Shopping at Dotonbori and Glico Man | Japan Solo Travel 2017

Iconic Glico Man sign located right smack in the middle of Dotonbori. Glico Man sign first gained popularity among locals who gathered at Dotonbori to celebrate Japan's sports victories as the Glico Man resembles an athlete in a victory pose.

Dotonbori

Address
Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0071, Japan
(Glico Man sign is located near H&M and F21, along Shinsaibashi 心斎橋)

Nearest Subway Station
Umeda Station (Midosuji, Tanimachi and Yotsubashi lines)

Opening Hours
Some shops are opened 24/7

Glico Man was only recently revamped with LED Lights in 2014.

I initially wanted to catch sunset at Dotonbori, but the weather in Osaka that day was too misty.

Pufferfish / blow fish at Dotonbori

Walked into MAISON De Gigi, a 3 storey cafe at Dotonbori that serves ice cream, pancake and belgian waffles. There's also a takeaway koisk, and I bought the strawberry flavoured belgian waffles because it smelt too good! I can't recall the price, but the waffles was slightly on the pricer end (around SGD $2). The waffles was delicious because I have extreme sweet tooth.

Kanidouraku Dotombori-Honten, Dotonbori — Osaka's famous crab restaurant

Walked into Forever 21 and shopping was sooooo good there! The sales were insane in US and European brands like Forever 21 and H&M — I scored two pairs of jeans for SGD $12.50 each, clothes for SGD $2 to $7. Japanese labels were, ironically, way more expensive in comparison so I hardly bought anything from Japanese labels.

Cute chicken mascot at Kinnotorikara

Saw a queue forming at Kinnotorikara, a Japanese street food store that specialises in fried chicken. The boneless chicken bits come with different special sauces like yuzu, sesame, vinegar, garlic butter, barbecue and more.

Kinnotorikara

Opening Hours
Weekdays: 12pm to 10pm
Weekends: 11am to 10pm

Small serving for ¥260 (~SGD 3.25)

Took the train to Namba Station because I wanted to visit Nanbayasaka Shrine because I didn't know the shrine is only open from 6am to 5pm. Made a wasted trip, there was something calming about walking in Japan's winter. Times like this I wish Singapore has four seasons because I very much prefer cold weather!

One of Japanese's main forms of transport, cycling

Huge selection of ice cream available at Japan's convenience stores

Stopped by 7-11 before I returned to my Couchsurfing apartment for a bottle of hot milk tea because the cold was getting unbearable since I was quite underdressed with just two jackets, then I ended my night at about 9pm because I was on a serious lack of sleep and had to wake up early the next day to head to Kyoto.

Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)

Osaka Summary | Osaka Couchsurfing Experience | Osaka Castle Park and Tsuyunoten Shrine | Shopping at Dotonbori and Glico Man

Kyoto Summary | AEON Mall Kyoto and The Cube Shopping Mall | Arashiyama Bamboo Groves and Nonomiya-jinja Shrine | Kyoto Tower Public Bathhouse ~YUU~

Hiroshima Summary and Atomic Bomb Dome | Children's Peace Monument and Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Peace Bell

Miyajima Day Trip Summary | Omotesando Shopping Street | Itsukushima Shrine, Deers and Miyajima Sunset

Tokyo Imano Hostel Review

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review