A Walk around SHINSEKAI, Osaka 🐡🗼🍜 + Tsutenkaku Tower Observation Deck

[@jan-ovepedersen5764]

Me and my wife visited Osaka in early May. We walked from Dotonbori to Tsutenkaku Tower where we visited the observation deck around noon. The view over Osaka is great all around the tower. We saw Billken, the god of "what things ought to be", there were even a statue of him in the tower. Thank you for your videos, always filled with useful information. This one brought back found memories from our stay in Osaka 🙂Greetings from Norway.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Glad it brought back happy memories! Walking around the cities is always great - you never know what you'll see, and it can be so interesting just seeing everyday streets, not just tourist hotspots.

[@fuzexi]

We just came back from Japan and we stayed in a small hostel on the same street as Tsuntenkaku. It was great, although we didn’t spend enough time in Osaka to se everything we wanted.I think to see the place properly and try all the food you need about 5 days or a week. We were only there for 3 days. There are so many markets and places to eat around Tsutenkaku, but we hardly got a chance to visit them, as were so busy seeing things around other parts of the city that we didn’t get to look around our doorstep. At first I thought it looked a bit dodgy but I think ‘unfamiliar’ might have been more accurate, and we never felt unsafe. Oh, and thank you for making this video, it brought back lots of memories. I really loved Osaka and hope to go there again!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks for sharing your experiences from your trip! Glad the video brought back happy memories! Maybe it's only within Japan that it's considered an unsafe area, because the general crime rate is low. Although there was a comment from someone who said they thought it felt unsafe after dark, when everything was closed. Everyone has a different opinion on things like that, depending on where you live and what you're used to I think! :-) Glad you enjoyed it - and there's always a reason to go back to Japan and visit the places you missed!

[@corgolyin]

Thank you very much for this video, I went to the area early morning (7am) before anything was open and just kinda explored. Gonna go when open this trip, and finally going for cherry blossom season next year and see the World Expo in Osaka :D I can't wait

[@cakeswithfaces]

It must have had a very different atmosphere early in the morning! Enjoy the Osaka Expo!

[@corgolyin]

@@cakeswithfaces It was so empty and quiet, was very nice to be able to just look and wander without the stress of a crowd to take the area in. I walked to Shitenno-ji following, little did I know it was during one of their flea market days, that was a treat.

[@cakeswithfaces]

@@corgolyin What a great surprise, I love it when things like that happen! :-)

[@drlink7691]

we went one evening was a good visit and watching your videos always brings great memories made with my wife, keep up the good work

[@cakeswithfaces]

Aww, glad it brings back happy memories! ✨

[@arisacupcake]

Thanks for showing, I love Shinsekai so much ❤ the kushikatsu places usually have a lot of vegetable options. In 2019 we went to one that even had deep-fried cheesecake for dessert 😋

[@cakeswithfaces]

Ooh good tip, thank you! Deep fried cheesecake sounds indulgent! 😅

[@loopyfrog]

Thanks for showing us around Shinsekai - it is rather different!

[@cakeswithfaces]

There's so much to look at!

[@AlanVByrnes]

I hope to very soon come and check it out here and everything to eat and drink looks so delicious 🤤🤤🤤

[@cakeswithfaces]

It's a fun place to go!

[@AlanVByrnes]

@@cakeswithfaces for sure always more and more I always see it I can’t wait to go here too most definitely 🙌🙌🙌

[@AlanVByrnes]

@@cakeswithfaces 🤖🇯🇵✈️

[@AlanVByrnes]

@@cakeswithfaces yes it really is can’t wait to and hopefully soon to see this other fun and amazing place that is also here 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵

[@swissfoodie3542]

Thanks for another great video Amy ! I really like your positive and slighty "crazy" (I mean that as a compliment) attitude. Shinsekai looks pretty cool, with all those retro lights and signs. The tower deck would be nothing for me though, as I am afraid of heights.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks so much! I guess you wouldn't like the Abeno Harukas (tallest building in Japan) either then...! But there's plenty to enjoy safely at ground level too! :-)

[@AlanVByrnes]

Thank you super much for more Osaka Amy my other favorite place here 🤩🤩🤩

[@davidwolstenholme4676]

YOU NEVER AGE AMY LOOKS LIKE GOD AS BLESSED YOU WITH ETERNAL YOUTH.

[@user-nm3ii9mq1w]

Wow. Definitely visiting and taking the slide!!!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Just make sure have enough time to go on the slide before it closes...! 😅

[@MissiBoo]

Poor Phil 😞 I bet that he was gutted about the slide 😢 The whole area looks amazing 😍 Thanks Amy for another excellent video 🫶✨

[@cakeswithfaces]

It was bad luck! 😅 But we had a good time in general!

[@MissiBoo]

@@cakeswithfaces That's great to know 😊

[@melgordon2490]

Did you prefer this area or Dotonbori? That's unfair about the slide.

