1 Best spiritual experience
Osaka's hottest chill-out zone is Shitennoji, founded in 593 and said to be the oldest imperial temple in Japan. The oldest wooden pavilions date from only 1623, fire having claimed all the originals. Peace and calm prevail on most weekday evenings, which is the best time to enter through the stone torii gate and join the faithful as they worship the setting sun through the West Gate. You may want to view the series of elaborate fan-shaped paintings depicting the frugal lives of Osakans during the Heian period (794-1192), before praying for the 'pure land paradise', which is said to lie to the west.
2 Noodling
For the peckish noodle pilgrim, paradise is Kinryu Ramen. Harrison Ford stopped here for a bowl of Golden Dragon noodles during the filming for the sci-fi movie Blade Runner and there are photographs of the chopstick-juggling star and crew tacked to the rafters of this cosy street kitchen to prove it. Step up to the vending machine, insert your 800 yen (HK$55), punch the button and hand over your ticket. Within minutes, one of the orange-haired staff in a red dragon shirt will have a steaming bowl of noodles in a miso broth under your nose. Condiments include minced garlic, Korean kimichi and spinach with fermented sesame seeds. Stand at the counter or take a seat at one of the low tables. Both offer excellent views of the neighbourhood street life.
3 Gadgets and gizmos
Nowhere do store shelves groan more heavily with the latest gizmos than in Nippombashi, also known as Den-Den Town (after the Japanese word denki, which means electricity). It's a place of perpetual brightness where neon signs sizzle, strobe lights dazzle and an excess of fluoro-tubes turns every outlet into a heavenly shopping experience for the thousands of tech-heads, cyber-junkies, computer-games geeks and tourists, who swarm in at weekends. A credit card-sized AM-FM radio in Mount Fuji or geisha design? How about a solar-powered jellyfish?