Matsuura Liquor Store

Matsuura Liquor Store gives you a glimpse into a kakuuchi, a working liquor store with a place to drink. It’s the format standing bars grew out of, but few proper examples remain in central Osaka. 

It gives nothing away from the outside, just a plain shopfront that’s easy to walk past if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Inside is a massive Showa-era throwback: the room is bigger and airier than you’d expect, with bottle-lined walls, a long bare counter, and a TV that lends the place a living-room feel for the thirty or so drinkers it holds.

The drinks and quiet atmosphere here are the point. Shochu and highballs are served deconstructed, snack-bar style: one cup of shochu or whisky, one of ice, a jug of water, and a glass for you to mix it yourself. 

The father-and-son team back up the drink with an array of unpriced dishes from the handwritten menu, most coming in at around ¥500. The service can come across as a little no-nonsense, but the regulars are welcoming and it’s worth it for an unfiltered sight of a proper Osaka institution.