When you come to Osaka, you may want to enjoy truly local food that Osakans eat in their home. While those home-cooked meals are not served in a lot of places, there are certainly some restaurnats that serves authentic local food. One such example is Daikoku, which is famous for the Osaka’s favorite traditional meals, Kayaku Gohan.

Kayaku Gohan 

Kayaku gohan is basically lightly flavored rice mixed with finely minced vegetables or other ingredients. This is a very down-to-earth meal and is often good way for families to use up leftovers from the night before. As a result, the ingredients for kayaku gohan vary from family to family, but the most iconic combination consists of carrots, burdock root, shiitake and konnyaku. Many think it tastes good even when it is cold.

Kayaku gohan originally gained popularity because it was a quick meal. Back in the Edo Period, Osaka had just come into itself as a new bustling center of commerce, and the growing merchant class found themselves faced with a very modern problem: they had very little time to eat. The traditional Japanese meal consists of a number of small side dishes and can take a while finish; after all, time is money. This shift in attitude resulted in the merchants and business minded of Osaka increasingly preferring heartier dishes, such as kayaku gohan, that offered more bulk and less fuss to eat.

Kayaku gohan is known as gomoku gohan or takikomi gohan. Sometimes a Japanese super market will stock pre-made mixes of gomoku gohan, but they always contain too much sugar and frankly do not taste much like kayaku gohan.

Lunch at Daikoku

Near Dotonbori is a restaurant called Daikoku [大黒]. Thought the restaurant itself is very small, this is the way to go if you want to eat kayaku gohan. First opened in 1903, Daikoku has been one of the most beloved restaurants in Osaka for more than a century. This restaurant is often featured in Japanese guidebooks, attracting many people throughout Japan come and try their authentic kayaku gohan.

Daikoku keeps it simple, only using burdock root, konnyaku and tofu age. Daikoku, like many traditional restaurants found in Osaka, then adds a delicate layer of flavor to their kayaku gohan. They simmer the rice with a noticeable but gentle mixture of dashi and konbu broth and a touch of soy sauce.

In Osaka, it is traditional to eat kayaku gohan with kasu-jiru, a soup made from sake-kasu, a leftover from sake making. Though kasu-jiru tastes noticeably like sake, I don’t think it contains any alcohol.

Inforamation: Daikoku

Address

2-2-7, Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

Directions

Cross the Midosuji Street from Dotonbori Main Street and you can find Daikoku immediately

Hours

Tues-Sat: 11:30-15:00,  17:00-20:00 (Closed on Sunday and Monday)

Price Range

1000 yen to 1500 yen