Shopping in Osaka

Its fun and a lifetime experience while shopping in Osaka. The third largest city of Japan Osaka is a shopper's heaven. Long stretch of streets filled with shops having wares of all kinds fulfilling your minutest of requirements is made available. Prices are definitely negotiable and if you are a temporary visitor the shop owner might exempt you of the sales tax.

A visit to Osaka therefore remains incomplete if you miss the shopping part. Not only taking a souvenir back, but the innumerable shopping malls, fashion streets, electronic arenas will urge you to unleash the shopping fanatic in you. The flea markets are an added advantage to strike profitable bargains. It's too rare an offer and too hard to resist. Every street and every shop in Osaka is devoted to a single cause- pleasure of shopping with the best possible deals. Going round all these shops and malls is a fascinating experience and gives a great insight into the Osakan Style of business.

While there is a market arena or departmental store housing all items under one roof, there are malls and shops dedicated to a single commodity. Among all, the fashion line is the most dominated one followed by electronics and handicrafts.

Fashion:

Fashion Boutiques featuring designer wears and popular names like Gucci, Prada which are hallmarks of the fashion industry are all present. The favored local haunts are the Ane-Mura or the American Town, Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street, Tennoji Area and Umeda Shopping Arcade among many others. Exotic looking evening wears, to casuals and children's dresses adorn the shop shelves to be picked by you.

Electronics:

The night dazzles the eyes in Osaka with all its neon signs and hoardings. Known for its technological advancement and inventing all the latest gadgets Japan is renowned all over the world. The Den-Den Town is a complete electronics paradise. Around 150 shops dealing with a dizzying section of all the modern gizmos make up the appliance district Of Nipponbashi on the eastern side of Den-Den Town.

Handicrafts:

The local handicrafts of Osaka are the identity of the culture, customs and age old tradition of Osaka, Japan. The Tennoji Area sells the most exquisite looking antiques. But the most exciting place to look and study the traditional handicrafts of Osaka, a visit to the Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Nihon Mingei-Kan) is highly recommended.