Janjan Yokocho

In the shadow of the Tsutenkaku tower, in the wonderfully old-fashioned Shinsekai district, runs one of Osaka's most characterful food alleys. Its official name is the Nankai Tsutenkaku Hondori shopping street, but everyone calls it Janjan Yokocho, an onomatopoeia for the twanging shamisen music that once lured customers into its bars. Narrow, covered and defiantly retro, the alley is a stronghold of the cheap, cheerful, unpretentious food that Osaka calls kuidaore, eating until you drop.

Shinsekai, meaning 'new world', was built in the early twentieth century as a gleaming entertainment district modelled on Paris and Coney Island, crowned by the first Tsutenkaku tower. It later fell on hard times and gained a rough reputation, but that very neglect preserved its Showa-era atmosphere, and today its faded neon, hand-painted signs and old shopfronts are cherished as a portal to mid-century Osaka. Janjan Yokocho is the district's beating heart, a tight run of counters, stalls and bars where the food is unfussy and the prices low.

The alley's signature dish is kushikatsu, skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables battered, crumbed and deep-fried to order, then dunked in a communal vat of thin savoury sauce. The single ironclad rule, posted at every counter, is never to double-dip your skewer once bitten, since everyone shares the same sauce. Beyond kushikatsu the alley serves doteyaki, beef sinew simmered in miso, grilled offal, oden, ramen and river eel, washed down with cheap beer and highballs. Many of the shops are decades old, their walls yellowed with age, and some still keep tables where old-timers play shogi and go over a drink, giving the place a lived-in, neighbourly feel found nowhere in the polished dining districts.

What makes Janjan Yokocho special is its authenticity. This is working-class Osaka at its most genuine, loud, friendly and completely unconcerned with appearances, and eating your way along it is one of the city's great inexpensive pleasures. The covered arcade means you can enjoy it whatever the weather, and its compact length makes it easy to sample several shops in an evening, standing or perching at counters alongside locals.

The surrounding Shinsekai adds to the appeal. The Tsutenkaku tower offers views and a slice of kitsch, the streets are lined with more kushikatsu giants and quirky shops, and the whole district photographs beautifully, especially after dark when the neon flares. A visit here pairs the food of the alley with a wander through one of Japan's most atmospheric retro neighbourhoods.

Access is easy and, usefully, on the JR network: Shin-Imamiya Station on the Osaka Loop Line lies about six minutes' walk away, with subway and Nankai stations also close, and an IC card covers the ride. The alley is free to enter, with shops open from late morning into the evening. Come hungry, mind the sauce rule, and let Janjan Yokocho serve you the cheerful, deep-fried soul of old Osaka.