[2024 New Year Party] Here are the delicious Korean restaurants you can enjoy in Minami (Namba/Shinsaibashi)

Enjoy Korean food at Minami (Namba/Shinsaibashi)

There are many stylish Korean restaurants in the Minami area. Many new restaurants have opened since the coronavirus outbreak, and Korean restaurants are becoming more and more popular in Namba and Shinsaibashi.

This time, we will be featuring Korean restaurants that have become a part of Osaka Minami’s gourmet cuisine.

The reason Korean food is of such high quality is because of the large number of Korean residents.

The reason there are so many Koreans in Osaka is that in the 1920s, many people immigrated from the Korean Peninsula in search of work in Osaka’s factories and large-scale renovation work on the Hirano River. From 1922 to 1945, the regular ferry “Kimigayo Maru” was in service between Jeju Island and Osaka Port, so many people from Jeju Island and their descendants still live here.
In Ikuno Ward, Osaka City, 17.5% of the population is of Korean nationality, making it one of the largest residential areas for Korean residents in Japan. There are approximately 19,000 Koreans living in Japan in Ikuno Ward, Osaka City, and many of them have their roots on Jeju Island.

According to statistics as of the end of 2018, more than 105,000 of the 500,000 Koreans living in Japan live in Osaka Prefecture.

Introducing recommended Korean restaurants in the Minami area (Namba/Shinsaibashi)! 8 recommended stores

Stone-grilled samgyeopsal specialty cottage Sennichimae main store

Cottage Sennichimae Main Branch, which specializes in Korean stone-grilled samgyeopsal, is a Korean restaurant located in Chuo Ward, Osaka City. The store name “Cottage” means small pig, and there is a display of small pigs inside the store. 

At the cottage, you can enjoy authentic Korean cuisine such as seafood pancake, tteokbokki, yangnyeom chicken, cheese teppan buldak, sundubu jjigae, and stone-grilled bibimbap. The lunch-only menu items “Samgyeopsal Set Meal (850 yen)” and “Pork Shoulder Loin Miso Pickled Set Meal (950 yen)” are popular.

• Name: Stone-grilled samgyeopsal specialty cottage Sennichimae main store
• Address: 3-4-10 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6632-7110
• Business hours: 11:30-23:00

OKIDOKI

The Korean restaurant “OKIDOKI” is located just west of JR Namba Station (OCAT). Jjigae, a typical Korean hotpot dish, is served using sundubu (pure tofu). 

Okidoki offers sundubu with clams, onions, and white onions. The lunch menu includes mushroom sundubu, vegetable sundubu, chicken cheese sundubu, and pork belly sundubu. At dinner time, there are seafood sundubu, mentaiko butter sundubu, Italian sundubu, and Kujo green onion sundubu. 

Business hours are lunch time (11:00-15:00) and dinner time (17:00-22:00) from Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays and holidays. Smoking is completely prohibited inside the store.

• Name: OKIDOKI
• Address: ZEN1F, 1-2-4 Sakuragawa, Naniwa-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6567-5500
• Business hours: 11:00-14:40, 17:00-21:30 Closed on Sundays

Korean Kitchen Shijan Namba City Main Branch

Korean Kitchen Sijan is a Korean restaurant operated by Gourmet Kinya Restaurant. This store is a fusion of Korean cuisine and a Korean cafe, and offers an original menu targeting women in their 20s to 40s. 

We offer Korean cuisine that is “healthy” and “delicious,” as well as a comfortable space. In addition to standard menus such as bibimbap, sundubu jjigae, and cold noodles, we also offer menus that quickly incorporate Korean trends. 

Sijang means “market” in Korean, and the name comes from the fact that when the project leader at the time visited South Korea, he was drawn to the power of the ingredients and the large number of people gathered at the market.

• Name: Korean Kitchen Shijan Namba City Main Branch
• Address: Namba CITY B1F, 5-1-60 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6563-9016
• Business hours: 11:00-22:00

Rakuhando Shinsaibashi store

Rakuhando Shinsaibashi branch is a Korean restaurant located on the 1st floor of Nippo Kasayacho Kaikan, 2-8-3 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. 4 minutes walk from Shinsaibashi Station on the Subway Midosuji Line and Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line. 

We offer carefully selected Korean dishes such as classic bibimbap, sundubu cold noodles, and other popular authentic Korean dishes. 

The menu includes hotpot dishes such as Nakkobse, seafood jjigae hotpot, sweet and spicy offal hotpot, and cheese dakgalbi (exclusive to the Shinsaibashi store). They also offer a dish that is made by thickly slicing three pieces of pork seasoned with charcoal salt and grilling them until the surface is crispy. 