[@cakeswithfaces]

@@melgordon2490 It's tricky to say which I prefer when they both have a slightly different feel. I think it's worth going to both if you have time - but if you only have time for one, Dotonbori is the "main" area of Osaka to feel the exciting atmosphere in the evening and see the famous Glico sign and canal.

[@melgordon2490]

@cakeswithfaces ok thanks. Is Namba or Umeda better area to stay in?

[@londoncreative]

I'm plying catch up on the videos having only got home this week from Japan, we were in Osaka when this video went up. It wasn't that it was Sunday night, that everything started to close, it's that everything shuts around 9pm, all the restaurants and shops, we were staying just across the road to the south and it was doooooooodddgggyyy, the security guard at the train station told us when we arrived to be very cautious, especially at night. Where we were staying had a sign warning guests to not go south out the hotel because just 20m away was the Red Light District and it was very dangerous to enter, that covers market is the edge of it. Videos of our trip will be up on our Out and About Channel soon. PS, I lost my Illuminatea badge before I even got to Japan 😒

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks for letting me know what it's like at night! Thankfully there aren't many dodgy or dangerous areas in Japan. 😅 Oh no, sorry you lost your badge!

[@susan3256]

Luna park is part of Coney Island in Brooklyn,NY unfortunately it’s changed a lot over the years

[@cakeswithfaces]

Oh really, I didn't know there was one there that they named it after. (Honestly don't know much about Coney Island).

[@MadsMcKay]

I need a mango Chūhai in life

[@cakeswithfaces]

Delicious! 😋

[@alpha4072]

That mango drink....guess I am going there next time

[@cakeswithfaces]

I haven't seen it on the menu at Kura since, so it may have been a special unfortunately! But always worth checking in case it comes back!

[@alpha4072]

@@cakeswithfaces most likely seasonal. Mangos are sucha delicacy in japan and Australian grown mango cleared for customs and flown over to Narita or hanada are worth about $70 AUD a piece. That wad about 10 years ago though lol

[@rilkeanheart]

you have to ride the elevator in the harukas building. take a video while you do it!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Sounds intriguing..!

[@EresTremulent]

Oh wow, 1000 yen for a slide. That's highway freaking robbery lmao

[@cakeswithfaces]

Especially when it shuts before you can get on it...! 🙈

[@wynkenstein]

May i ask when this was filmed? Just being curios about you two wearing a facemask in Shinsekai area. I know it's common in japan to wear a facemask in specific situations (like Flu season or when feeling sick etc.), so is it just a precaution of you two or are there still areas where a mask is "mandatory"? I visited Japan in Oct. 2022 and had a mask on 24/7, but now almost 2 years have passed, so I'm just curious :)

[@cakeswithfaces]

It's from my 2023 trip (even though I have new videos from this year, there are still a few 2023 videos I hadn't edited yet!). :-) Don't worry, this year it was fine to not wear a mask at all if you don't want to. I took mine but didn't wear it. Some people were wearing masks (similar to before 2020) but I'd say the majority weren't.

[@wynkenstein]

@@cakeswithfaces Thank you for the quick reply and the information :)

[@HawaiiJapan808]

Yep agree. Umeda and Harukas 300 has way better view. And the slide isnt that great. 🤙🏽

[@cakeswithfaces]

Good to know we didn't miss much with the slide! 😅

[@aayushrivastava]

Hi Cwf, we are planning to stay in this area with kids. Is it safe and kid appropriate for night walk from subway to hotel??

[@cakeswithfaces]

Shinsekai is known as the "bad area" of Osaka. However, it felt ok when I was there in the evening and I didn't see any evidence of that. Crime levels in Japan are low and it's a safe place in general. I've heard there can be homeless people around and occasional pickpocketing, and that the area south of the JR train tracks (where I didn't go) is worse than north of the train tracks. Hope that helps you decide!

[@aayushrivastava]

@@cakeswithfaces Thanks. This is very helpful. Will bother you with another query just to have your thoughts. According to you guys, what would be a family friendly area with reasonable priced hotels (

[@evicencio31863]

Beware! Purse 👛 snatchers, and even stealing your phone 📱!

[@cakeswithfaces]

I'd heard that, but thankfully didn't see anything on that evening. However, having grown up in London, I always keep my belongings close by nature!

[@melgordon2490]

Are they in a Dotonbori also or just here?

[@cakeswithfaces]

@@melgordon2490 I've only heard that Shinksekai is a "bad area". Crime levels in Japan are very low, and pickpocketing, etc, isn't generally a problem. I haven't heard anything about Dotonbori, but it's such a busy, crowded area, especially in the evening that I'd keep an eye on your bag and pockets just in case (like you would anywhere in a city) as it'd be very easy to pickpocket there. There are lots of foreign tourists who may not be as honest as Japanese people are (generalisation obv!).

[@melgordon2490]

@@cakeswithfaces very true. Bound to happen with so many tourists