Hidden in plain sight along the Dotonbori canal, just a stone’s throw from the neon lights and ceaseless bustle of the eponymous neighbourhood, is Japan’s oldest oden restaurant, founded back in 1844. Occupying a traditional two-storey house, Takoume specialises in Kanto-ni, the Osaka variety of this classic comfort food and winter warmer, which is lighter in colour and sweeter than the punchy oden common in eastern Japan.
The pots in which ingredients such as octopus (the origin of the restaurant’s name), daikon radish, surimi fish cakes and various vegetables – a total of around 20 options – are simmered sit in plain sight right behind the central counter. Aromas from these giant containers fill the cramped, sparsely lit space, whetting your appetite while you sip on a cup of warm sake – the drink of choice for most regulars here. Once you’re settled in, it’s time to try Takoume’s twin specials, served in largely unchanged form for 170 years: tako-kanroni (sweet stewed octopus; ¥800) and saezuri (whale tongue; ¥900).
If you’re having trouble deciphering the menu or deciding where to start, go for the ‘Kanto-ni set’, an assortment of the essential oden ingredients.