What to eat in Osaka now

Once called "the nation's kitchen", Osaka lives to eat. Winter fugu, summer hamo (pike conger), pressed sushi and battera, plus takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu.

Osaka Bay and the fishing ports of Senshu (Kishiwada, Izumisano), plus Kuromon Market in the city

In season in November

• 🍣

  Pressed sushi (hakozushi) and battera

  Best nowOften raw

  Osaka's traditional sushi is not nigiri but hakozushi, pressed in a wooden box. Battera is pressed vinegar-cured mackerel. Colorful boxes laid with shrimp, omelet and sea eel are also classic. Easy to take away.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Oct – Dec

  Where

  Sushi shops in Semba and Namba, and department store food halls

  Show the staff: 箱寿司・バッテラ

  Fish guide: Mackerel

• 🐡

  Tecchiri and tessa (fugu hot pot and sashimi)

  Osaka eats more fugu than anywhere. Winter staples are tecchiri hot pot and tessa, paper-thin sashimi (tessa is raw). It is prepared by licensed chefs who remove the poison, so eating it at a restaurant is safe. Finish the pot with rice porridge.

  Season

  Nov – Mar

  Best

  Dec – Feb

  Where

  Fugu restaurants in Shinsekai and Dotonbori

  Show the staff: てっちり・てっさ（ふぐ）

  Fish guide: Tiger pufferfish (fugu)

• 🦪

  Street food at Kuromon Market (grilled shellfish, sashimi, sea urchin)

  The market called "Osaka's kitchen". Buy grilled scallops and oysters, sashimi, sea urchin and more at the stalls and eat on the spot, raw or cooked. Prices vary a lot by stall, so check before you order.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Kuromon Market (Nippombashi Station, walkable from Namba)

  Show the staff: 黒門市場の食べ歩き（焼き貝・刺身・うに）

• 🦀

  Senshu swimming crab (gazami)

  Swimming crab from Senshu, the southern shore of Osaka Bay. Delicious boiled, or in miso soup or a hot pot. In Kishiwada it is the feast dish of the autumn Danjiri festival, eaten at home too.

  Season

  Sep – Nov

  Best

  Oct

  Where

  Kishiwada and Izumisano (about 30-40 min from Namba on the Nankai line)

  Show the staff: 泉州の渡り蟹（ガザミ）

  Fish guide: Swimming crab

• 🍱

  Osaka Bay sea eel (grilled anago, anago sushi)

  Osaka Bay, which opens onto the Seto Inland Sea, is a fine ground for sea eel. Fragrant grilled anago is good on its own, over rice or as sushi. Richest in summer.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Jun – Aug

  Where

  Sushi shops and grilled-eel shops at the markets

  Show the staff: 大阪湾の穴子（焼き穴子・穴子寿司）

  Fish guide: Conger eel (anago)

• 🐙

  Takoyaki (octopus balls)

  Osaka's signature snack: batter with pieces of octopus, turned round and round in a griddle with half-sphere molds. Topped with sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and green laver. The inside is very hot, so take care.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Dotonbori and all over the city

  Show the staff: たこ焼き

  Fish guide: Octopus

• 🥞

  Okonomiyaki

  A batter loaded with cabbage plus pork, shrimp or squid, cooked on a griddle. Osaka style mixes everything into the batter, unlike Hiroshima's layered style. Finished with sauce and bonito flakes.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  All over the city (Namba, Umeda, Tsuruhashi and more)

  Show the staff: お好み焼き

• 🍢

  Kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers)

  Meat, fish and vegetables on skewers, fried in fine breadcrumbs: the specialty of Shinsekai. The house rule is "no double dipping" in the shared sauce pot. If you want more sauce, scoop it with a piece of cabbage.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Shinsekai, around Tsutenkaku Tower

  Show the staff: 串カツ

• 🍜

  Kitsune udon (udon with sweet fried tofu)

  Udon topped with a large piece of sweet simmered fried tofu, born in Osaka. The pale, clear broth of kelp and bonito is the taste of Osaka.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Udon shops around town

  Show the staff: きつねうどん

• 🍲

  Kantodaki (oden) and kasujiru (sake-lees soup)

  In Osaka, oden is called "kantodaki": daikon, eggs, fish cakes and more simmered in a pale broth. In winter, people also love kasujiru, a soup made with sake lees, often with salmon. Kasujiru may contain a little alcohol.

  Season

  Nov – Feb

  Best

  Dec – Jan

  Where

  Izakaya and oden shops around town

  Show the staff: 関東煮（おでん）・かす汁

Coming in December

Nothing new starts this month.

Local specialties through the year

Other regions

Tokyo · Nagoya (Aichi) · Fukuoka (Hakata) · Hiroshima · Hyogo (Kobe, Akashi) · Kyoto (city, Tango coast) · Hakuba (Nagano) · Hokkaido (Sapporo, Otaru) · Seoul · Busan

Seasons shift with the weather and the catch each year. Ask the restaurant what is in today.