Osaka Street Photography: Dotonbori at Night, Namba and Blue Hour

Dotonbori canal at night with neon signs reflected in the water

I don't think I've ever been somewhere with as much to photograph on every single corner as Osaka, which is why it's such a dream for Osaka street photography. In this post I'm sharing my street photos from Dotonbori at dusk and at night, the lantern-lit backstreets nearby, an afternoon with my 85mm around Namba, and a really cinematic blue hour. Everything was shot on the LUMIX S9.

If you're planning a trip, start with my guide to Osaka photography spots for Osaka Castle, Shinsekai and Dotonbori during the day, then come back here for the after-dark side of the city. More of my night street photography from this trip is in my LUMIX S9 review, so I didn't want to repeat it all in the vlog.

Dotonbori at dusk, with a rainbow

We spent the afternoon walking around Dotonbori, and just as the light was fading it started to rain a little. Then a massive rainbow appeared over the city. There's something so strange about seeing a rainbow in one of the busiest cities in the world. Rainbows in Iceland, sure, but in Osaka? Everyone on the street stopped to take a photo. Watch the rainbow appear.

Dotonbori street at dusk with lanterns and a moody orange sky

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Dotonbori canal at dusk under a stormy orange sky

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Rainbow arching over tall buildings against a purple sky in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Taxi and cars at an intersection under a rainbow in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Couple under an umbrella on a bridge in Osaka after the rain

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Dotonbori at night

Once it's dark, Dotonbori turns into a completely different place. Of course I had to photograph the neon Dotonbori sign. For night street photography I kept the 35mm wide open at f1.8 and let the ISO float between about 1250 and 3200, with my shutter speed around 1/120s so people walking past stay fairly sharp. See the neon Dotonbori sign.

Cyclist riding past glowing shop fronts at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Street at night looking towards the glowing Dotonbori sign

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Neon Dotonbori sign above a busy street at night

The Dotonbori sign. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Neon Dotonbori sign glowing in red, pink and yellow at night, uneditedUnedited
Neon Dotonbori sign glowing in red, pink and yellow at night, edited with HavanaEdited with Havana

Unedited on the left, edited with my Havana preset on the right. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

People walking along a dark street at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Bicycles parked outside a brightly lit shop at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Lantern-lit backstreets near Dotonbori

Only a few minutes away from the neon, we found quiet little lanes full of paper lanterns, tiny bars and old stone lanterns. I loved photographing here, because the warm light is so moody and the lanes are much quieter than the main street. If you go, walk slowly and look into every side lane. The best spots are often hidden right off the main street.

Couple walking past a glowing red lantern in an Osaka backstreet at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Small bar with a neon sign and bicycles in a quiet Osaka laneway at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Lucky cat figurines and handwritten menus in a restaurant window at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Man standing under the warm lights of an Osaka laneway at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Lantern-lit alleyway with wooden signs at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Row of white paper lanterns with black writing glowing at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Rows of glowing paper lanterns hanging from a ceiling at a temple in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Stone lantern lit up in a quiet temple courtyard at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Black taxi parked in front of a glowing restaurant at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Glowing restaurant signs and diners on a street at night in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Man checking his phone under warm street lights in Osaka at night

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Afternoon street photography around Namba with an 85mm

On another afternoon I spent a couple of hours walking the streets around Namba with only my LUMIX 85mm f1.8. Most people think of a 35mm for street photography, but an 85mm is so fun in Osaka. It stacks the signs, lanterns and power lines on top of each other and lets you photograph people from a little further away, so they don't notice you. I set my focus on a crossing or a shop front and waited for cyclists to ride into the light.

Busy intersection in Osaka with cyclists and pedestrians, shot on an 85mm

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Cyclist riding through a shaft of sunlight under an overpass in Osaka
Pedestrians walking down a narrow shopping street in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Man riding a bicycle past a convenience store in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Narrow Osaka street with power lines and vertical signs, compressed with an 85mm

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Two red drink vending machines filled with colourful bottles

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Covered shopping arcade in Osaka with red signs and shoppers
Delivery rider on a bicycle passing an okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Rows of parked bicycles in front of a restaurant with a giant octopus sign

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Woman cycling across a sunny pedestrian crossing in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Vintage street lamps and a street sign in Osaka
Black taxi passing a red shop front in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Woman riding a bicycle with a child seat across an Osaka street

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

Cyclist and pedestrians crossing a busy street in Namba

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8.

