Tsuruhashi (鶴橋), Osaka

Tsuruhashi (鶴橋) is a neighborhood in eastern Osaka around Tsuruhashi Station, best known for yakiniku restaurants and Korean food. It has two separate draws that first-time visitors often confuse: the covered market lanes beside the station and Osaka Koreatown on Miyuki-dori, about 15 minutes' walk to the southeast in Ikuno Ward.

Both are free to wander. Go hungry, since most visits are built around grilled meat and kimchi.

Tsuruhashi Market

The market starts right at the station exits. The Osaka tourism bureau describes it as six markets and shopping streets with about 800 shops, spread across parts of Tennoji, Higashinari and Ikuno wards. It grew out of the black market that formed around the station after World War II, and its narrow lanes still look much as they did in the postwar years.

Yakiniku restaurants sit side by side with stalls selling kimchi and Korean food. Other shops sell dried goods, fresh fish and household goods. For what to buy and how the lanes are laid out, see our page on the Tsuruhashi market lanes.

Osaka Koreatown (Miyuki-dori)

Osaka Koreatown is the shopping street along Miyuki-dori. Its association says the street began with the Tsuruhashi public market in 1926. From the 1920s, ferry service between Jeju Island and Osaka brought migrant workers from Jeju, and Korean shopkeepers opened businesses to serve them. During the air raids of the 1940s many Japanese shop owners left, and Korean owners moved onto the main street. The name Koreatown was adopted in 1993.

Today the association counts more than 170 member businesses. Among them are more than 20 kimchi specialists and several shops selling steamed pork. The association describes the street as a market where professional cooks come for authentic ingredients and local people do their evening shopping.

A few practical points from the association:

• Closing days: there is no common closing day, but many shops close on Tuesday or Wednesday.

• Trash: there are no public bins, so hand your trash back to the shop you bought from or take it with you.

• Cars: the street is closed to vehicles through the daytime shopping hours, so do not try to drive in.

Osaka Koreatown History Museum

For the background, the Osaka Koreatown History Museum sits on a side street just off the main road. It traces the community from early migration to the present day. Admission is 300 yen for adults, and it is closed on Sundays.

How to get to Tsuruhashi

Tsuruhashi Station is served by the JR Osaka Loop Line, Kintetsu trains and the Osaka Metro Sennichimae Line. The market is directly outside.

• To Koreatown from Tsuruhashi: about 15 minutes on foot

• To Koreatown from Momodani: about 10 minutes on foot from Momodani Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line

A good route is to arrive at Tsuruhashi for the market, walk to Koreatown, and leave from Momodani. The off-the-beaten-track Osaka walk includes Tsuruhashi's Koreatown along with Osaka Castle, the Harukas area and Shinsekai.

When to visit Tsuruhashi

Come for lunch or an early dinner, when the yakiniku restaurants and food stalls are busiest. Avoid Tuesday and Wednesday in Koreatown if you want every shop open. Tsuruhashi is a short ride from Tennoji on the Loop Line, so it pairs easily with Tennoji's temples and park.

To see how Tsuruhashi stacks up against the city's other markets, read Osaka's food markets compared.