Amerikamura

Amerikamura is the liveliest part of Minami in Osaka and has led youth culture in Kansai. The name covers the area west of Osaka Metro Shinsaibashi Station, from Nagahori-dori down to Dotonbori. At its center is Sankaku Koen, Triangle Park, where young people hoping to become comedians or musicians perform and flea markets are held. In the Edo period the area was called Sumiya-cho, charcoal dealers' town, because charcoal was brought up the Dotonbori from Osaka Bay and collected there. In the 1970s shops converted from warehouses began selling secondhand clothes and jeans, and used records and goods bought on the American West Coast were sold too, which got people talking. The name Amerikamura, America village, comes from the many shops handling goods and fashion imported from America that opened around the Showa 40s. True to the name, it was said you could meet West Coast American culture there at any time. It is still going as a place for music as well as fashion.

Translated and shortened from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City tourist listings (観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).