Shinsaibashi-suji, Shopping arcade in Osaka, Japan

Shinsaibashi-suji is a long covered shopping street in central Osaka, running north to south for about half a kilometer. Its stone-paved walkway is lined with store after store, many with open fronts and glowing signs, while the high glass roof keeps the weather out and the sound of footsteps and chatter in.

The street began as a path linking a theater district near Dotonbori to a pleasure quarter, and by the mid-1700s it already had a cluster of shops when the Matsuya kimono store, now Daimaru, opened there. In the early 1900s young shoppers called shinbura strolled here for leisure, just as people did in Tokyo's Ginza.

The street is still shaped by its role as a place to see and be seen, with small food stalls and newer clothing shops sitting beside old kimono and tea stores. At the northern section, the covered walkway continues past a crossroads, and you can watch the flow of shoppers change from international brands to local daily errands.

Walk from one end to the other to get a feel for the whole street, then turn around and linger in the parts that caught your eye. The covered roof makes it a good stop on rainy days, and the underground station lets you arrive without crossing busy traffic.

Although the covered walkway is often described as one long street, it actually breaks in two places and continues under different local associations before resuming. The northern continuation beyond Nagahori-dori still keeps the same arcade roofing but leads through a neighborhood of old textile wholesalers, which few visitors reach.