A few frames on the 26mm pancake lens

I also took out the tiny LUMIX 26mm f8 for a little while. It's a fun, fixed aperture pancake lens that makes the S9 tiny. You do need good light or a higher ISO with an f8 lens, so I mostly kept it for walking around before sunset.

Small restaurant entrance with customers outside in Osaka, shot on the LUMIX 26mm f8

LUMIX S9 + 26mm f8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Black taxi parked beside a building covered in red lanterns in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 26mm f8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Cyclist riding past a shop with red lanterns in Osaka, shot on a 26mm pancake lens

LUMIX S9 + 26mm f8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Blue hour street photography in Osaka

We were so lucky to have a super cinematic blue hour one evening. The sky turned deep blue and purple, the shop signs and lanterns flicked on, and the whole street glowed. This is the most magical time for street photography, but it only lasts about 20 minutes, so be in your spot before the sun goes down. See the blue hour.

Two people waiting at a crossing at blue hour in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Pedestrian crossing under an overpass with a glowing arcade behind at dusk

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Man cycling past a traditional izakaya at blue hour in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Narrow street under a purple blue hour sky in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

When the street got busy again I went back to my favourite trick: an ND filter and a slow shutter. At blue hour you can get to around 1/13s or slower without an ND at all, and the people and bikes turn into soft trails while the signs stay sharp.

Busy street with neon signs at blue hour and motion blurred people

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Neon signs and blurred pedestrians on a street at blue hour, slow shutter speed

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Sushi restaurant with red lanterns glowing at dusk in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Vending machines and bicycles on a quiet street at dusk

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Man standing on a street full of glowing signs at blue hour

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Wide road beside an overpass at blue hour in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Red traffic light against a deep blue sky in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

Intersection with glowing billboards and a bus at blue hour

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

My last frames of the night were panning shots of taxis. I slowed the shutter to 1/8s, followed each car as it drove through the crossing and kept shooting until one came out sharp against the streaky lights.

Black taxi panned against streaks of city lights at a crossing, uneditedUnedited
Black taxi panned against streaks of city lights at a crossing, edited with HavanaEdited with Havana

Unedited on the left, edited with my Havana preset on the right. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

Small white car panned against blurred city lights at a pedestrian crossing

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Havana preset.

My Osaka street photography settings

  • Day, 85mm: f1.8, fast shutter speeds and ISO 100 to 640.
  • Night, 35mm: f1.8, around 1/120s and ISO 1250 to 3200.
  • Crowds: a variable ND filter and 1/4s to 1/15s for motion blur.
  • Panning: about 1/8s, following the car through the frame.
  • Blue hour: get there before sunset, it's over in about 20 minutes.

If you love this kind of photography, you might also like my LUMIX S5II street photography in Tokyo and my night street photography with a 135mm. For more of Japan, see our Kyoto day trip from Osaka, my Kyoto travel photography guide, and our Kyoto and Tokyo vlogs.

Osaka street photography FAQ

Where is the best place for street photography in Osaka?

Dotonbori is the most famous, especially at night, but I also loved the backstreets around Namba, the lantern-lit lanes near Dotonbori and Shinsekai.

What settings do you use for night street photography in Osaka?

I shot at f1.8 on a 35mm, around 1/120s, with ISO between 1250 and 3200.

Is an 85mm good for street photography?

Yes. In Osaka it compresses all the signs and power lines together and lets you photograph people from further away.

How do you get motion blur in busy streets?

Use an ND filter during the day or blue hour light, and a slow shutter speed between about 1/15s and 1/4s.

When is blue hour in Osaka?

Just after sunset. It only lasts around 20 minutes, so be in position before the sun goes down.

What camera did you use?

The LUMIX S9 with the LUMIX 35mm f1.8, 85mm f1.8 and the 26mm f8 pancake lens.

Make sure you also see my Osaka photography spots guide. The night photos were edited with my Havana preset, and the photos from before dark with my Disposable Film preset. Browse all my packs in the Lightroom Presets for Portraits collection, and if you're stuck between a few, you can buy any 3 presets and save 10%.

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