When visiting Osaka, the foodie capital of Japan, you can’t leave without trying the local delicacies.
Based on my experience with my daughter, here’s what I suggest trying that kids may like and where to enjoy it.
Note that you can enjoy (most of) these dishes anywhere in Japan, but I’ve found that they taste best in Osaka, their city of origin.
Okonomiyaki
This is a teppanyaki dish that is similar to a savory pancake. The Kansai region, in particular Osaka, and Hiroshima are both famous for their own unique styles of okonomiyaki.
Kansai-style okonomiyaki consists of ingredients such as cabbage, okonomiyaki flour, egg, and seasonings mixed together in a bowl before being fried on a hot plate. It’s then topped with a savory sauce, mayonnaise, as well as nori and bonito flakes.
This is an easy dish for kids to eat or even share with their parents as the portions tend to be quite large. You can also ask them to omit ingredients such as bonito if you feel that your child will not enjoy it.
My recommendations for okonomiyaki in Osaka include CHIBO in Dotombori and Umeda.
Kushikatsu
This is something my daughter absolutely loves, and some restaurants offer kids’ sets featuring this dish.
Kushikatsu is a piece of meat, vegetable, or seafood that is skewered, dipped into a batter, and then fried. They’re basically mini-cutlets on a stick. This makes it easy for kids to eat (but the skewers can be sharp so please be careful!).
Kushikatsu is dipped into a savory sauce or salt before being eaten.
A popular chain restaurant where you can find kushikatsu in Osaka is Kushikatsu Daruma, which has locations throughout the city, such as in Umeda and Shinsaibashi. I also like Kushikatsu Ryouri Katsu Navio in Umeda, 壺千 in Minoh (which has a kids’ set), and Kushikatsu Tanaka (串カツ田中).
Kushikatsu Tanaka is especially great for kids as those under the age of 7 can get a free plate of takoyaki and ice cream! They have various locations throughout Osaka, so use Google Maps to find out.
If you want a Michelin Bib Gourmand experience and don’t mind splurging a bit, visit kushiage 010, which my husband and I visited with our daughter. Note that they serve a course menu so you can’t choose what you’re going to get. (Not the best choice for picky eaters.) You also need to make a reservation in advance.
Now, if you’re wondering what kind of kushikatsu to get for your kid, here’s what my daughter likes:
- Cheese (チーズ)
- Kabocha (かぼちゃ)
- Asparagus (アスパラ)
- Pork loin (豚ロース)
- Shrimp (エビ)
Keep in mind that different restaurants serve different kinds of kushikatsu, so not all of them will serve what’s listed above.
Also, please be careful when serving kushikatsu to your child. It’s hot when freshly made (after all, it’s fried), so my husband and I either wait or take a small bite of it to help it cool down for our daughter.
Kushikatsu is also served on a skewer that has a sharp end. My daughter eats her kushikatsu like a piece of corn on the cob so that the end doesn’t poke her in the mouth. If you’re worried, just slide the kushikatsu off the skewer and put it on a plate.
Takoyaki
Okay, I’m going to be honest here — my daughter does not like takoyaki and I don’t recommend it for younger kids like toddlers due to the choking hazard. However, if you have older children, definitely give takoyaki a try.
These balls of fried batter contain a piece of chopped octopus (hence the choking hazard) and are topped with a special sauce, mayonnaise, and bonito flakes. The texture is probably going to be unlike anything you’ve had before, which is why it’s worth a try. But don’t be too surprised if your kid doesn’t like it.
You can ask to omit the octopus (ask “tako nashi dekimasuka?“) if you want to try it but are worried about the choking hazard. This is what we do for our daughter.
You can buy takoyaki at various food stalls throughout the city. But if you want to try making it with your family, I recommend visiting Takonotetsu in Umeda. You can customize your takoyaki here by adding fillings such as cheese but try it at its most basic form first. You can also ask to omit the octopus (or just don’t put it in). They also serve okonomiyaki.
Like kushikatsu, the inside of takoyaki can be very hot, so wait and take a quick bite to find out whether it’s okay for your child to consume. You can also poke a hole into the top using chopsticks to help it cool down faster. My daughter can’t eat a whole takoyaki anyway as it’s too big so we cut it in half.
Kitsune Udon
This is a dish you can have anywhere in Japan, but since it originated in Osaka, I thought I would include it here.
Kitsune udon consists of a bowl of hot udon topped with fried aburaage tofu. My daughter loves this dish and we have it at home as well as when we eat out.
You can enjoy a bowl of kitsune udon almost anywhere (it’s our go-to when other restaurants are full). But if you want something especially good, I recommend having this dish, as well as other kinds of udon, at Sanuki Udon IMAYUKI or Udon-bo, which is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant. There might be a line but it moves fast, although if you have a big family you may need to wait a little longer since they only have 20 seats.
551 Horai
This is a restaurant, not a specific type of local food, but I felt that it needed to be included in the list.
Pronounced “go go ichi Horai”, 551 Horai is one of the most famous restaurants in Osaka, known for its meat buns (nikuman), shumai, and gyoza. At various train stations and even the airports in Osaka, you’re likely to see 551 Horai stalls with people lined up, waiting to buy their delicious food to take home.
You can buy some food for takeout at 551 Horai at different locations, four in Umeda alone, to enjoy at your hotel room, but there’s also thankfully a sit-down restaurant in Namba.
My daughter is a huge fan of their meat buns and gyoza.
Note that it’s impolite to eat on trains in Japan, so try to refrain from doing that.
Wrap-up: Kid-Friendly Osaka Food
I hope this look at local food to enjoy with kids in Osaka has been helpful to you!
I will make sure to update this article whenever I encounter a good restaurant in the city that should be shared with other parents.
