Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street

This guide to Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street in Osaka follows the vanished bridge its name comes from, starting with the merchant Shinsai Okada, who dug the Nagahori canal here in 1622 and built a wooden crossing so traders could reach Dotonbori's theaters. You'll hear how that bridge was rebuilt in iron shipped from Germany, then again in stone with twin arches Osakans nicknamed the Eyeglasses Bridge, its reflection in the canal below. Best heard while strolling the roofed arcade at an unhurried pace.