Osu is basically two large, very long shopping arcades with countless alleys and side streets branching off with other stores and restaurants. You want to buy something? You can definitely buy it in Osu.

For the most part, prices are average for Japan, but if you dig deep enough, you can find sales and occasional bargains. The outside is towered over by a large and beautiful temple, but it’s the streets farther along that are more interesting and bustling with people. A lot of the clothing stores carry similar products (literally. The exact same stuff) and clothing, most in sizes not catered to my poor, large, American body. Men’s clothing, shoes, leather-products, kimonos, suits. A particularly mouth-watering One Piece/figurine store, as well as a wonderful variety of foods and an arcade/purikura area.

Either way, I left with my pockets a little lighter and a pocket watch (only 1000 yen!) richer. One thing I especially enjoyed about this trip is the debunking of some myths and complaints that salespeople, as soon as they see that you’re not Japanese, they start speaking English to you. This has yet to actually happen to me, and it’s for the best, because many people here who are not Japanese are hardly American. I’ve seen more French and German speakers here than anything else, actually, which is interesting. Either way, I prefer being expected to speak the common language of the nation rather than having Japanese conform to my tastes.