Janjan Yokocho

Tsutenkaku has been the setting for films and television dramas and is now a sight known across the country. In a corner of Shinsekai at its foot, Nanyodori Shopping Street, which runs about 180 m north to south from the subway's Dobutsuen-mae Station to Tsutenkaku, is commonly called Janjan Yokocho. The name is said to come from the shamisen and drums that sounded out janjan from the shops after the war to draw customers in. Both sides of the arcade are packed with everyday places: kushikatsu shops with their no second dip in the sauce rule, grilled meat, eating houses, sushi, udon, stand-up bars. As befits the ground that produced the master player Sakata Sankichi, go and shogi clubs do good business here, and it is interesting to watch the games through the glass.

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