America Mura, Osaka

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America Mura, the "American village", came into existance in the 1970s from the growing popularity of American culture and fashion. Like nearby Dotombori, while it is mostly a shopping area, it has become an attraction. Amerika-mura is a hip and trendy place for Kansai's fashion-foreward to roam, shop, and be seen! Looking at the other shoppers and the shop owners for many visitors is more fun than actually shopping. There are also a lot of interesting/strange public art and shop displays. If you are interested in shopping, the clothing here is funky, eclectic, and urban.

Is it a good immitation of the real United States and real American culture? Well, aside from some red, white, and blue and the Statue of Liberty, I think it's safe to say that Amerika-mura has moved well beyond its inspiration: It has indeed become its own!

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I went on the frist guided bar tour in Osaka and had a blast. I ended up getting much more than I paid for and paid the price the next morning... If you pace yourself (drinking), it's a good way to get to know the nightlife.

Ami-Mura is a collection of narrow streets and alleys filled with second hand stores, clothes shops, music exchanges, bars, cafes and restaurants and provides one of the key hangout points for the youth of the city.
Worth wandering around simply to witness the sometimes absurd clothing choices of the locals, the laidback atmosphere and the potential of a bargain. Vinyl collectors should certainly check out the many basement stores for the sometimes embarrassingly cheap prices.
At night, Ami Mura is the Minami club hubris, much as Shinsaibashi on the other side of Midosuji dominates the bar scene. Joule, Underlounge and Grand Cafe offer plenty of musical alternatives on different nights of the week, although the cover charges are a little steep.

America Mura is a very unique place. It offers tourist something different other than temple and castles. I'm glad we stopped by to check it out.

Young Japanese hang out here. Expect to see all kinds of styles of dress, hair, make up, piercings, etc. It was a great experience to see this in Japan.

America Mura (american village) is a small district west of the Mido-suji and south of the Suomachi-suji. In this district you will find the american shops and most of all the teenagers trying to look american. On weekends it is very busy on the streets of America Mura. It is all about being seen in the most trendy place.....
The centre is the triangle park Sankaku Koen, all made of concrete.

Actually very noisy and dirty place. Still, it was fun to play 'spot the freak!' Also liked getting these shots. Don't expect to buy anything here, unless you really need a pair of over-sized aviator sunglasses or (again over-priced!) NIKES etc.

I think Ame-Mura is the coolest part of Osaka City. It is crowded and modern.The Haagen-Daz shop is like a dream . And a bar called the Brick is a small room upstairs of a store where you can meet alot of cool people.
Ame-Mura is mostly for younger people, but I think any Americans would enjoy the bright lights and bustling of this area.
It was like nothing I have ever seen before. And the people are really individualistic and nice to you. They are expecting to see foreigners, so they are kind and patient with bad Japanese.