Amerikamura, Osaka
Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Neighbourhood guide

Amerikamura

Vintage shops, live houses and takoyaki around a triangle of grass

Amerikamura is the Nishi-Shinsaibashi district west of Midosuji, where warehouses became shops selling imported clothes, jeans and used records in the 1970s. Mitsu Park, better known as Triangle Park, is the meeting spot in the middle. Horie and its furniture street start about a minute from Yotsubashi Station.

The shop association's history page says a cafe called LOOP opened in front of Triangle Park in 1969 and pulled in young designers first. Today vintage shops, record shops and live houses sit within a few streets of each other. Hours and days off vary by shop, so don't plan around one place being open.

It's a busier place from the afternoon on, and busiest at weekends. Young comedians often perform in the park for free, and the crowd is whoever happens to be passing. The nightlife is mostly event-driven, so check a venue's schedule before you go.

Getting there

Shinsaibashi Station on the Midosuji Line is about 5 minutes on foot from Triangle Park. Yotsubashi Station on the Yotsubashi Line is the other way in, and it's also the closest stop for Horie.

13 places
Shinsaibashi, Yotsubashi · Shinsaibashi (Midosuji Line) stations
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See Amerikamura on the interactive map

Live music and nights out

BIGCAT is a live hall on the 4th floor of the BIGSTEP building, with shows from idol one-man lives to touring bands. FANJ twice is a basement live venue diagonally across from Triangle Park, and clubJOULE has run techno, house and psy-trance nights since 1999 on floors 2 to 4 of its building. CIRCUS Osaka only opens for events, and events after 22:00 don't admit anyone under 20, so bring photo ID.

The bar FARPLANE opens at 20:00, but its last news item is from November 2024, so confirm it's still running before you head over.

Where to stay

Stay near Shinsaibashi on the Midosuji Line if you want the area on your doorstep. Yotsubashi on the Yotsubashi Line puts you next to Horie. There's no list of hotels here, and the late events mean the streets stay lively after dark.

Nearby neighbourhoods

Shinsaibashi, Osaka Shinsaibashi A 600 m arcade, department stores and basement food streets 11 places · under 1 km away Dotonbori, Osaka Dotonbori The canal strip with the crab sign, the runner and a lot of takoyaki 13 places · under 1 km away Namba, Osaka Namba Curry, pork buns and a comedy theatre around the big station 16 places · under 1 km away Nipponbashi, Osaka Nipponbashi Electronics, retro games and a covered market east of Namba 7 places · 1.3 km away

The best of Amerikamura

Best meeting spot Mitsu Park (Triangle Park) A small triangle of park built on waste road land. Expect crowds on weekends.
Best snack Koga-ryu Takoyaki Main Store The shop says it started the lattice of mayonnaise on top. It closes at 20:30, or 21:30 on Saturdays, and there's often a queue.
Best for records Marukabatsu Record Shop About 5,000 used records in stock in Kita-Horie, open from noon to 21:00. It's closed on the second Wednesday of the month.
Best for furniture and cafes Orange Street (Tachibana-dori) About 800 m of furniture and interior shops mixed with cafes, in Horie. Each shop keeps its own days off.

Things to do in Amerikamura

Neighbourhood · Free Amerikamura (Amemura) The Nishi-Shinsaibashi district west of Midosuji where warehouses were turned into shops selling imported clothes, jeans and used records in the 1970s. Its own shop association says a cafe called LOOP opened in front of Triangle Park in 1969 and pulled in young designers first.
Park · Free Mitsu Park (Triangle Park) A small triangular park at the centre of Amerikamura, officially Mitsu Park, built on what was waste road land. Young comedians often perform here for free and passersby make up the audience.
Food Koga-ryu Takoyaki Main Store A takoyaki shop across from Mitsu Park. The shop's own page says it started the lattice of mayonnaise on top, and it serves sauce and mayonnaise, soy sauce and mayonnaise, and spring onion with ponzu.
Neighbourhood · Free Orange Street (Tachibana-dori) A street about 800 m long in Horie that has sold furniture since the late Edo period. The shop association says the 'Orange Street' name was picked from more than 1,000 entries in a 1992 newspaper contest, after the Edo-period spelling of tachibana, a mandarin tree.
Neighbourhood · Free Horie (Minami-Horie and Kita-Horie) A district of clothing shops, general stores and cafes in Nishi-ku. It was a timber town along the Horie River until the 1945 air raids destroyed it, and returning residents built the furniture street Tachibana-dori.
Shopping Marukabatsu Record Shop A used record shop in Kita-Horie with about 5,000 records in stock at any time, plus CDs, DVDs, videos and pamphlets. It buys and sells everything from rock to kayokyoku.
Nightlife clubJOULE A large club with a rooftop on floors 2 to 4 of the Minami Sumiya-cho Building, open since 1999. It books techno, house and psy-trance nights with international DJs.
Nightlife BIGCAT A live music hall on the 4th floor of the BIGSTEP building in Amerikamura, with shows ranging from idol one-man lives to touring bands.
Nightlife CIRCUS Osaka An entertainment space on the 2nd floor of the Nakanishi Building that runs DJ nights and live shows, and rents out for fashion shows and photo shoots.
Nightlife FARPLANE A bar on the top floor of the East Village Building with pole-dance equipment, a stage and regular shows by dancers and singers. The bar also has a second branch in Shinsaibashi PARCO.
Nightlife FANJ twice A live music venue in the basement of the Hotel Lions Rock Building, diagonally across from Triangle Park. It has a bar and lounge on B1F, a raised stage, and hosts live, DJ and fashion events.
Museum Tezukayama Gallery A commercial contemporary art gallery in Minami-Horie, opened in Tezukayama in 1992 and at this address since March 2010. It has a main gallery for solo and group shows plus a smaller viewing room for collection works.
Shopping Shinsaibashi Big Step A multi-storey complex in the middle of Amerikamura with youth fashion shops, game and record stores, cafes and restaurants. Its site also lists cinema screenings and a live-event calendar.

What's on in Amerikamura

Local events in the next 30 days, read from the ward, park and organiser pages each one links to.

  • English Comedy Showcase Osaka Performance

    Fri 30 Oct, Fri 27 Nov, Fri 25 Dec · Absinthe Underground

    An English-language stand-up comedy night on the last Friday of the month in Horie, with a lineup of comedians from several countries.

    Free (pay what you feel) · 19:00 · Map · Source: Peatix

More local events around Osaka

Live music in Amerikamura

What's on in Amerikamura this week

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