Osaka & Hiroshima
Alone

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone, Concretely

Osaka is the easiest city in Japan to eat alone in, and the reason is architectural as much as cultural: a large share of its best food is served at a counter. Kushikatsu bars seat you along a bar facing the fryer, skewers arriving a few at a time, with no obligation to order a full spread and no awkwardness in eating slowly or quickly. Okonomiyaki restaurants build the meal around a griddle set into the counter or table, and a single diner is served as routine rather than exception. Ramen counters, standing sushi bars, and the stall-style takoyaki vendors around Dotonbori and Shinsekai are all built for exactly this kind of eating.

Sit-down restaurants rarely turn a solo diner away. If the seating feels awkward, ask for a smaller table near the counter or the window, and point at the picture menu or the plastic-food display case outside. The depachika basements at Hanshin and Daimaru let you assemble a meal from prepared dishes and eat it on a bench, which suits a tired evening.

A free excerpt from Osaka & Hiroshima Alone.