Since Japan reopened its borders last October, tourists are once more zipping back and forth by train between Tokyo and Kyoto to the point of overcrowding, swarming the top-rated bars and restaurants. If only they knew what treats await 15 minutes further down the tracks in Osaka, a frenetic, unpretentious merchant city with a legendary appetite.
Osakans have a word for their approach to food and drink: kuidaore. It means to consume until you collapse, and visitors can see some champions of this pursuit scattered around the streets at night. Who can blame them? The drinking options are broad, with both exquisitely classic and utterly original cocktails, artisanal sakes and natural wines, world-class craft beers, expertly crafted highballs everywhere you look and plenty of shochu to fill the gaps.
At the top end, geographically and figuratively, is the former rice market Kita-Shinchi, where the city’s highest rollers head for fine dining and drinking. To the south, in Minami, a more egalitarian drinking scene awaits. Underneath both is a living time capsule, a warren of no-frills commerce that occupies two subterranean levels and stretches for four kilometers. The variety of dining, drinking, retail and services on offer here is enough that you could spend your life underground without ever needing to come up for fresh air. As in Osaka as a whole, just about everything can be found, from budget-priced Japanese whisky to high-end wine—if you know where to look. — Nicholas Coldicott
Map: Where to Drink in OSAKA
A dynamic drinking city with a legendary appetite.
Talk like a local
Osakans are proud of their dialect and learning key phrases will put you in their good graces. Swap your arigato for okini (pronounced “oh-kee-nee”) and if anyone asks how you are, the answer is always bochi bochi—or “not too bad.”
Sample Japanese Whisky For a Song
Around half of the 800-odd bottles at the Umeda branch of spirits retailer Liquor Mountain are open for tasting pours at $1 to $2 a pop—the cheapest way to get a handle on the multitude of Japanese spirits.
But First, Highballs
In Osaka, a highball is a litmus test of bartender prowess in the same way beurre blanc is for a French chef. The favorite first order of the night in this city affords room to showcase technique and personalization: Is it built on a single whisky or a blend? Are the ingredients pre-chilled? Ice? Wilkinson or local Nose soda water? Express a zest? The only rule: It must be elegant and refreshing.
Dozens of Tiny
Dive Bars Under
One Roof
A cabaret hot spot in the 1960s and ’70s, Misono Universe is now home to more than 40 minuscule dive bars, most of them with eccentric themes and owners. Rule of thumb: If the door is open, expect a warm welcome. If it’s closed, keep walking.
But first, highballs
In Osaka, a highball is a litmus test of bartender prowess in the same way beurre blanc is for a French chef. The favorite first order of the night in this city affords room to showcase technique and personalization: Is it built on a single whisky or a blend? Are the ingredients pre-chilled? Ice? Wilkinson or local Nose soda water? Express a zest? The only rule:
It must be elegant and refreshing.
Dozens of Tiny Dive Bars
Under One Roof
A cabaret hot spot in the 1960s and ’70s, Misono Universe is now home to more than 40 minuscule dive bars, most of them with eccentric themes and owners. Rule of thumb: If the door is open, expect a warm welcome. If it’s closed, keep walking.
Talk like a local
Osakans are proud of their dialect and learning key phrases will put you in their good graces. Swap your arigato for okini (pronounced “oh-kee-nee”) and if anyone asks how you are, the answer is always bochi bochi—or “not too bad.”
Sample Japanese Whisky
For a Song
Around half of the 800-odd bottles at the Umeda branch of spirits retailer Liquor Mountain are open for tasting pours at $1 to $2 a pop—the cheapest way to get a handle on the multitude of Japanese spirits.
editors
Talia Baiocchi, Chloe Frechette, Mary Anne Porto
Lizzie Munro
Creative Director
Contributors
PhotographY
Amy Cavanaugh, Nicholas Coldicott, Allie Lazar, Akihiko Nishio,
Fred Siggins, Rafael Tonon
Tiago Maya, Nicole Hansen, Jake Roden, Lizzie Munro,
Tamura Sake Bar, Eric Medsker, Damian Liviciche, Laura Macias Acuna,
SEDE, Nicolás Bertoldo, Hiro Nakayama, Bar K
COPY EDITOR
Photo Editor
Catherine Sweet
Liina Paavonpera
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
Special Thanks to
Lillie Allen, Nat Belkov, Erin DeJesus, Emperatriz Garcia,
Nick Hensley, Amanda Kludt, Ellie Krupnick, Nick Mancall-Bitel,
Yunior Vasquez, Stephanie Wu
Engagement
Kaitlin Bray, Irina Groushevaia
Locations
Buenos Aires: Boticario, SEDE, Strange Brewing
Lisbon: A Ginjinha Espinheira, Jobim, Quattro Teste
Madison: Caribou Tavern, Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè
Melbourne: Byrdi, Geralds Bar
Osaka: Bar K, Bar Natuya, Pasania