The Mittera Kikan is known among bar-hoppers in Japan as the equivalent of Shinjuku Golden Gai in Tokyo. While Golde Gai is more open bar style and the bars are crammed in the small quarter of Kabukicho, this place indicates the building, Mittera Kaikan or Mittera Hall, which accommodates dozens of bars on each floor from the basement to the fourth floor.
The bars and izakaya on the ground floor face the street and are easier to find and hop in, as you can gaze inside a little bit from outside. However, those bars inside the building require more challenge as doors are tightly shut and hardly visible from outside. Anyway located in the center of the so-called Minami or South district in Osaka near Nambe terminal, it is surrounded by the mass of bars, izakaya, and restaurants, keep busy throughout the night and the torrent of people who come to have fun, drink, party, seems never stop. It feels like a more locally oriented area, with fewer foreign travelers than elsewhere. There is still much more deep inside the building to find out what is not outside.
When I went to look inside the Mittera Kaikan, it may have been a little bit too early for those who come here often to stop for a drink. As you can see in the picture above, it is an old building that feels like dating back many years. However, I could see all the places were occupied and run. It is hard to know if there are any people inside, but just a few people were walking inside; it may have been an owner or bartender in the shop preparing for his shop to open. I stopped at the bar called Bar Picasso just because the name sounded intriguing, and I could have gazed through the slightly opened door that there was no one yet on the counter, so I made up my mind. This place was run by a middle-aged guy who looked like a musician. I did not ask if it was true, but he kept playing old rock music. I ordered for Suntory High ball to ensure I am now in Osaka or Kansai, where Suntry comes from. The Suntory was initially made for more Japanese adapted taste of wines and whiskies made in Europe, but now those who come from abroad are rushing in to look for the bottle of Suntory whiskies no matter the class of brands.
I had a small chat with the owner and left after some more guests came into the shop. The place only had counter seats for a small group, and I was not ready to get drunk yet. I took a tour of each floor in the building and found that the layout of each floor was all the same: they have square shape corridors around and host the bars on both sides along the corridor; each floor may have 20 shops, as I can county, so there will be probably 100 of bars in the building. Maybe I will come back some different time to learn more about the bars here, but I left only to manage the spot, sneak in one bar, and call it a day.
