# Nipponbashi > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nipponbashi > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nipponbashi.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponbashi > Source revision: 1353183424 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Shopping district in Osaka, Japan This article is about the place in Osaka. For the place in Tokyo written with the same kanji in Japanese, see [Nihonbashi](/source/Nihonbashi). This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Please help improve this article by citing more sources. Find sources: "Nipponbashi" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2007) Denden Town Denden Town (Nipponbashi 3 chome, Sakai-Suji) Denden Town (Nansan Street) **Nipponbashi**[1] (日本橋; Japanese pronunciation: [\[ɲip.po(ꜜ)m.ba.ɕi\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Japanese),[2][a]) is a shopping district of [Naniwa Ward](/source/Naniwa-ku%2C_Osaka), [Osaka](/source/Osaka), [Japan](/source/Japan). The area is centered along Sakaisuji Avenue, extending from the Ebisu-chō Interchange of the Hanshin Expressway in the south, to Nansan-dōri (just east of [Nankai](/source/Nankai_Electric_Railway) [Namba Station](/source/Namba_Station)) in the north. Known colloquially as "**Den-Den Town**," Nipponbashi is known for its many shops which specialize in [furniture](/source/Furniture), [tools](/source/Tools), and "[otaku](/source/Otaku)" interests such as [electronics](/source/Electronics), [anime](/source/Anime), [manga](/source/Manga), and [collectibles](/source/Collectibles). Nipponbashi is often compared to [Akihabara](/source/Akihabara) [Electric Town](/source/Electric_Town), its equivalent (in terms of focus) in Tokyo. Although written with the same [kanji](/source/Kanji) 日本橋 in [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language), [Nihonbashi](/source/Nihonbashi) in [Chūō, Tokyo](/source/Ch%C5%AB%C5%8D%2C_Tokyo) is a different place and has a different pronunciation. ## History During the [Edo period](/source/Edo_period), this district was known as a stage (宿場町, *Shukuba-machi*), called Nagamachi (長町). In 1792 and 1872, the Osaka municipal government renamed this district from Nagamachi to Nipponbashi. During the [Meiji](/source/Meiji_period) and [Taishō periods](/source/Taish%C5%8D_period), many second-hand [bookshops](/source/Bookselling) opened there. After [World War II](/source/World_War_II), many [consumer electronics](/source/Consumer_electronics) stores were opened, and it became well known as Den Den Town. ### "Nipponbashi" name "Nipponbashi" most properly refers to the bridge of the same name, which crosses over the [Dōtonbori](/source/D%C5%8Dtonbori) canal. However, the shopping district bearing the name of the bridge does not actually reach as far north as its namesake, though its northern areas are part of the "Nipponbashi" municipal designation (unlike [Akihabara](/source/Akihabara) Electric Town which sits entirely apart from the origin of its name). ## Den Den Town **Den Den Town** (でんでんタウン, *Den Den taun*), or **Denki no machi** (電気の町) is an alternate name for Nipponbashi, as it is famous for its wide variety of consumer electronics stores, and especially famous for its negotiable prices—unique to Osaka and the [Kansai region](/source/Kansai_region). Several retailers are also [tax](/source/Tax)- and [duty-free](/source/Duty-free). With the opening of [Yodobashi Camera](/source/Yodobashi_Camera) in [Umeda](/source/Umeda) and [Bic Camera](/source/Bic_Camera) in [Namba](/source/Namba), Den Den Town saw a major fall-off in furniture and home-appliance sales, but has more recently become known as a haven for [anime](/source/Anime) and [otaku](/source/Otaku)-related shopping, analogous to Tokyo's famous electronics district [Akihabara](/source/Akihabara). For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "Akihabara of West Japan", or by the phrase "**Akiba** in the East, **'Ponbashi** in the West". ### Attractions Besides the usual large electronics retailers such as Joshin, [Sofmap](/source/Sofmap), etc. Nipponbashi is also host to numerous retailers of anime, [manga](/source/Manga), and other otaku-related goods such as [Mandarake](/source/Mandarake), [Tora no Ana](/source/Comic_Toranoana), and [Osaka Gundams](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Osaka_Gundams&action=edit&redlink=1)—a two-story all-[Gundam](/source/Gundam) outlet. The town also features numerous [maid cafés](/source/Maid_caf%C3%A9) and [cosplay](/source/Cosplay) cafés. These include small and simple maid-themed coffee shops, maid-staffed massage and beautician services, and sit-down style full service cabarets. ### Transportation [Ebisucho Station](/source/Ebisucho_Station_(Osaka)) of the [Sakaisuji Line](/source/Sakaisuji_Line), as well as the [Nipponbashi Station](/source/Nippombashi_Station) of the Sakaisuji and [Sennichimae](/source/Sennichimae_Line) lines both lead into Den Den Town. ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** The bridge's name and placename in Osaka is pronounced like this. The bridge's name and placename in Tokyo is pronounced [\[ɲi.hom.ba.ɕi\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Japanese). For the pronunciations of 日本, see [Names of Japan](/source/Names_of_Japan). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Nipponbashi Osaka, Otaku Road Osaka's most famous area for fans of Japanese geek culture"](https://www.japan.travel/en/sg/jbyj-blog/nipponbashi-osaka-otaku-road-osakas-most-famous-area-for-fans-of-japanese-geek-culture/). *japan.travel*. Japan National Tourism Organization. May 21, 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, ed. (24 May 2016). NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典 (in Japanese). NHK Publishing. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Nipponbashi, Osaka](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nipponbashi,_Osaka). - [Official site](https://www.nippombashi.jp/) [34°39′35″N 135°30′21″E / 34.65972°N 135.50583°E / 34.65972; 135.50583](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Nipponbashi¶ms=34_39_35_N_135_30_21_E_region:JP) v t e Osaka City History Timeline Wards Abeno Asahi Chūō Fukushima Higashinari Higashisumiyoshi Higashiyodogawa Hirano Ikuno Jōtō Kita Konohana Minato Miyakojima Naniwa Nishi Nishinari Nishiyodogawa Suminoe Sumiyoshi Taishō Tennōji Tsurumi Yodogawa Education Osaka Metropolitan University Transportation Kansai International Airport (not in the city limits) Itami Airport (not in the city limits) Osaka Metro Ōsaka Station Areas Dōtonbori Nakanoshima Namba Nipponbashi Shinsekai Abeno Tennoji Umeda Hirano Landmarks Liberty Osaka Midōsuji Osaka Business Park Osaka Castle Osaka Castle Park Osaka Exchange Shitennō-ji Sumiyoshi-taisha Tsūtenkaku v t e Shopping districts and streets in Japan Kanto Tokyo Akihabara Ameya-Yokochō Ginza Harajuku Ikebukuro (Otome Road) Omotesandō Shibuya Shinjuku Golden Gai Yokohama Isezakichō Motomachi Yokohama Chinatown Kawagoe Taisho-roman Street Kashiya Yokocho Kansai Osaka Amerikamura Dōtonbori Ikuno Korea Town Midōsuji Namba Nipponbashi Shinsaibashi Umeda Rinku Town Kobe Harborland Motomachi (Kobe) Nankin-machi Sannomiya Shinkaichi Kyoto Nishikikōji Street Shijō Street (Shijō Kawaramachi) Others Furumachi Sakae Shinmachi Street Tenjin Authority control databases VIAF --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nipponbashi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponbashi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponbashi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.