My friends and I spent 5 days in dotombori. We arrived in Osaka after a month long trip in Japan, so we were quite tired and didnt schedule anything other than a cycling tour cycle osaka was amazing , we were happy to walk the streets of dotombori and surrounding suburbs, eating and browsing for gifts.
When we first arrived the men with the strange big orange coloured hair made quite an impression They were approached every man and his dog After a few more days here I was overwhelmed with the sexualised culture, and sheer number of prostitutes, hosts and pimps one would assume they were pimps after seeing them get physical with girls and forcing them to walk off random males. All this can be viewed from starbucks. The age of the female prostitutes was also concerning.
On the positive side, you can purchase cheap ceramics from Doguyasuji. And there is an excellent Turkish restaurant "nazar". I recieved the BEST service here and would like to revisit if in osaka again. Best in Osaka. Going there day and night, full of surprises! Like lots of cute shops and food were fabulous too! The street in the evening is very lively. There is many choice of Japanese restaurant you can choose from.
There are also a number of stall selling local snack where you can buy to test. If you are at Shinsabashi area, just walked over to Dotonbori and be dazzled by the lights from the billboards and crazily huge signboards with hanging dragons, crabs, octopus and more. Many people were posing for pictures, I did too! There are way too many types of food for you to choose from - Okonomiyaki, Shabu Shabu, snow crabs, blowfish, ramens, yakiniku, so many that you will be spoilt for choice.
The BBQ snow crab was dry and it was so not worth the money. Take a walk along the canal after dinner for a relaxing walk and people watching, it can be quite enjoyable. There are lots of restaurants and shopping places in this area. If you are not crazy on shopping, it is good to visit at night so you can see all different neon signs. Highly recommend to take the boat ride in the dark. The tour guide has a great sense of humor and you won't be bored even you don't understand Japanese. You can't explore the whole Doonbori with one visit.
