Ohatsu Tenjin Dori Shopping Street

Sonezaki Ohatsu Tenjin-dori Shopping Street is a shopping street in Sonezaki, Kita Ward, Osaka City. It runs for about 300 meters from the Ohatsu Tenjin Shrine—famous as the setting of the puppet theater tragedy *Sonezaki Shinjū*—to the Swing Umeda Building, with shops lined along the way. Because the area was originally part of the shrine’s grounds, it is considered a sacred place. The name “Ohatsu Tenjin-dori” also comes from the heroine “Ohatsu” of *Sonezaki Shinjū*. To get there, it is about a 10-minute walk from Osaka Municipal Subway Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station or Umeda Station, and about a 10-minute walk from Hankyu and Hanshin Umeda Stations as well. It is popular not only with locals but with visitors from around the world, and it is always lively. While it is a shopping street, it is also known as an entertainment district. Around 90 casual dining spots are gathered here, making it easy to experience Osaka’s “eat-until-you-drop” culture with foods like okonomiyaki, yakitori, kushikatsu, and set meals. The arcade roof also makes it convenient on rainy days. Historically, Sonezaki was once a sandbank in the Yodo River that later became connected to land—hence the name “Sone-zaki.”