Fukushima Station Night Walk: Shotendori, Josho Shinmichi & a Sento in the Alley — Osaka's Downtown Next Door to Umeda

Nationally, "Fukushima" likely calls to mind Fukushima Prefecture or Fukushima City. But in Kansai, "Fukushima" means Osaka's Fukushima. I walked around the area centered on Fukushima Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line.

This area has three stations with "Fukushima" in the name — JR Fukushima Station, Hanshin Fukushima Station, and JR Shin-Fukushima Station — all within a few minutes' walk of each other. Despite being right next to Osaka Station (Umeda), it retains a distinctly working-class feel.

Coming out of the north exit, a few young women are standing in front of Mister Donut. Probably touts for a girls bar. They're not pushing rate cards in your face — just standing there. I walk past and head into the night.

Shotendori Shopping Street and the Station Area

Head north from the station and turn left, and you reach the area where Yamato-odori and Umeda-kaido intersect. Turn right and you're at the entrance to Shotendori (聖天通) shopping street. Neon signs reflecting off the pavement, banners for standing bars, flags advertising sports viewing and candy — the cluttered, lived-in look of a night-time shopping street.

Inside the shopping street, men standing in front of izakayas call out here and there. It's not especially lively, but the foot traffic never stops. On the streetlights hangs a banner reading "Uretetemo Uranai Shotengai" — a pun playing on uranai (fortune-telling) and urenai (won't sell). A wordplay right out of the gate.

Walking further toward Amagasaki, the streetlights shift to a warmer color and the occasional person hurrying home comes into view. It's surprisingly quiet for somewhere right next door to Osaka Station.

Under the Tracks: The South Exit and Outdoor Drinking

I head back toward the station and this time go south. The atmosphere is different from the north — restaurants cluster tightly under the elevated tracks. On a Friday night, this stretch must get very busy.

Bars are packed into a small stretch of street. Laughter drifts out from somewhere inside.

Tables and chairs spilling out onto the pavement, people drinking in the open air. A classic scene for Fukushima, Osaka's food district.

Josho Shinmichi and a Sento in the Alley

Looking to the side, there's a narrow alley called Josho Shinmichi (浄正新道). Going inside, old buildings line both sides and the Showa-era atmosphere lingers.

At the back of the alley, a small place has its lights on. No real sign — just a noren curtain hanging in the doorway.

Among the bars, a sento (public bathhouse) noren appears. It seems to still be open. A sento in the middle of an alley — somehow very Osaka.

Out of the alley, the Umeda high-rises are right there. Back alleys and skyscrapers coexisting within a few hundred meters of each other — that's what this area is.

Video: Walking Around Fukushima Station

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