We are open until 5 a.m. even during the year-end and New Year holidays.

• Name: Rakuhando Shinsaibashi store
• Location: 1F, Nippo Kasayacho Hall, 2-8-3 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6212-4630
• Business hours: 18:00-5:00 (Saturdays and Sundays from 17:00)

Authentic Korean Cuisine Giwa Shinsaibashi Main Branch

Authentic Korean Restaurant Giwa is a Korean restaurant located in Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka. The dishes prepared by the Korean owner-chef, who has extensive training in Korean court cuisine, are carefully prepared to suit Japanese tastes and have a reputation for being just the right amount of spiciness. 

The recommended course at the Shinsaibashi main store is the Giwa Course, where you can enjoy a well-balanced and diverse lineup of dishes such as steamed pork, chive pancakes, and stone-grilled bibimbap (or cold noodles). Customization is also possible, such as changing the type of salad. 

In addition, at the Shinsaibashi main store, there is a “2-hour all-you-can-eat thick-sliced ​​samgyeopsal x all-you-can-drink Korean soju” limited to Mondays through Thursdays, and a 2-hour all-you-can-eat “giwa meat samadhi plan” that includes four popular meats x 2 hours of all-you-can-drink including chamisul. Other courses are also available.

• Name: Authentic Korean Cuisine Giwa Shinsaibashi Main Branch
• Location: KYOYA BLD2F, 2-5-8 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6282-7161
• Business hours: 17:00-00:00

Soju Hanzan CLUB POCHA Namba store

Soju Hanzan CLUB POCHA is a Korean restaurant located in Soemon-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka. It is located on the second floor of Soemoncho Street, about a 5-minute walk from Namba Station. 

Soju Hanzan (소주한잔) means “a glass of soju” in Korean. There are many table seats in the store, and it can be used for various occasions such as girls’ gatherings and banquets. 

Business hours are Friday and Saturday from 17:00 to 7:00 (last order at 6:00).

• Name: Soju Hanzan CLUB POCHA Namba store
• Location: 2nd floor, 7-9 Soemon-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-6210-3936
• Business hours: 17:00 – 6:00 the next day 

Saemaul Restaurant Shinsaibashi Branch

Saemaul Shokudo Shinsaibashi branch is a popular Korean restaurant chain located about 2 minutes walk from Exit 4A of Osaka Metro Shinsaibashi Station. Business hours are from 12:00 to 23:00 on weekdays and from 11:00 to 23:00 on weekends and holidays. The phone number is 06-4256-2928. 

The menu includes charcoal bulgogi (1,080 yen), Baekpa set meal gochujang flavor (~999 yen), egg jjim (660 yen), yeoltan bulgogi (880 yen), seafood chive pancake (1,150 yen), chadolbagi (1,380 yen), and saemaul bulgogi. (980 yen) etc. 

Some reviews say that the meat was very delicious and that the staff were kind. 

• Name: Saemaul Restaurant Shinsaibashi branch
• Address: 1-3-29 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-4256-2928
• Business hours: 11:00-23:00

Naraku Kimpa x Camaro Chicken Shinsaibashi Shopping Street Store

Naraku Kimbap x Camaro Chicken is a restaurant where you can enjoy Korean-style light meals, mainly featuring bite-sized gimbap, which originated in Gwangjang Market in Seoul, South Korea, and fried chicken made with rice flour that has an addictive crispy texture. 

The name “gimbap” means that once you start eating it, you can’t stop eating it. Camaro Chicken is a very popular chicken chain restaurant in South Korea. 

Naraku Kimpa x Camaro Chicken Shinsaibashi store is located in the Shinsaibashi-suji shopping street, a 4-minute walk from Exit 12 of Osaka Metro Honmachi Station. You can eat inside with 6 counter seats and 4 table seats, but we also sell take-out items at the store. 

• Name: Naruko Kimpa x Camaro Chicken Shinsaibashi Shopping Street Store
• Address: 3-6-13 Kitakyuhoji-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka
• Phone number: 06-4256-3499
• Business hours: 11:00-19:30

summary

Even in downtown areas like Osaka Minami (Namba/Shinsaibashi), there are many Korean restaurants, and they seem to capture the stomachs of many people.

As of January 5, 2024, there are 661 Korean restaurants in Osaka. Many Korean restaurants have opened in the Minami area, which is one of Osaka’s most popular entertainment areas.

Why not visit a Korean restaurant where you can experience the feeling of traveling to Korea through the interior and menu, without having to go to Korea?