Where to eat in Dotonbori without queueing

Dotonbori is where Osaka comes to eat, which is why the famous stalls on the canal have forty-minute queues by early evening. You do not need to join them. The same dishes are made just as well one street back, by people who have been doing it for decades.

Go one street back

The lanes of Hozenji Yokocho, two minutes south of the canal, are lined with small counters that seat eight to ten. Turnover is quick and most do not take reservations, so you rarely wait more than ten minutes.

What to order

• Takoyaki: octopus dumplings, crisp outside and molten inside. Ask for them with sauce and bonito, or plain with salt.
• Okonomiyaki: a thick savoury pancake of cabbage, pork and egg, cooked on the griddle in front of you.
• Kushikatsu: skewers of meat and vegetables, breaded and fried. The shared sauce pot has one rule: dip once.

When to go

Eat early or late. Between 17:00 and 18:00 most counters have seats, and after 21:00 the tour groups have gone. Monday and Tuesday are the quietest nights of the week.

Carry cash. Many of the best counters are too small to bother with card machines, and the nearest ATM is in the convenience store on the corner.

If you would rather be shown

A food walk with a local guide takes you to four or five of these places in an evening, handles the ordering, and gets you a seat at counters that are hard to find on your own.