At Takoyaki Okoku, you can enjoy a 70-minute takoyaki buffet where you can customize ingredients and grill this dish yourself!
For the uninitiated, takoyaki is the soul food of Osaka Prefecture. It’s made by grilling pieces of octopus with various spices and wrapping them in floury balls of dough. While many restaurants will grill the takoyaki separately, Takoyaki Okoku lets you enjoy the experience all to yourself. And, in addition to the delicious dough, the restaurant carefully selects its toppings and sauces.
Here we will introduce the best deals and ways to fully enjoy your experience at Takoyaki Okoku.
Takoyaki Okoku: Easily Accessible from Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan & Tempozan Marketplace
Takoyaki Okoku is right by Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the world’s largest aquariums, a large commercial complex called Tempozan Marketplace, and Tempozan Harbor Village, known for its gigantic Ferris wheel.
From Osaka Metro’s Osakako Station, you’ll find the Ferris wheel a four-minute walk in the direction of the aquarium! Such a view will leave you excited about what else this area offers!
The two-story restaurant has a take-out area out front. On the first floor, you’ll find a takoyaki izakya pub, and on the second is the takoyaki buffet restaurant!
In February 2020, Takoyaki Okoku opened its doors just as Covid-19 was spreading throughout Japan. The owner, Mr. Takahiro Kitamura, had always wanted his own business. After graduating college, he got a company job to start saving money.
Mr. Kitamura knew that a restaurant where you could make your own takoyaki would be a potential hit. Thus, he set his heart on only serving this timeless Osaka soul food dish.
Once completing training and gaining knowledge from a takoyaki restaurant he frequented as a college student, he opened up his own shop.
From Entering the Restaurant to Getting Ready for the Buffet
Once you enter the restaurant, you should let the restaurant staff know you are there for the buffet. Then, staff will take to the back of the first floor and up the stairs to the buffet area on the second floor. Here you will find portable stoves, takoyaki grills, and condiments such as takoyaki sauce and soy sauce at all tables.
Red lanterns decorate the ceiling while options for takoyaki fillings are written on menu strips hanging from the walls. Such a casual interior allows you to enjoy an atmosphere reminiscent of a Japanese festival!
There are three lunch courses. Although all of these enable you to enjoy a takoyaki buffet, the A course (1,500 yen) doesn’t include drinks, the B course (2,300 yen) includes free-flow drinks (except a f…
