Actually it's not too certain where Namba covers. Basically the Dotonbori river, Ebisu bashi, Sennichimae, Shinsaibashi-suji, America-mura, even parts of Nipponbashi Den Den Town, seriously one need a good 1 week to thoroughly see everything available.

Shinsaibashi-suji, the very first shopping street they went to. "Suji" which kind of mean veins is a very distinctive Osaka style to name their streets, not found in other part of Japan
A special type of puffer fish, a cuisine found exclusively in Osaka
Japan's infatuation with European style is evident in this French restaurant
Doguyasuji, please come here if you want to buy authentic Japanese cookware and utensils	Sennichimae, filled with eateries and pachinko-ya
A giant fortune cat hung upside down a pachinko lounge with a large clock embedded behind	So the fortune cat is the mascot of Sennichimae
You gotta love the pachinko lounges along Sennichimae. They put a lot of emphasis on the external decorations. Like this one has a long oriental dragon surrounding it, giving it an auspicious feel to it
A Takashimaya shopping mall with a unique architecture
One thing Osaka is famous for is the fact that every stone throw away would be a shrine or a temple as seen here in the middle of Sennichimae

As mentioned the Hotel Riva Nankai (formerly Holiday Inn Namba) is located in the heart of Namba and within stone throw from both Namba or Shinsaibashi station and to KK, it was the most lavish Japanese hotel he had stayed. Those he stayed before in Tokyo always baffled him on how they were awarded 4 stars each with 2 stars quality. Below are some of the amenities, facilities and services offered by this wonderful hotel:

Look at how spacious the room is

Nice limited edition Kirin beer for autumn that foes well with the grilled crab from Dotonbori

KK feeling groovy after a cup of egg pudding

Some vending machines as well as ice dispensing machine to chill your drinks in.

A view from 11 floor of the hotel which the couple stayed

Calif Garden on the 3rd level, the restaurant where they had complimentary buffet breakfast for 4 days straight

Corin enjoying the buffet breakfast which offered both Western and Japanese cuisine, though it was the same every morning, it definitely helped save extra cash for them to be spent on breakfast

The main Midosuji runs from North (Umeda) to South (Namba) and along the Shinsaibashi area, you'll see large shopping complexes like Daimaru & Sogo as well as hotels like Riva Nankai & Hotel Nikko Osaka where they embarked on their 1-day Osaka tour the following day.

Apple Center, not fast enough to introduce the new iPod Nano	Nike Osaka boutique, offering the latest series of sportswear from the famous brand
A nice 3D map of the place

© Copyright KK Heng 2005