Backstreets in Namba offer lots of great little shops, restaurants and bars for the locals.
I will take you to the area and ask you choose 2-3 spots and restaurants to visit.
You'll start the tour from Nipponbashi (Osaka's sub-cultural mecca) or Doguyasuji (kitchen equipment street including potteries and knives) and end the tour in Dotonbori. Kuromon Market is optional.
Information Center Namba (near Takashimaya/Nankai Namba station) or at your hotel
Wherever in Namba or at your hotel
Before ending the tour on the famous Dotonbori street, you can enjoy your own preferred way of digging into Namba by visiting places such as:
- Small local diners/bars that you can go hopping;
- Local sushi bar that serves sushi from the chef
- Doguyasuji street, a shopping arcade dedicated to providing cooking tools and equipment both for homes and professional chefs including Japanese knives, plastic foods, tacoyaki grills and more;
- Kuromon Market for food stands and local specialties; and
- Nipponbashi sub-culture area for gadget shopping at DenDen town, visiting a cat-cafe, maid-cafe, game and anime shops, etc.; and/or Karaoke bar/restaurant that you can enjoy food and singing in a private space.
- Shinsekai if you want to see the retro atmosphere of Osaka from the Showa-era. Tsutenkaku tower is illuminated at night with other 3D signs which gives you a chance to take a perfect Osaka shot.
I will make sure to maximize your precious and limited time in Namba without having communication and/or wandering problems, and even more, you will enjoy interacting with Osaka locals who are known as so much fun to chat/drink with!
guide fee for 3.5- 4 hours, hotel pick-up in Osaka and Kyoto area
transportation fee for you and guide, dinner for you and guide, entrance fee if any
Please note below before booking and contact me first for availability:
1. My schedule on GoWithGuide site is open for the next 3-month only.
2. All my listed tours include hotel pick-up fee and guide fee. Please ask for quote for custom tours.
3. For tours in the peak season, I am currently prioritizing mult-day tour requests (at least two "full-day" tours per group) and accept one-day request between the booked tours etc.
***Excursions ***
I can guide you in Okayama (including Naoshima and Kurashiki), Hiroshima (Onomichi, Shimanami islands cycling, Miyajima, etc.) and Shikoku (Iya valley etc.) if you pay for my transportation.
The above areas can be visited from Osaka/Kyoto in one or two days.
Calendar will be updated for the next few weeks.
PLEASE NOTE THIS TOUR IS FOR THOSE WHO BOOKED OTHER DAY TOURS WITH ME
1. The tour is 3.5-4 hours depending on where we go. You can choose a few spots and one or two places to eat and drink that can be covered within 3.5- 4 hours.
2. If you'd like to visit Doguyasuji and/or Kuromon market, I recommend starting by 16:30 as most shops there close around 18:00.
3. The cost of food and drink for you and guide is NOT included in your guide fee. (typical pricing: glass of beer: 300-600 yen, small dish: 300-500 yen, main dish: 500-2,000 yen, takoyaki: 500-700 yen, etc.) Please understand this is not a typical sightseeing tour, rather focus on eating and drinking at local places in Osaka, frequently referred to as the country's kitchen, which is why the tour rate is set low.
4. Please have enough cash to pay at small restaurants/bars which take cash only.
5. Namba has a variety of restaurants/bars from high-end sushi bars to very reasonable stand-up bars, so I will choose one as per your budget and what kind of food you'd like to eat. It will be helpful if you can tell me your preference in advance.
6. Please note that most small restaurants/bars are not smoke-free especially during dinner/bar time in Japan.
Yes, but you can't go into bars and please note that some restaurants are not smoke-free.
Seiko was an excellent tour guide for Kyoto with broad and deep knowledge about everything from the specialized shrines to history of sake distilleries. She met us at our hotel and even adjusted our schedule on the fly to try and avoid the expected rain that day. We toured the Fushimi Inari Shrine, explored the Fushimi district and ate at a local yakitori restaurant, went to Kimozu Dera, and explored the streets and alleys in Ninenenzaka/Sannenzaka. It was a very full 6 hours covering a lot of areas and we thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Thank you Tuan for your kind words. With your flexibility, no hesitation to walk further to see more, and trusting my recommendations, we could see both major attractions and true local scenes. Lucky us, we didn't get much rain during the tour despite the almost hopeless forecast:) Hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Kyoto and your family trip in Japan! Best reagards to all of your sweet family members. Seiko
Seiko, my family and I can't thank you enough for such an amazing, information Kyoto cultural experience. Our tour was above and beyond our expectations, with bonus hidden attractions on the day that we would never of seen without you. I wouldn't hesitate booking with you again and highly recommend you to anyone looking for a friendly knowledgeable guide. Thank you again.
Thank you Alison for your kind words! It was the busiest week in Kyoto I've ever seen but thanks to your flexibility and willingness to walk extra miles to see hidden attractions, the tour went smoothly and most importantly, I am very happy that your whole family enjoyed the day in Kyoto! Hope you also had a great time in the other destinations of Japan. Seiko
We had an outstanding experience with Seiko-san as our guide to visit Fushimi and Uji! She's such a fun and super friendly person to show you around the sights, and she's fluent in English since she lived in the U.S. We spent the whole day with her learning about matcha and sake, and she took us to a wonderful sake tasting bar in Fushimi that we would have never discovered on our own! We are sad we did not book her for more days while we were in the Osaka/Kyoto area. She's the best guide we had while visiting Japan! Sorry for forgetting to submit the review sooner, Seiko, but we will definitely call you when we come back to visit - hopefully this year! Kim, Gary, and Sandra
Hi Kim! Super excited to hear from you about our tour in Fushimi and Uji as I also enjoyed the time with you guys so much! Glad to know it was not my one-way love, hahaha! I was also impressed how much planning you've done, which led to your having a great time in this special area. I also felt we didn't spend enough time together and have more to show, so hope to see you again in Japan! Seiko
Had an amazing time with Seiko for a day trip to Nara and Osaka. We managed to see all the main attractions and didn’t feel rushed. Seiko was very responsive, helpful, knowledgable and caring. Highly recommend
Thank you so much for your kind review. I had an amazing time with you as well! It was just so easy to go around with someone who loves to walk, see the nature, try to eat something new, and interact with the locals! Hope you'll have a great time for the rest of your trip in Japan. See you next time;) Seiko