Tsuruhashi

Charcoal smoke, kimchi shops and a market that began as a black market

Tsuruhashi is where Osaka's Korea Town and a run of yakiniku restaurants sit. The station is the starting point for a market of about 800 shops and a shopping street of kimchi sellers. It's a small area with a short list of places, so treat it as a half-day or an evening.

Tsuruhashi Market is six markets and shopping streets beside the station, spread across Tennoji, Higashinari and Ikuno wards. It grew out of a postwar black market and includes a wholesale fish market where cooks buy early in the morning. Shop hours differ, so go in the morning if you want it at its busiest.

Osaka Korea Town on Miyuki-dori, in Ikuno-ku, has more than 20 kimchi specialty shops and Korean groceries. Hours and closing days differ by shop. The street association asks you to throw rubbish away at the shop where you bought your street food or take it home. Two yakiniku restaurants in the records are within a few minutes of the station.