Ultimate Osaka/Kobe/Nara Japan Travel Guide: Restaurants, Bars, Tips, Fun, and More

This is Osaka, Japan’s vibrant kitchen, where history and flavor collide! Where Tokyo feels completely overwhelming, Osaka feels a bit more like NYC, with its mostly grid system, and easy to navigate streets and subways. Once a vital hub of trade during the Edo period, Osaka earned the nickname “Tenka no Daidokoro” – the nation’s kitchen, because of its central role in rice distribution and bustling food markets. Today, that legacy lives on in its lively food streets like Dotonbori, where glowing neon signs and giant mechanical crabs set the stage for some of the city’s most iconic dishes. Locals are said to spend so much on eating out that there’s even a phrase for it – kuidaore – which means “to eat until you drop!” and that’s why you need this guide! Along with Osaka, Kobe, and Nara make perfect day trips, so those recommendations are included as well.

Linked is is every single restaurant I’ve been to broken up by Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Drinks, 19 in all! Plus tips, tricks, hotels, and everything I did on my 3 trips to Osaka, Kobe, and Nara! Also included is a google map with every spot listed! And below is everything I ate on my most recent trip to Osaka and Kobe

Back Street Coffee- If you are looking for the biggest egg salad sando in the world, this cafe is your spot! Of course you can get smaller, but I was here for their max size sando which has 7cm of shokupan topped with egg salad made from a dozen eggs! Of course this can be a little silly, but that doesn't stop them from proving why all food in Japan is amazing, as it takes them 20 mins just to toast the bread! Toasting in the oven, taking it out, scrapping the burnt parts, adding layer after layer of butter, toasting in the pan, and one more time in the oven! I loved watching the chef work! The best part is that with a coffee, it was only $12!

Dekasan- This sandwich shop is known for their giant sandos, of all varieties, but I had never had any one restaurant be sent to me, as much as Dekasan was, for their egg salad sando! This behemoth is actually a mix of egg salad, and egg merengue, which makes it super big, and super fluffy! Shop is small, so there might be a bit of a wait!

Osaka Tonkatsu Umeda (FKA Katsu Sando Chiyomatsu)- The sandos here are literally sumo sized, as they come from a former sumo wrestler! They have a bunch to choose from, but I went with the pork tonkatsu which has a piece of fried pork on there that is 2 inches thick! Somehow it's still juicy inside as its cooked low and slow!

Okonomiyaki Sakaba O- If the line at Ajinoya is too long, just go next door to Okonomiyaki Sakaba O! There can also be a line here, but it should be shorter, and they do a good job of moving everyone quickly! This was the perfect meal after a long day! The coldest Japanese beer, gyoza, and a steaming hot okonomiyaki!

KOBE

A quick train ride away from Osaka is Kobe, so it was the perfect half day trip to get in, another city!

Chinatown- Kobe is home to one of the largest Chinatowns in Japan, Nankin-Machi! I just walked through, and let my eyes and nose guide me for what I wanted from the nearly 100 stalls! I settled on a giant steamed pork bun!

Mouriya Beef- Are you really going to go to Kobe and NOT get some Kobe beef? There are a ton of options, it’s literally everywhere, but I made a reservation at Mouriya for lunch which is one of the oldest and most beloved steakhouses in Kobe! I got the lunch special for 22120 yen which comes with a soup, salad, grilled veggies, bread or rice, and then you pick your cut of meat, and I went with the kobe beef A5 fillet! That meat just melted, and I loved all the different seasonings and toppings they recommended you try with every different bite.