Backstreet Osaka Tour
The Backstreet Osaka Tour offers the most unique and mysterious tour of Osaka with a food adventure including yakitori, takoyaki and Japanese oden but also eating tarantulas, snakes and mealworms above all the tour makes stops at Japan's most dangerous district: Nishinari and Tobita Shinchi, the mysterious red light district run by the Yakuza.
- Why: Most authentic tour of the backstreets of Osaka.
- When: Daily @ 5:30pm
- Where: Daikokucho Station, Exit 1 (map)
- Accommodation: Airbnb ($46 OFF), stay in Umeda or Shinsaibashi district.
- Japan Unlimited Rail Pass: JR Pass
- Book Now: Backstreet Osaka Tour starting at only $52 USD
The Backstreet Osaka Tour kicks off at the Imamiya Ebisu Shrine where you'll learn why 1 million Japanese come here on January 9th, 10th and 11th to bring gifts with costs ranging from 10 bucks to thousands of US dollars. Eventually the tour moves through Shinsekai and Nishinari where you get a healthy dose of reality of living in the Osaka ghettos. The good, the bad and everything else in between!
Places
1. Imamiya Ebisu Shrine
Kick-off the Backstreet Osaka Tour at this famous shrine close to Ebisucho station.
2. Shinsekai
First district on the bucketlist is Shinsekai, literally meaning NEW WORLD, with the craziest looking restaurants in Japan.
3. Ero Gachapon
Shinsekai is a bizarre place complete with naughty adult gachapon machines which sells weird surprise balls.
4. Zarigani Retro Arcade
Retro video games arcade with games ranging from Pacman to Street Fighter II to Super Mario Bros. A massive 3-story arcade!
5. Shinsekai Market
If you are fortunate, the special market street will be open offering the most bizarre foods you will ever see or eat. Open every Sunday 11:00 to 17:00.
6. Super-cheap Vending Machines
These machines are the cheapest in Japan, sake for 200 yen and regular drinks starting at 50 yen but there is a catch, the expiry dates.
7. Zauo Self-fishing Restaurant
A restaurant where you can catch your own fish and have the chef grill it up or cut it into sashimi. A super fun experience!
8. Yokozuna Tsutenkaku Shop
The most gigantic meals you have ever seen for the lowest prices ever, SUMO-SIZE!!
9. Takoyaki
During the tour you can expect a pit stop at the best takoyaki in Osaka, doughy, delicious and a piece of octopus inside.
10. Osaka Traditional Boardgames
The Japanese love to play shogi and GO, extremely popular board games in Japan.
11. Billiken
The official mascote of Shinsekai but actually stolen from St. Louis University, learn more on this tour!
12. Nishinari
The most dangerous district in Japan run by the infamous Yakuza (Japanese maffia) but quite casual by western standards.
13. Oden Street Food
Japanese oden are delicious snacks boiled in a delicious broth which may be over 3 years old, a great street food.
14. Kamagasaki
The ghettos of Osaka, a place no tourists will ever see or know, this tour takes you beyond the norm.
15. Tatami Mat Factory
A traditional tatami mat factory in the heart of Nishinari, see how tatami mat's are made.
16. Matsunoki Daimyojin
A cute hidden shrine in the dark backstreets of Osaka. A place of true zen, maintained by the locals.
17. Yakitori
Feast on another typical Japanese street food; grilled chicken but in this case, every piece of chicken. Are you open-minded enough?
18. Tobita Shinchi
The mysterious red light district of Osaka run by the Yakuza where any man could lose their soul. Join the Backstreet Osaka Tour to learn about this entire district and history.
19. Hachifukujin Izakaya
The Backstreet Osaka Tour ends at one of traditional Izakaya's for mouth-watering dishes including omu-soba, yakitori, donburi and a refreshing ice cold Japanese beer.
20. Osaka Pub Crawl
Top off you Backstreet Osaka Tour by continueing the night at the Osaka Pub Crawl at the best bars and nightclubs in Osaka.
The Backstreet Osaka Tour ends at one of the most fun Izakayas' in Osaka: Hachifukujin where you will feast on ome-rice, yakisoba and gyoza alongside a few cold brewskis.
Eating a tarantula must have been my most memorable experience on this tour, never have I ever been this afraid to eat something, not even my Korean Octopus Adventure comes close. It tasted like burned shrimp but even more tasteless, the best thing this street vendor had to offer were grilled snake and mealworms but make sure to chase it with a cold tasty beer.
Besides eating tarantulas, we could choose lots of other bizarre items ranging from frogs, cockroaches and scorpions to entire geckos. Shinsekai is a must-see district in Osaka, if not for its for food, definitely for its unique atmosphere and beautiful store decorations.
The most mysterious place on this tour is Osaka's red light district known as Tobita Shinchi where you can witness beautiful Japanese girls trying to lure Japanese businessmen into their little shop. The district consists out of 3 major streets, first street houses girls in their 20's, second street women in their 30's and third street 40's and up. Another interesting area the tour visits is Kamagasaki where the homeless population of Osaka resides. It is quite eye-opening to see the state of housing in these ghettos, a site foreign tourists will never see making this a very unique experience. This entire district goes by the name: Nishinari, primarily run by the Yakuza, Japan's maffia organization. Book the Backstreet Osaka Tour today for an unforgettable adventure!
To get to Osaka from Tokyo, I highly recommend you purchase the Unlimited Japan Rail Pass which let's you travel Japan for either 7, 14 or 21 days on the Shinkansen bullet trains which run at 320 km/hr.
While you are in Osaka make sure to also checkout the famous Dotonbori district and all its other attractions, for that watch my complete 30 Secrets & Things To Do in Osaka video.
If you still have enery after the incredible Backstreet Osaka Tour, continue your nightlife adventure at the Osaka Pub Crawl on Friday and Saturday. You will visit the best bars & nightclubs in Shinsaibashi which covers 3 bars and 1 epic nightclub twice per week. Including places such as DOMUS, LIFE and Sam & Dave. The Osaka Pub Crawl is a great way to quickly make new friends in Osaka and learn everything about the latest hot spots in the city. The Osaka Pub Crawl is ONLY $18 USD with a 20% discount for 4 hours of fun, you cannot go wrong!
If you make new friends in Osaka, you will eventually be asked to be added to LINE. LINE is 'the' chat app in Japan, so if you do not have DATA on your phone during your stay, make sure to rent a dirt cheap pocket Wifi station at the airport. You can take these pocket Wifi stations all over Japan and allow you to connect many of your devices like your laptop, tablet and phone. It even fits in your back pocket. Luckily, I have a 50% discount on Wiho pocket Wifi stations on Voyagin. I personally rent this device everytime I visit Japan.
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