Gindaco Octopus Balls Do Have Shops in Osaka, Too — 5ch: “It’s Just Tourists Eating There”

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A post asking “Is it true that even Osakans eat Gindaco?” drew responses from Osaka residents on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G (Live News) board.

Commenters pointed out that Gindaco locations in Osaka are concentrated inside shopping malls, so they’re rarely spotted around town, and that the company’s headquarters is actually in Gunma Prefecture. The thread also spiraled into a taste showdown between local takoyaki shops and Gindaco.

1Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:38:53.41ID:ID:W7axtXJ20
Any Osakans here?
3Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:39:19.68ID:ys0gnaUZ0
Of course they eat it
The stores haven't gone out of business, have they
5Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:40:29.61ID:W7axtXJ20
>>3
Oh…
Guess they're eating it in secret then
9Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:41:08.62ID:UPwVPQnK0
>>5
It's just tourists eating it
17Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:42:58.15ID:ys0gnaUZ0
>>5
It's a store, I don't get why they'd need to hide it
8Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:40:48.59ID:ThOIAjhS0
Tonkin folks (a mocking Kansai nickname for Tokyoites) probably don't know the joy of shoveling down white rice with truly delicious takoyaki as a side
32Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:48:23.09ID:ng26ijRv0
>>8
I love that "this is exactly what a takoyaki set meal should be" feeling
People in eastern Japan who only know Gindaco's flavor probably can't appreciate it
35Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:49:21.55ID:O1J5extq0
>>32
I don't want to eat something like that
You wouldn't even need rice with it
13Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:42:08.11ID:+lV4ypV10
Tonkin people really do love Gindaco, huh
24Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:45:31.38ID:ys0gnaUZ0
>>13
Even though Gindaco is from Gunma
14Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:42:29.68ID:Gs4mFUeM0
Tourists are the ones least likely to eat Gindaco in Osaka — you can get it anywhere in the country
19Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:43:41.87ID:Qop2N3Dq0
>>14
Tonkin people have taste buds that think 'Osaka takoyaki is bad,' so even when they visit, all they can eat is Gindaco
16Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:42:50.50ID:hLEQ2OTp0
You come to realize that the takoyaki grilled by an Osaka auntie at a street stall is the best
60Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:56:32.27ID:fXMbE8Yj0
>>16
This
The one from the old lady at the candy shop was delicious
28Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:46:09.60ID:JSjMgDPW0
In Osaka, Gindaco shops basically only exist inside big shopping malls (the only exception is the Shin-Osaka location in Nishinakajima, which sits outside a mall)
So unless you have a reason to go to a mall, there's never really a trigger to eat Gindaco
31Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:46:59.82ID:ys0gnaUZ0
>>28
Yeah, it's common in food courts
71Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:03:14.10ID:Gs0ZZrYb0
>>28
There's one at Takatsuki Station too
56Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:55:20.99ID:wqOyVcw80
La Muu (a discount supermarket chain) is where it's at
Gindaco's out of the question, honestly

61Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:56:48.59ID:fhyCILd10
I had takoyaki from a shop called Kukuru at Tokyo Solamachi and it was delicious
Is it famous in Osaka?
66Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:57:23.24ID:GGSEEXpQ0
>>61
If you don't know it, you're basically a fake Osakan
68Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:58:38.31ID:fhyCILd10
>>66
Whoa
It was pricey, but it was gooey and delicious
72Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:04:00.82ID:fjCzwrYd0
I won't say it's bad, but it's way too expensive
And once it cools down, the oil seeps through and it turns into a disgustingly greasy mess
No need to buy it
73Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:04:13.71ID:/MFSz6/70
>>72
Kukuru's the one that's expensive
77Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:05:42.29ID:fjCzwrYd0
>>73
Is there anyone who actually goes to Kukuru?
86Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:16:43.55ID:/MFSz6/70
>>77
>>66
Seems like it's on the level of getting called a 'fake Osakan' if you don't know it
92Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:23:59.01ID:ys0gnaUZ0
>>86
It's about on the level of a Tokyoite not knowing Hidakaya (a cheap noodle/Chinese food chain)
98Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:29:34.47ID:JSjMgDPW0
Gindaco is standardized into a manual so that anyone (even foreign staff) can make it — 'not bad, but not especially delicious either' is the correct take. If you want to say the crispy texture is what makes it good, that's just a matter of personal taste
102Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:31:26.90ID:m0gwNYr20
>>98
Osaka's takoyaki shops are full of foreign staff these days too, you know
I went to Wanaka in Shin-Osaka the day before yesterday and everyone working there was foreign
104Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:34:10.20ID:qoAlplTH0
>>98
Can't you just make Osaka-style takoyaki at home?
106Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:34:13.04ID:JSjMgDPW0
>>102
Gindaco actively hires foreign workers as a policy (there are even foreign staff in management)
Osaka has the highest density of takoyaki shops per square area anywhere — go check out some other independent takoyaki shops before you say that
118Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:43:03.50ID:m0gwNYr20
>>106
So when people say 'Osaka takoyaki,' does that mean independent shops? Are the famous chains not 'real' Osaka then?
I went to the recommended spots — Wanaka, Kukuru, Koga-ryu — and I'm pretty sure they all had foreign staff too
111Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:37:48.66ID:ZU3sqTzV0
Having lived in both Kagawa and Osaka, I've come to think udon and takoyaki don't actually vary that much in flavor, so national chains like Hanamaru Udon and Gindaco are pretty solid too
So what's the appeal of eating them in Kagawa or Osaka specifically? I think it's that you can get cheap, consistently good udon or takoyaki at basically any shop
114Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:38:49.65ID:nCtJYrSo0
>>111
I don't know about Kagawa's udon, but Osaka's takoyaki has gotten pricey lately
113Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:38:06.99ID:iS1xnq5J0
Honestly, there don't seem to be that many takoyaki shops in Osaka that can actually beat Gindaco
People look down on the deep-fried style, but if you ran a blind taste test with the general public against most shops, they'd probably lose
116Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:39:34.55ID:p+jaNfeE0
>>113
The way people hedge with 'that's not real takoyaki' or 'it's too expensive' basically means they're admitting defeat
124Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:56:08.91ID:D8xH3Mde0
What happens if you put yakisoba noodles into okonomiyaki in Osaka?
129Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:58:02.56ID:iq7+gEOZ0
>>124
That's called 'modan-yaki' (modern-style okonomiyaki)
It's delicious as its own distinct dish
By the way, a lot of shops toss in the yakisoba without seasoning it separately beforehand, but the shops that season the noodles separately before layering them under the okonomiyaki somehow taste better

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Is it true that even Osakans eat Gindaco?”.

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