Cafeography
Nagoya · Ōsu & Kamimaezu

Cafés in Ōsu & Kamimaezu

Ōsu Kannon, nine covered arcades and kissaten from Compal, open since 1947, to small roasters.

Photo: Huu Huynh, Pexels License

Ōsu grew up around Ōsu Kannon, formally Kitano-san Shinpuku-ji Hōshō-in, a Shingon temple that Tokugawa Ieyasu had moved here in 1612, with its main image and library, from Ōsu in Mino Province.12 The library holds about 15,000 old texts, among them the Shinpukuji manuscript, the oldest surviving copy of the Kojiki.1

The shopping streets spread east of the temple. They were badly damaged in the 1945 air raids and had become a street of shuttered shops by the 1960s and 1970s, until a 1975 event called Action Ōsu began the revival.3 Nine arcade associations count about 400 shops and the district as a whole about 1,200; Ōsu was once one of Japan's three big electronics towns, beside Akihabara and Osaka's Nihonbashi.3 Today the mix runs from appliance stores to secondhand clothing, restaurants and cafés.2

Local tip: On the 18th or 28th, do the antique market first, then queue at Compal's main shop on Ōsu 3-chōme for an ebi-fry sandwich.26

At a glance

86Cafés listed
1With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
13:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Cafe Plaza, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–13:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–10:30).
  • Most common features: bakery café (1%), specialty (1%).

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Coffee chains in Ōsu & Kamimaezu

Getting to Ōsu

Two subway stations serve the district: Kamimaezu on the Meijō and Tsurumai lines, and Ōsu Kannon on the Tsurumai Line, open since March 1977.3 From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Line to Fushimi and change to the Tsurumai Line for one stop; the ride takes about 12 minutes.4

Compal and the arcade kissaten

Compal opened in 1947, two years after the war, and its signature is the ebi-fry sandwich: three fried prawns with omelet and shredded cabbage in toasted bread.5 The main shop, at Ōsu 3-20-19 near Kamimaezu, had no regular closing day in 2024, when a hot or iced coffee cost ¥420, the sandwich ¥980 and ogura toast ¥520; the company runs nine shops in the city. The same menu listed a Nagoya Cochin egg sandwich, made with the local breed of chicken's eggs, at ¥700.6

Other old-style rooms are scattered through the arcades: Ōsu Coffee at Ōsu 2-31-16, Mocha at 2-18-18, Takahara at 3-18-1 and Matsuya Coffee at Ōsu 3-30-59.

Roasters and stands

Kannon Coffee, about four minutes from Ōsu Kannon Station, served 11:00–19:00 daily in 2024, with coffee from ¥400 and bagel sandwiches from ¥500.6 Trunk Coffee & Craft Beer is at Kamimaezu 1-3-14, GOODDAY Coffee at Ōsu 3-15-19, Yaba Coffeeshop at Ōsu 4-1-21 and Double Tall Cafe at Ōsu 4-2-21.

In neighboring Matsubara, yama coffee is at Matsubara 2-22-31 and Yamashiro Coffee at 1-9-7. Brioche Go. and Flarie Cafe are both in Hisaya-ōdōri Teien Flarie, at Ōsu 4-4-1.

Markets and festivals

Antique markets take over on the 18th and 28th of every month.2 Japan's national tourism organization puts about 60 stalls in the Ōsu Kannon grounds on the 18th and the 28th market at Banshō-ji, at the other end of the arcade.4

The Ōsu Summer Festival is in August, the treasure-ship parade at Setsubun in February, and the Ōsu Daidōchōnin Matsuri, a street-performance festival, in October.2 That festival began on 14 October 1978 and now falls on the same day as the Nagoya Matsuri.3

Sources

  1. 大須観音, Wikipedia (Japanese), accessed October 2026
  2. Osu Shopping District, Visit Nagoya, Nagoya official tourism site, accessed October 2026
  3. 大須商店街, Wikipedia (Japanese), accessed October 2026
  4. Osu Kannon, Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed October 2026
  5. 名物・エビフライがぎっしり！名古屋で食べる美味サンドに舌鼓, Rurubu & more (updated January 5, 2019), accessed October 2026
  6. 【愛知 名古屋・コーヒー専門店】自家焙煎されたコーヒーでくつろぎのひとときを！名古屋でおすすめのコーヒー専門店10軒, MAPPLE観光ガイド (updated October 24, 2024), accessed October 2026
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In Ōsu & Kamimaezu, also browse: Bakery cafés

FAQ

Ōsu & Kamimaezu cafés: questions

How do you get to Ōsu from Nagoya Station?

Take the Higashiyama Line from Nagoya Station to Fushimi and change to the Tsurumai Line for one stop to Ōsu Kannon; the trip takes about 12 minutes. Kamimaezu Station, on the Meijō and Tsurumai lines, serves the eastern end of the arcades.

What is Compal in Ōsu, Nagoya, known for?

Compal is a kissaten chain that opened in 1947 and runs nine shops in Nagoya. Its signature is the ebi-fry sandwich with three fried prawns, omelet and cabbage, ¥980 in 2024 at the main shop on Ōsu 3-chōme, where a hot or iced coffee cost ¥420.

When is the Ōsu Kannon antique market in Nagoya?

Antique markets are held on the 18th and 28th of every month. Japan's national tourism organization puts about 60 stalls in the Ōsu Kannon temple grounds on the 18th and the 28th market at Banshō-ji, at the other end of the shopping arcade.

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