our trip!
Today we visited three shops from 6 PM and finished at 10 PM. I'm very grateful to our guide KOTA, who always cared about whether we were having fun.
In about four hours, he took us to completely different types of local taverns, ensuring we enjoyed ourselves. He was very friendly and never pushy, giving us a truly valuable experience. It was the best night in Osaka! Happy!
Osaka JOINER offers various tours, not only bar-hopping but also shopping and eating tours for a few hours, karaoke, full-day trips to Kyoto and Nara, etc. If you don't know what to do in Osaka, give it a try.
Travel Diary Index
1. No reservation needed! Customizable 'Osaka JOINER' tours are popular
2. Behind the noren: 'Masuda Shoten' with charm of downtown culture
3. Drink selected craft beer at the open-air beer stall 'schwa2'
4. Mysterious and exciting 'MIZOGU'
5. Encounter authentic Osaka travel info not in guidebooks
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