My travels this semester haven’t just been limited to Kyoto. Osaka has now become one of my favorite cities. It’s got never-ending charm, intrigue, and eki stamps to collect. One of my favorite neighborhoods in the city is actually on the outskirts of the Tennoji Ward, in the Ikuno Ward.
Tsuruhashi is a charming, slow-paced neighborhood with great restaurants and cafes to explore that bears a striking difference from the rest of Osaka that is so firmly rooted in Japan and Japanese culture. Tsuruhashi is actually Osaka’s Koreatown. What makes it different from Manhattan’s K-Town or Shinjuku’s Shin-Okubo? Well, Tsuruhashi is rich with history and offers a fusion of both Korean and Japanese culture. Stop off the Osaka Loop Line at Tsuruhashi Station, which also connects to the Kintetsu Line and the Sennchimae Line.
The station is surrounded by street vendors and enclosed neighborhoods. K-fashion outclasses J-fashion easy, and there’s tons to buy and try just outside of the station itself. Korean fashion offers more subtleties and patterns that don’t scald my eyes. The fabric also isn’t oppressive and smooth on the fingertips. Jolie Plus and Tamatsuki K-Station Tsuruhashi offer the latest in terms of styles and color. From someone who was on the hunt for the perfect pair, both stores have pretty affordable shoe selections with platforms that won’t break the bank (or my ankles).
Relax for a while and take a dip at the local sento, Nobeha No Yu Tsuruhashi. They offer thermal baths for men and women for a mere $7 USD per person. Super public baths like these are scattered all across Japan, with Osaka being famous for huge ones that span several floors and acres.
This bath is popular among locals and is recommended for foreigners (with no tattoos, sadly) that want to take a nice break from their exploration of Tsuruhashi. They’re open super late and are a great option after a long night or morning spent on your feet.
If you happen to decide on Tsuruhashi to stay in on your trip to Osaka, there are numerous hostels and hotels in the area. Supporting local businesses is important in this climate, especially in a tight-knit community filled with older residences that can benefit from tourism. HIPPO Hostel & Cafe Bar offers glowing reviews from travelers from all over the world and a comforting aura that can be your home away from home during your travels.
K-pop and K-culture have been one of South Korea’s main forms of global and cultural output ever since the explosion of BTS and Blackpink in 2016. Now it’s a global endeavor – with every country wanting to cash in on the humble pie.
Unclebox cafe is owned by K-pop fans, for K-pop fans and frequently hosts birthday celebrations for idols. The staff are friendly, and the menu boasts fizzy, fruity drinks that are guaranteed to keep anyone wired enough to study or work.
Hungry? Well, across the street boasts my favorite Korean restaurant in Japan: Jaws Toppokki. I always make this my lunchtime stop on every trip to Tsuruhashi. It’s not exactly the cheapest place, so I’d recommend getting ready to spend a buck fifty and bring friends to lap up large portions of toppokki and gimbap.
The most unique experience I’ve had in Tsuruhashi thus far has to be at an unnamed Korean grocery store next door to Jaws. It’s not listed on Google or Apple Maps. They’re a 24-hour unmanned store that sells my favorite banana milk and snacks. The front of the store has a machine that makes custom photocards. They’re an amazing souvenir and come out on a kind of hard plastic that makes them more durable than the average photocard you can get from an album. There’s also an unmanned photo booth Life4Cut where you can take polaroids with your friends and dress up in super cute school uniforms.
Tsuruhashi is truly a dime a dozen neighborhood. It’s off the traditional tourist beaten path, for no good reason. It should be on everyone’s list of stops when they come and see Osaka for themselves. It might be a little strange for me, a travel blogger based in Japan, to recommend people to go and see Koreatown of all places. But I know people.
Japan has tons of neighborhoods that deserve this level of spotlight that are at risk of slowly dying out due to the older population not knowing how to reach a younger audience. Tsuruhashi has been profiled a few times before, but not by me. I’d like to leave a gift for this neighborhood that’s quite far away from my own. A place that’s treated me so well and reminds me of familiar neighborhoods back in New York that also face a similar risk. So, if you have time, I implore you to stop in areas with less foot traffic in Japan, places that softly cry out for recognition and have so much to offer.
If you want to learn more about Temple University Japan and study abroad in Kyoto, check out the Temple Study Abroad website! Here on our Global Storytellers blog, you can also read more stories from students abroad across the globe just like me!