Okonomiyaki Kiji

Kiji is a small okonomiyaki restaurant in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, an arcade of small eateries right beside Osaka and Umeda stations. It has a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide, recognising good cooking at moderate prices, and it is one of the best-loved okonomiyaki spots in Kita, the northern half of central Osaka.

The menu sticks to Osaka-style okonomiyaki, the cabbage-filled savoury pancake cooked on a hotplate and finished with sauce and mayonnaise. Kiji's signature touch is ooba, the fragrant green perilla leaf, which lifts the richness of the sauce. It also serves modanyaki, the version layered with noodles, which makes a heartier meal. With only a handful of seats, everything happens close up, and the smell of the griddle drifts out into the arcade.

Expect to queue. The restaurant is tiny, does not take reservations, and has a steady line outside at mealtimes, so arriving before the main lunch or dinner rush is the best strategy. It is closed on Sundays. Prices are modest, in keeping with its Bib Gourmand listing, and a meal is a fairly quick affair once you are seated, so it works well for a lunch between sightseeing stops or an early dinner before an evening in Umeda. The space is too small for large groups or pushchairs, so it suits solo travellers, couples and pairs of friends best.

Kiji has a second branch, Kiji Sky, in the Takimi Koji restaurant arcade in the basement of the Umeda Sky Building. It is just as small and serves the same okonomiyaki, but draws more tourists, so the original in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai is the better choice if you want to eat among local office workers. Whichever you choose, the perilla-topped okonomiyaki is the dish to order, and it is worth sharing a modanyaki as well if there are two of you.

The original restaurant is directly connected to Umeda Station and is about three minutes' walk from the Midosuji exit of JR Osaka Station. The arcade around it is packed with other small places to eat and drink, so it is easy to continue the evening nearby, and the Umeda Sky Building's observatory is within walking distance for views after dinner.