Is Kiji Okonomiyaki Worth the Queue? Osaka's Rule Says No — "You Don't Line Up for Okonomiyaki"

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 70 of 148 comments

• For an Osaka person this is a "we waited all that time and it's… normal" shop — but if you're not from Kansai, it might be a fun experience.

  大阪人からしたらこんなに並んだのに普通、ってなる店だけど関西以外の人なら面白いかも。

  — @アジアンa44 likes

• Forty-five years ago, Kiji in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai was just the one counter on the first floor — I used to eat modan-yaki there all the time. Then the second floor opened, then the Sky Building branch and more; I've been, and that old "this is delicious!" feeling isn't there — it's just normal now. It was best when the master grilled dynamically at that first-floor counter.

  新梅田食堂街の「きじ」は45年前に現在の1階にカウンターだけのお店でやっていて、モダン焼きをよく食べてました。 2階にお店出来て、スカイビルとか店舗増えて、そちらも何度か行きましたが 昔感じた『美味しい！』はなく普通です。 1階で大将がダイナミックに焼いてくれてた頃が一番美味しかったです。

  — @まるこ-f4j2j0 likes

• Local here — no phone signal inside, and the food isn't queue-worthy, so I don't think I'll go back.

  地元民ですが、電波は届かないし、並ぶほどの味でもないからもう行かないかな。

  — @めしうま-u5r11 likes

• Don't know about lately, but for some reason your phone signal genuinely dies in this shop. It's cramped — but the food is seriously good.

  最近は分からんけどこの店なんでか携帯の電波まじ悪くなるんよな 狭いけど味はまじ美味い

  — @のや-u2y0 likes

• When the queue gets long, the old master here literally shoos customers away: "You'll be waiting a looong time!" It cracks me up.

  ここのオッちゃんは行列が続くと「長いこと待たなあかんでー」って客を追い返してるよ。ウケる。

  — @isabeljp27140 likes

• Kiji got weirdly famous with tourists, and now it's hard for locals to go.

  きじ　はヘンに観光客に知れ渡って地元民が行きにくくなった

  — @YUS9981 likes

• For Kiji I used to go to the Sky Building branch — though these days that one's full of tourists too.

  きじやったらスカイビル店の方に昔行ってたな、今はこっちも観光客でいっぱいだけど

  — @コテコテ-f1v8 likes

• Shin-Umeda Shokudogai hasn't changed its old look at all, and young people keep coming — the alley itself is hugely popular.

  新梅田食堂街は昔から変わらない佇まいで若い人もたくさん来るからめっちゃ人気

  — @coyote-good-night34 likes

• Osaka has so many famous okonomiyaki places you can't pick one — it comes down to taste.

  大阪のお好み焼き屋は有名店が多いから決められないし、好みかな

  — @櫻井章子-u1z45 likes

• I just don't want to queue for okonomiyaki, lol — it's good pretty much anywhere. No disrespect to this shop.

  お好み焼きで並びたくないなｗ大抵どこでもおいしいから。この店をディスるつもりはないです

  — @はまち-r1t25 likes

• The okonomiyaki a Kansai mom makes is the best there is, full stop.

  関西人のおかんが作るお好み焼きが1番美味いんやわ

  — @すずかぜ-v8b1 likes

• Okonomiyaki made at home is the best okonomiyaki.

  家でやるお好みが1番うまい

  — @エッセンrr2 likes

• I'm from Osaka and I prefer Yukari. And what's this "grilled as a performance before your eyes" business — a shop that grills it on the teppan at your own table is way more up-close than that.

  大阪人だけど、ゆかりの方が好き。 あと、目の前でパフォーマンスって何ゆうてんねんて感じ。それやったら個別席の鉄板で焼いてくれる店のが全然近いやんけ。

  — @zs8gi11 likes

• Okaru is another one to recommend — the way they press the center flat is striking, and the pictures they draw on top in mayo make it a genuine souvenir.

  お好み焼きは、おかるもおすすめ 真ん中を潰す焼き方もインパクトあるし マヨで絵を描いてくれるのは思い出にもなると思う。

  — @deomajr601 likes

• Personally, Kaze no Machi's okonomiyaki is the good stuff.

  個人的には風の街のお好み焼きがうまい

  — @kazks32171 likes

• SaveKiji (Shin-Umeda Shokudogai main shop)↗お好み焼 きじ 本店Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, under the tracks by JR Osaka Station

  The shop in question — cramped, cash-run, famously bad phone signal, and per the thread genuinely tasty; but the top comment (187 likes) says okonomiyaki is not a thing you queue for. A regular of 45 years says the one-counter original era was the peak. There's a roomier branch in the Umeda Sky Building basement (also touristy now, as of the comments).

• SaveYukari (Sonezaki main shop)↗ゆかり 曽根崎本店Sonezaki / Umeda

  The named alternative from an Osaka local: "I prefer Yukari" — plus their broader point that a shop grilling at your own table beats watching a counter performance.

• SaveOkaru↗お好み焼 おかるSennichimae, Namba

  The memory-maker pick: they press the center flat as they grill and draw pictures on top in mayonnaise — "it becomes a souvenir in itself."

• SaveKaze no Machi↗風の街Local chain around Osaka (e.g. Tamatsukuri)

  A quieter local-chain pick — "personally, Kaze no Machi's okonomiyaki is the good stuff."

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Is Kiji okonomiyaki worth the queue?

The food, probably; the queue, no, by Osaka's own house rule: "Okonomiyaki is not something you queue for" (187 likes). One diner who waited calls the payoff "normal" (44 likes), and a 45-year regular says the peak was the tiny one-counter era. If the line is short, go; if it wraps the alley, apply the rule.

What's the best okonomiyaki in Osaka according to Osaka commenters?

Their honest answer mirrors the takoyaki one: almost any neighborhood teppan joint is good — "they're everywhere, and it comes down to taste" (45 likes) — and "the okonomiyaki your Kansai mom makes is the best there is." Pressed for names, this thread offers Yukari (Umeda), Okaru's mayo-art in Namba, and the Kaze no Machi chain.

Where is Kiji and what should I expect?

The main shop is in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, the retro alley under the JR tracks at Osaka Station — tiny, loud, and per the comments your phone signal dies inside. There's a bigger branch in the Umeda Sky Building basement, though a commenter who used to go there says that one is full of tourists too (as of the comments).