Minami Area—From Ota Road to Dotonbori: Making the Rounds with the Osaka e-Pass (PR)

Maido! I’m Cherin from Korea.
I took a few boat cruises at Osaka Castle Park this morning. In the afternoon, I’m heading to Osaka’s Minami district.

My Osaka Castle cruise report is here. Have a look!
https://maido-bob.osaka/2025/12/01/osaka-e-pass-osaka-castle-area/

I wonder if there is somewhere in Minami where I can use my Osaka e-Pass?
After lunch, I met up with Sam, from the US, and we set off together.

A First for Me at Ota Road, a Mecca for Japanese Pop Culture—Maid Cafe merimero

Our first destination was Ota Road in Nipponbashi. It’s a mecca for Japanese pop culture fans across the world. Apparently there is an establishment here where you can use the Osaka e-Pass.

Here it is! Maid Cafe merimero!

Here, you can enjoy the “First-Time Maid Café Experience Course” (¥5,500/person for one, ¥4,400/person for groups of two or more) with a 10% discount when you use the Osaka Enjoy Pass ★
Please note that the first-time maid café experience includes…
・One drink
・Food with an illustration
・Key-making
・Instant (cheki) photo
・1-hour fee
All of that is included so I was so excited for this experience. What would it be like?

The theme at merimero is a fairy-tale world, set inside a candy house. The concept is that the doll maids are brought to life through the love of their Masters and Princesses, creating a whimsical and magical atmosphere.

Now, let’s head inside the café… but before we do!
Sora-chan, a doll maid “born in the heavens and raised in Merimero,” cast a spell on us as a part of the entry ritual.

Once we were inside, it was like stepping straight into a dream world. The fairytale atmosphere is absolutely delightful!
After a brief explanation of the house, Sam, who loves Japanese pop culture, quickly struck up an lively conversation about anime with Moko-chan, another doll maid who accompanied Sora-chan. A classic conversation topic, perfect for discussion at the heart of Ota Road!

Next, it was time to order drinks. After looking over the menu, Sam and I decided on these…

Ta-da! Here they are! Rainbow-after-the-rain sodas. We ordered strawberry and blue hawaii. They were so cute!

Then our food with illustrations came out of the kitchen.

The café’s charming setting, combined with the adorable maid dolls Sora-chan and Moko-chan, was wonderful. Because this was our first time visiting a maid café, we felt a little nervous at first, but we quickly started feeling completely at home. It seems our affection brought the doll maids to life, just like the cafe story said it would.

Secret Keys, Doll Maids, and Instant Photography!

As our pleasant time with the doll maids continued, Sora-chan invited us with a smile, saying, “Shall we try the key-making experience to open the door to the secret room?”

To make your one-of-a-kind key, you have to combine different pieces together. It’s surprisingly fun and definitely a test of your sense of style!

Sam was completely absorbed in making his key too (lol). Personally, I chose my parts with advice from the doll maids along the way.

Once our keys were finished, it was time to use them to travel to another world—and then take a commemorative photo!

We ended up with some really fun photos!

When I asked Sam what he thought, he said, “Japanese pop culture is hugely popular in the U.S. from YouTube and Instagram, so a lot of people already know about maid cafés. Getting to actually experience an authentic maid café in Japan was amazing—I can’t wait to brag about it to my friends.”

Personally, I always thought maid cafés were mainly places for men, so I was surprised to see so many women customers as well. It definitely changed my impression. And honestly, the maid outfits are incredibly cute… maybe next time I’ll visit in maid cosplay too!

Bring Your Travel Plans and Take a Rest at Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge

After exploring Nipponbashi, we made our way to Dotonbori, the vibrant heart of Osaka’s Minami district. Even among the city’s busiest spots for international visitors, this area stands out for attracting large crowds of tourists from around the world.

The billboards in Dotonbori are so much fun! They almost jump out of the buildings and it gives you a sense of being in a theme park. It almost absorbs you as you walk through the streets here, but I started to get tired.

Sam and I looked on our phones and found the Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge, a cafe & bar. So we decided to give it a try!

Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge is located on the 5th floor of the Nakaza Kuidaore Building. On the first floor, we were greeted by Osaka’s very famous Kuidaore Taro figure, a beloved local icon.

Of course, we couldn’t resist taking a commemorative photo!

Next, we headed up to the 5th floor. Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge feels like a completely different world from the busy first floor. The lounge is such a calm, relaxing space. The fresh breeze was so pleasant too. It truly felt like an oasis in the middle of Dotonbori!

Also, you can use the Osaka e-Pass at Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge to get 100 yen off the soft drink plan, which includes one soft drink and a snack.

A much-needed drink after all that walking! I have nothing to say but thank you.

From the rooftop terrace, you can see the Dotonbori Ferris wheel. The wheel’s unique shape is really fun to look at!

I think traveling is great, but there are always moments when your feet get tired and you just want to rest. So it’s such a relief to have a place like this to recharge. Once I get my energy back I’ll be ready to get back out there!

By the way, Dotonbori Traveler’s Lounge also offers a selection of carefully chosen sake from all over Japan. So if Japanese sake is your thing, be sure to give check it out!

As evening approached, we started planning our next destination. What was meant to be a quick break turned into the perfect spot to figure out our next move.

And we decided—our final activity will be a cruise on the Dotonbori!

Enjoy the View from the Dotonbori Canal

We took a walk along the Dotonbori River and arrived at the ticket counter for the hugely popular Tombori River Cruise.

The cruise departs from near the Don Quijote Dotonbori store, right under the Ferris wheel, so it’s super easy to find!

The Tombori River Cruise is one of the attractions that is completely free with the Osaka e-Pass. By this point, we’ve gotten completely used to showing our pass at ticket counters.

I visit Namba often, so I knew about the Tombori River Cruise. But this was my first time riding it and I was really excited to get onboard.

Just as night was falling, the Dotonbori lights started to come on. And we set off!

People along the riverside walkway waved at us so enthusiastically, I thought they worked for the cruise.

Sam and I waved back with the same energy. Dotonbori really does feel like a theme park! (lol)

The guide at the front of the boat was lively too! His live commentary was filled with fun facts about Osaka and humorous stories. He had us all laughing nonstop.

Here’s a photo taken of us from outside the boat.

If you look closely, everyone is holding up their smartphones, right? Can you guess what they’re taking photos of?

The answer is…

…the Glico sign!!

The boat even stopped at an ideal spot for photos, so we could take our time capturing the moment. Little touches like this really show the thoughtfulness of the crew!

And just like that, our roughly 20-minute Dotonbori River Cruise came to an end. Viewing the city from the river was incredible, especially at night when all the neon lights were shining. It was remarkable!

So that’s it for our adventure through Osaka’s Minami using the Osaka e-Pass!

It’s not only a great value, but it’s also super easy to use! The pass pass is a must-have for your trip to Osaka. Definitely put it in your travel plans!