Osaka · Namba and Dotonbori
Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street
Shinsaibashi-suji is a covered arcade of about 580 meters running north to south, from Nagahori Avenue to Suomachi Avenue, from where you continue across Ebisubashi Bridge to Dotonbori. Along it are about 180 shops, and according to the Osaka tourism bureau about 60 thousand people pass through it on a weekday and about 120 thousand on a weekend.
The street was already a commercial center in the Edo period, with shops for books, antiques and musical instruments, and in the Meiji period shops for watches and Western goods were added. The name comes from a bridge that Okada Shinsai built in 1622 over the Nagahori canal. Today it has a department store, long-established shops, fashion and restaurants, and the Daimaru department store stands at the north end of the arcade.
Good to know
- Tax-free shopping applies to purchases of ¥5,000 and up before tax, in the same shop on the same day, with the passport itself. From 1 November 2026 you pay full price and the tax is refunded after a check at the airport. The full explanation is on the shopping page.
- The arcade is covered along its whole length, and suits a rainy day. From the south end you continue straight to Dotonbori, and from the west side it is five minutes to Amerikamura.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street.
- HereShinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street
- 1 min
LiLo Coffee Kissa Cafe
A cafe of the LiLo roastery on the second floor of a building on the arcade itself. No smoking.
- 1 min
DAISO Shinsaibashisuji 2-chome Shopping
A large branch of the Daiso chain, on the third floor of a building on the arcade.
- ~3 min
Daimaru Shinsaibashi Shopping
The department store, whose beginnings go back to 1726, celebrates three hundred years in 2026. The building by the architect William Merrell Vories was rebuilt and reopened in 2019, and the original facade was kept. On the 9th floor are Pokemon Center Osaka DX and Pokemon Cafe.
- ~4 min
KINJI Osaka (Shinsaibashi OPA) Clothes and crafts
A secondhand clothing shop on the 5th floor of the Shinsaibashi OPA mall.
- ~5 min
Shinsaibashi Bridge remains More to see
The street's name comes from a bridge that Okada Shinsai built in 1622 over the Nagahori canal. The canal was filled in, and today parts of the 1909 stone bridge remain, a railing and gas lamps, in a square at the north end of the arcade. Free.
- ~5 min
Kougaryu Amerikamura Honten Food
A takoyaki stand from 1974 facing Triangle Park, with a net of mayonnaise over the balls. You eat in the square across from the stand. The takoyaki contain octopus.
- ~7 min
Hozenji Meoto Zenzai Cafe
A sweets shop from 1883 near the Fudo statue of Hozen-ji. The dish is a sweet red bean soup, served in two small bowls for one portion. In summer there is also shaved ice.
More in Namba and Dotonbori
Appears in: Osaka, day two: Nakanoshima, Shinsaibashi, Umeda Sky at sunset and a rooftop bar