If you come to Osaka, you must definitely visit a place called Shinsekai. Shinsekai looks like a city straight out of an anime movie, with its large neon lights and small decorative statues. This place is also known for a special type of fried food called Kushi-katsu which is extremely delicious.
How do I get there?
You should get off at Doubutsuen-Mae Station (動物園前駅), but you can also stop at Ebisucho Station (恵美須町駅). However, if you are coming from Ebisucho, you will not see the puffer fish decorations and other pretty decorations on the way to the tower. Also, most of the shops on this side are closed at night and it can be quite complicated and unsafe to go there alone, although there are many police patrols.
Kitchen
The iconic dish at Shinsekai is kushi-katsu, which is essentially anything spit-roasted. It can be vegetables, meat, cheese or even mochi. The dough is extremely crispy on the outside and you can dip the skewer into a bowl of special sauce to eat. Note that you can't dip your skewer more than once as the bowl of sauce will be used by other people too. The most famous restaurant here is located somewhere under the Tsutenkaku Tower and is called “Kushikatsu Daruma”. There is a menu on the table and instructions in English. The restaurant has foreign staff who speak English and can help you with your order. Kushikatsu costs around 105-210 yen per skewer and to balance out the fried food, you are served slices of raw cabbage. After eating about 10 skewers, you will probably feel full, which is extremely satisfying for a delicious dish.
If you don't like fried food, the ideal alternative is a blowfish set at a restaurant called Zuboraya, which has a blowfish-shaped balloon hanging in front of it. We ordered the 3,500 yen set, which includes dishes with fugu in different ways: raw fugu in sashimi, grilled fugu in salad, soup or sushi.
Other shops
In addition to delicious cuisine, there are also pharmacies that sell everything from medications to health products to skin care products. The largest pharmacy is Sugi with tax-free incentives for direct purchases, 8% tax refund for bills over 5,000 yen (excluding taxes).
