What is Takoyaki? It’s a delicious Osakan street food made of diced octopus in a wheat flour-based batter. The snack is lightly fried in special moulded pans to make dumpling-like balls which are brushed with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise. Finally, they are sprinkled with green laver “aonori” and shavings of dried bonito “katsuobushi“.
There are many well-established takoyaki shops in Osaka (about 700 shops). You can also try takoyaki in izakaya (a Japanese gastropub), or in supermarket food courts and at 24-hour convenience stores. It goes without saying that there is always a takoyaki stand at any Japanese festival!
Osaka Takoyaki Museum（大阪たこ焼きミュージアム）
Osaka Takoyaki Museum is a food theme park. Five of Osaka’s most famous takoyaki shops have a branch at this museum dedicated to the local specialty. The museum includes exhibitions showing the history of the ingredients and the cooking utensils used to make takoyaki. Events and games are often happening and take-out takoyaki is available. It’s a very good place to compare the different flavours of takoyaki with family or friends.
Address : 〒554-0024 Osaka, Konohana Ward, Shimaya, 6 Chome−2−61 ユニバーサルシティウォーク大阪 ４Ｆ
Access : It’s located in the Universal City Walk leading to Universal Studio Japan. It’s a few minutes’ walk from Universal city station on the JR Yumesaki line.
Wanaka Sennichimae shop（わなか 千日前本店）
Wanaka is a famous takoyaki shop in Sennichimae area. It is so popular that there are always queues. Wanaka’s takoyaki is very delicious: crunchy outside, creamy inside and with chewy octopus. This takoyaki’s batter is very tasty, so you can eat it without any sauce on it. You may think that lining up for takoyaki is not worth it as there are so many takoyaki shops in Osaka. But I can say this place is totally worth it!
Location : Wanaka Sennichimae shop (Map-A). About 2 mins walk from Namba station on the Osaka Subway or the Nankai line.
The Namba branch (Map-B). About 2 mins walk from Subway Namba station.
The Kuromon-Ichiba branch (Map-C). About 3 mins walk from Subway Nihonbashi station.
