Orange Street, Osaka (cafe and shopping) (Part 1)

If Shinsaibashi Shopping Street is too touristy, mainstream, crowded and loud for you, then I would recommend you to explore the nearby ORANGE STREET Osaka, located just within a leisure 20-minute walk. The 800 meters Orange Street is gaining popularity among the hipster crowd in Osaka with its small cluster of quaint and chic cafes, as well as independent labels for the fashionistas, forming an interesting contrast alongside with antique shops and furniture shops that remain since meiji era and post-war period.  It is a relatively less-populated area that allows you to while your afternoon away browsing; shopping; cafe-hoping; people-watching.

Let’s walk.

This prominent Signage marks the commencement of Orange Street. An interesting fact: Orange Street was formerly known as Tachibana-Horie, located near the canal. Horie means “canal” in Japanese and Tachibana is a species of citrus fruit, which explains the simple renaming to “Orange Street”.

The first shop at the front of Orange Street is LHP (Lazy Hazy Planet), a popular shop among the hipster crowd.  Highly regarded as a hipster paradise, L.H.P believes strongly in supporting all designers. The shop hosts an extensive range of designer labels and provides a wide array of fashion styles and trends.

Address: 1-9-1 Minamihorie Nishi-ku Osaka
Telephone: +81-6-6535-8757
Opening hours: 11:00 – 20:00
Website: http://www.lhp-japan.com/index.html

Opposite LHP is Head Porter. Well, most tourists are probably more familiar with the parent company and bag brand: Porter, which is manufactured by established Japanese company, Yoshida and Co.  Head Porter started in July 1998 and besides bags and luggage, it also produces silver accessories and jewellery. The frequent collaborations with other designers differentiates Head Porter from the original Porter as a more stylish brand with unique, functional and high quality bags.

Address: 1-8-18 Minami-Horie Nishi-ku Osaka-shi Osaka Japan 550-0015
Telephone: +81-6-6626-9177
Opening hours: 12:00 – 19:00
Website: http://store.headporter.co.jp/en/

Several steps after Head Porter lies the first cafe along Orange Street – Cafe Contempo. The name seems to imply “contemporary” and indeed, it is. Expect a very relaxing and cozy environment and surprisingly huge seating capacity. Be it chatting, studying or even people-watching, there is a suitable space or corner for you.

Address: 1-9-1 Minami Horie Nishi-Ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
Telephone: +81- 6-6541-1866
Opening hours: 08:00 – 20:00
Facebook: CAFE CONTEMPO

Walking ahead, you will soon reach a cross junction, commonly with a crowd in front of a relatively big nursery/cafe – BIOTOP. Honestly, I have no idea if they are waiting for their takeaways or simply waiting for the traffic lights? Regardless, I unknowingly became part of the crowd, admiring the decor of BIOTOP because it is so mesmerizing! The shop space is cleverly segmented into several departments – a nursery/flower shop selling plants and flowers; a corner stand (cafe) serving coffee, bread and pastries; a retail store selling general items such as accessories, organic cosmetics, toiletries and clothing; an Italian restaurant “CUBIERTA” on level 4 serving pizzas and pastas; a rooftop garden alongside CUBIERTA. Simply love the vibe here and it’s not surprising why BIOTOP is regarded as the trademark of Orange Street!

Address: 1/2/4F, Minamihorie, Nishi-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka, 550-0015, Japan
Telephone: +81-6-6531-8223
Opening hours: 11:00～21:00
Website: http://www.biotop.jp/about/#about_osaka

BIOTOP NURSERIES
Level 1
Telephone: +81-6-6531-8225
Opening hours: 11:00 – 19:00

BIOTOP CORNER STAND
Level 1
Telephone: +81-6-6531-8226
Opening hours: 09:00 – 23:00

ROOFTOP GARDEN & RESTAURANT “CUBIERTA” 
Level 4
Telephone: +81-6-6531-8227
Opening hours: 11:00 – 23:00

Opposite BIOTOP is an interesting bakery and apparel shop – pesä. Level 1 houses their bakery cafe with freshly baked breads and level 2 is a lifestyle retail shop, selling merchandise under the label “NORTHERN TRUCK”. pesä centers around a nautical theme and is family-friendly with a small kids area and diaper changing stand.

Address: 1 Chome-15 Minamihorie, Nishi-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 550-0015
Website: http://northobject.com/pesa/
Blog: http://pesanorth.exblog.jp/

Bakery:
Telephone: +81-6-6575-9680
Opening hours: 10:00 – 20:00

Lifestyle shop (NORTHERN TRUCK):
Telephone: +81-6-6575-9670
Opening hours: 11:00 – 20:00

 

 
flower. That’s the name of the next shop along Orange Street with one of the most beautiful outdoor set-up I have ever seen.  flower‘s cozy little garden is stunning! Admittedly, I spent more time taking selfies outdoor than patronizing the boutique. flower retails the latest fashion with good quality apparels that are a little more pricey. They have 8 outlets in different cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama, Osaka and Fukuoka, and provide overseas shipping! Do visit their website if you are keen on Japanese fashion shopping.

Address: 1-16-23 Minami-Horie, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 550 – 0015
Telephone: +81-6-6535-5785
Opening hours: 11:30 – 20:00
Website: http://flower-webshop.jp/

Being a pancake lover, I was totally drawn by the pancake menu signage outside Timeless Comfort and decided to make that my pit-stop. It’s only after seated down that I realized they are more than just a simple cafe. Similarly to BioTop, Timeless Comfort comprises of a retail space over 2 levels and a small cafe. They sell stylish and novelty lifestyle and decor products, focusing more on small furniture, kitchenware and specialty gourmet food. The cafe menu includes hamburgers and pancakes. I had their specialty pancakes coated with espresso syrup and chocolate chunks, topped with Vanilla Ice-cream.

OMG. it. was. so. heavenly.

Address: 1-19-26 Minamihorie Nishi-ku Osaka
Telephone: +81-6-6533-8620
Opening hours: 10:00 – 20:00
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/南堀江 Timeless Comfort
Website: http://www.timelesscomfort.com/

Let’s take a break and we shall continue our walk in Exploring Orange Street in Osaka (Part 2).