Eki Marche Shin-Osaka, a shopping area located beyond the local train line ticket gates at Shin-Osaka Station, is packed with popular souvenir shops and restaurants. Naturally, there are shops featuring Osaka's most famous and representative food, takoyaki.

Kukuru Hanatako is part of the takoyaki restaurant chain Kukuru, known for its fluffy and smooth dough and large pieces of octopus, with added izakaya elements.

From 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, menu choices at this Shin-Osaka Station restaurant are based around the basic "8-piece takoyaki" item (890 yen, tax included). From 5:00 PM until closing, you can enjoy other entrees such as the "bokkake yakisoba" (yakisoba with beef tendon) along with a drink.

The takoyaki is cooked right before your eyes and brought to your table piping hot. The moment you take a bite, the soft dough melts in your mouth. All menu items are available for take-out, making them a nice choice to enjoy leisurely back at your hotel.

There are counter seats, and tables for those visiting in a group. There is a large souvenir shop nearby, so it's a perfect place to stop by while you're out shopping.

Also beyond the local train line ticket gates at Eki Marche Shin-Osaka is Dotonbori Kamukura, a ramen restaurant extremely popular among foreign tourists.

Place your order at the register counter near the entrance, then take a seat. The interior of this Shin-Osaka Station restaurant is neat and clean, and the enthusiastic greetings of shop employees make for a pleasant atmosphere. The shop is mainly counter seating, so most guests visit by themselves, rather than as a group.

The most popular menu item is the "Oishi Ramen with sliced roast pork (small size) and soft-boiled seasoned egg" for 1,100 yen (tax included). The clear soup is topped with crisp napa cabbage, four slices of char-siu roast pork, a seasoned boiled egg, and slices of pork back rib, making for a highly filling bowl of ramen.

The silky egg noodles and savory soup will enthrall you with every bite. There are plenty of side menu items such as gyoza and kara-age available as well. Definitely one of the best places for food at Shin-Osaka Station!

The Arde Shin-Osaka shopping center, located outside the Shin-Osaka Station ticket gates and on the second floor, is a popular facility for foreign tourists that hosts not only various restaurants but also a Uniqlo, 100-yen shop, and a currency exchange machine. In the food court is Kushikatsu Daruma, established in Osaka's Shinsekai neighborhood.

Kushikatsu is a juicy and crisp food, made of meat, vegetables, and other ingredients placed on a skewer, dipped in batter, and deep-fried in oil. You'll want to try each and every type of kushikatsu, from the staple "ganso kushikatsu" beef skewer to hot and soft camembert cheese, to sweet and sour pickled red ginger.

Double-dipping a single kushikatsu into the dipping sauce is not allowed, so before you eat, remember to dip your skewer into the bowl of sauce nearest you only once. If you start to run out of sauce, you can use the side dish of cabbage to scoop up the sauce and pour it onto the kushikatsu.

If you can't decide which kushikatsu to eat at this fantastic Shin-Osaka Station restaurant, a recommended option is the "Arde Set" (2,640 yen, tax included), which comes with 14 different skewers and the choice of one side dish from "doteyaki" (beef sinew stew), "edamame", "takowasa" (octopus flavored with wasabi), and kimchi.
The set allows you to enjoy all the most popular menu items and a filling meal.

If you're traveling by Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka Station to Tokyo, Nagoya, or other destinations, stop by the Osaka Noren Meguri food court located near the Shinkansen ticket gates. The court contains five famous Osaka cuisine restaurants in a compact space, making it perfect for grabbing a meal while you walk.

Located inside Osaka Noren Meguri is Negiyaki Yamamoto, where you can eat food at Shin-Osaka Station like okonomiyaki and negiyaki filled with negi - long green onions. Negiyaki is a dish of negi, konjac, and sweet and spicy stewed beef tendon mixed together and grilled with flavored soy sauce. Try negiyaki to enjoy the refreshing taste and texture of negi.

The restaurant's most popular menu item is indeed the basic "Beef Tendon Negiyaki" (990 yen, tax included). Cooks make each negiyaki individually, and you can then savor the unique texture and aroma of the dish. For a similar but distinctive dish from okonomiyaki, try the taste and flavor of a negi-filled negiyaki.

Another popular Shin-Osaka Station restaurant choice inside Osaka Noren Meguri is Dotonbori Imai, a famous Osaka udon shop. The dashi soup, a concentrated broth of southern Hokkaido giant kelp and Kyushu dried mackerel and herring shavings, is rich and savory. The exquisite dashi combined with the perfect elasticity of Osaka udon noodles creates a blissful dish.

Enjoy the true essence of Osaka udon with top-pick "kitsune udon" (800 yen, tax included). You'll want to drink the last drop of soup from the combination of a thin slice of flavored, deep-fried tofu, exquisite broth, and chewy noodles. The rich "oyako-don" (950 yen) is another popular choice, as a rice bowl meal topped with chicken, egg, and an egg yolk topping.

*This article was originally published in November 2019 with prices updated in March 2023. Be sure to check official websites for the latest information.