Date visited: August 5, 2026 (Wednesday)
This day’s stopover journey started in the afternoon.
Today’s station was Kyobashi.
Once I arrived at Kyobashi Station, lunch came first.
Since I had come all the way to Kyobashi, rather than choosing one of the polished restaurants inside the station complex, I wanted to find somewhere that felt like Osaka.
With that thought in mind, I started walking and came across an old-fashioned local coffee shop.
I came across “Kissa Megumi” while walking through Kyobashi.
I ordered the croquette and menchi-katsu set: piping-hot fried dishes with rice and classic Japanese-style Napolitan spaghetti.
A satisfying lunch in an unpretentious local coffee shop.
Kissa Megumi
I stood outside for a moment, wondering whether to go in.
Then two older women walked through the door.
“Maybe this is the kind of place where women can comfortably come in too?”
In that case, so could I.
I followed them inside.
As soon as I entered, I noticed a faint smell of cigarette smoke.
“Hmm. Should I leave?”
For a moment, I hesitated.
But I continued farther inside.
It was around 2 p.m.
Even though it was a little late for lunch, almost every seat was occupied.
There weren’t many young customers.
But there were more women than I had expected.
Apparently, my guess at the entrance hadn’t been too far off.
People who seemed to be regulars were taking their time.
I could hear cheerful conversations around the room.
Meanwhile, whenever a table became free, the staff quickly cleared it and showed the next customers to their seats.
People came and went.
But the regulars seemed in no hurry.
Everyone was spending their time in their own way.
Outside, Osaka was baking in the summer heat.
Inside, the air conditioning was working hard.
This wasn’t only somewhere to eat.
Perhaps it was also
a little refuge from the blazing Osaka summer.
That thought crossed my mind.
I ordered the:
Croquette & Menchi-katsu Set — ¥750
The menchi-katsu arrived piping hot.
I took a bite.
Hot!
I kept eating while blowing on each mouthful to cool it down.
Hahaha.
Overall, the flavors leaned slightly sweet.
Somehow, that felt very Osaka to me.
It wasn’t an especially unusual dish.
Nor was it a spectacular plate designed to impress.
But stepping into a coffee shop while wandering through the city,
then eating a piping-hot menchi-katsu while trying not to burn my mouth—
I think meals like this are part of the pleasure of traveling too.
A drink could be added to the meal for ¥350.
Looking around, I noticed that many people had ordered iced coffee with their meals.
Eat a set lunch at a coffee shop,
have an iced coffee afterward,
chat for a while,
then head home.
That kind of everyday routine seemed to exist here.
While I was there, I didn’t notice anyone who appeared to be an international tourist.
Rather than the Osaka of sightseeing,
this felt like
the Osaka of the people who live here.
One thing that had caught my attention when I entered was the smoking.
When I visited, there were customers smoking inside.
I’m not very comfortable around cigarette smoke, so for a moment I considered turning around and leaving.
But after sitting there for a while, I realized the ventilation was better than I had expected.
Even when people nearby were smoking, I didn’t feel much smoke drifting toward me.
Keeping the air conditioning running while also ventilating the room.
That must be difficult in summer.
I even found myself thinking about things like that.
Smoking conditions and the way the café operates may change. Please check the latest information before visiting.
Inside the station complex, there are plenty of clean and convenient restaurants.
Some belong to chains you can find all over Japan.
There is something reassuring about that.
But step into a small side street,
and you might find a coffee shop where local people gather,
eat lunch,
drink coffee,
and enjoy talking together.
An ordinary coffee shop, with nothing particularly unusual about it.
And yet, this was where I felt Osaka most strongly.
When I first started looking for lunch, I had thought,
“I want to find somewhere that feels like Osaka.”
It seems I found it.
It wasn’t only about the food.
The people in the café.
The conversations around me.
The time the regulars spent there.
The heat outside and the cool air inside.
Perhaps all of those things together
are part of the “flavor” of a city.
Without meaning to, I stayed a little longer than planned.
It was still hot outside.
But it was time to start walking again.
My day in Kyobashi had only just begun.
🍵 YUMEVOJA Food Radar
Kissa Megumi — Croquette & Menchi-katsu Set: ¥750
Sweetness: ★★★☆☆
Saltiness: ★★★☆☆
Dashi Flavor: ★☆☆☆☆
Oiliness: ★★★★☆
Spiciness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Aroma: ☆☆☆☆☆
Portion size: Average
Ease of visiting: ★★★★☆
YUMEVOJA Rating
★★ ★☆☆Satisfied
Personal evaluation including the food, atmosphere, and people.
📍For the latest opening hours, holidays,
and other updates,
please check Google Maps and the official website.
Information may change without notice.
📍 Google Maps 👇
「Kissa Megumi
👉 Follow my journey around the Osaka Loop Line, one station at a time, with this stop in Kyobashi.
▶︎ Stopover Journey｜One Stop at a Time on the Osaka Loop Line | Kyobashi, the Unexpected Final Boss
👉 Related illustrations here
(Free to use)
▶︎ 🎨View illustration page
👉Choose Osaka by station.
▶︎☆View the Osaka Loop Line Guide
👉How about taking a slow walk through Kyoto today?
▶︎☆View the Kyoto Guide