Osaka is a modern metropolis sprung up around a Shogun's castle that rises imposingly from its peach and plum blossom heart. Japanese say that the most handsome men in the region migrate to Osaka. The big city does provide anonymity for gays who flee the "small town" nosiness of metropolitan surroundings including Kobe and Kyoto when they want to relax. There are plenty of hunky country lads and city slick angels to meet. Much of the scene takes place around the transportation hub where trains, the local subway and the bus terminal to the international airport intersect.

Osaka's gay scene feels more friendly and international that Tokyo's. A decade of economic contraction in Japan has wiped out many small businesses, gay bars included. The clubs that remain now welcome a broader mix of guests, even women and straights, rather than the highly specialized clientele typical in the past. In Osaka, things have remained fairly stable with a few places closing and a few new clubs opening to take their place. As always, there are hundreds of Japanese-only gay bars around, but the places listed here are where visitors and foreigners living in Japan can meet up with locals for fun. Travelers can can use popular gay apps, like 9 Monsters, Jack'd, Blued, etc., to arrange social contacts ahead of time.

The population of metropolitan Osaka is over 19 million (that's over 750,000 Utopians).

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• Act III
  Shopping area and facilities

  Near the gay bars in Doyama-cho.
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• Higashi Umeda Rose Theater
  Shin-Midou St

  Close to the gay bars in Doyama-cho. Gay movies, plus occasional "Young Rose Guy Show".
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• Sakuranomiya Park
  Across from Sakuranomiya Station on the Loop Line, south of the bridge

  Active cruising area after midnight.
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One of the specialties of Osaka cuisine is okonomiyaki, a kind of jumbo vegetable pancake with a variety of fillings that is cooked right at your table or on stove-top counters. This is no-frills dining, perfect for a late night snack and a beer or two. There is an easy-to-find okonomiyaki shop right on the corner as you turn at Fine love motel to get to Physique and Explosion (see our map under Bars and Clubs).

• Do With Café (DWC)
  B1 Jyuraku Bld, 9-23 Toganochyo, Kita-ku
  6312-1788

  Upscale venue often has drag events and draws a mixed crowd of all ages.
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Click here for Osaka saunas for men.

• Just Rainbow Shop
  Doyama-cho

  Gay shop with books, DVDs, toys and gifts.
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• Lockerroom
  Doyama-cho

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