Dotonbori

Dotonbori is the heart of Minami, Osaka's southern shopping and nightlife district, and there are always visitors taking photos in front of the Glico sign. The name comes from Yasui Doton, who spent his own fortune digging the canal about twelve years after the Battle of Sekigahara. Theatres were then gathered on its south bank, the five great playhouses of Naniwa and many smaller ones, staging kabuki, puppet theatre, gidayu, sideshows and bunraku: Dotonbori was the Broadway every performer dreamed of. Kabuki still plays at the Shochikuza, puppet theatre at the National Bunraku Theatre, and Osaka's comedy at Namba Grand Kagetsu and the Kadoza. Restaurants grew up around the theatre crowds, and giant signs competed to stand out: besides Glico, a huge crab, an octopus and a blowfish. Kuidaore Taro, the drum-beating figure everyone poses with, was made by a bunraku puppet maker and is Japan's first robot signboard. The Tombori River Walk along the canal has become popular in recent years.

Translated from the Osaka Prefecture tourist listing (大阪府 観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).