Natural Kitchen Medaka No. 2 (Kita Area)

An excellent healthy vegetarian and vegan cafe restaurant featuring earthy and healthy Japanese fare, centrally located in the Kita area with great accessibility from the Umeda, Nakakicho, and Ogimachi Park, and Osaka Tenmangu shrine areas.

If you can’t read Japanese, look for the words “natural kitchen” in English to find the Medaka shopfront © Angelino Donnachaidh

For vegetarian and vegan residents and visitors alike, Medaka deserves recognition not only for its longstanding service to an often overlooked community in Osaka – it was the first-vegan friendly eatery I managed to find when I moved to Osaka close to two decades ago, and such establishments were much rarer – but also for doing so with such a convenient location. Within a ten minute walk of not one but five different train stations in Osaka’s central Kita area, it might be the single most generally accessible option for vegetarian and vegan diners in the city.

The shop comes in the mold of the earthy “natural” dining cafe style common to Osaka’s nearby Nakazakicho neighborhood, as well as to other places such as Shimokitazawa in Tokyo or much of central Kyoto – which look and feel like they should at least have vegetarian meal offerings but often don’t.

I actually came across Medaka while searching for a workday lunchtime option serving something a little more nutritious – and waistline-friendly – than the usual fried food and white rice teishoku, and Medaka was the perfect answer for those needs as well. The cafe serves dishes prepared with brown rice, enzyme-rich naturally-produced sea salt, unrefined sugar, rice bran oil, and domestically-sourced fresh veggies. This makes it an excellent choice for not only vegetarians and vegans, but anyone looking for natural, healthy, and delicious dining.

About Angelino Donnachaidh
Angelino Donnachaidh is a Mexican-American father, author, Japanese-English translator, and longtime resident of Osaka, Japan. His works include the middle grade (pre-)historical fiction novel Tamiu: A Cat’s Tale (Winner of the North Street Prize and CWA Muse Medallion), the YA post-cyberpunk heist adventure screenplay Brother (Winner of the HollywoodGenre 2025 Scifi Screenplay Competition), and the upcoming samurai scifi-fantasy action-thriller novel The Mayhem Protocols.

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Medaka No. 2 Information

Name in English:
Natural Kitchen Medaka No. 2

Name in Japanese:
Natural Kitchen めだか 2号店

English address:
3-20 Toganocho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0056

Japanese address:
〒530-0056 大阪府大阪市北区兎我野町３−２０

Vegetarian & Vegan

Opening hours:
11:00am–8:00pm Monday through Saturday
11:00am–7:30pm Sundays

Non-smoking area: Yes

Nearest transport:
8-minute walk from Ogimachi Station on the Osaka Metro (Subway) Sakaisuji line (Exit 5)
8-minute walk from Higashi-Umeda on the Osaka Metro (Subway) Tanimachi line (Exit 6)
9-minute walk from Nakazakicho Station on the Osaka Metro (Subway) Tanimachi line (Exit 3)
10-minute walk from Osaka-Tenmangu Station on the JR Tozai and Gakkentoshi lines (Exit 1)*
10-minute walk from Minami-Morimachi Station on the Osaka Metro (Subway) Sakaisuji and Tanimachi lines (Exit 1)*

Note: Osaka Metro Minami-Morimachi Station and JR Osaka-Tenmangu Station share a single underground station complex, and use the same exits to the ground level.

Website: Official website (English)

Customer Reviews:
:: Read customer reviews of Natural Kitchen Medaka No. 2 on TripAdvisor.

Near To Here:
Natural Kitchen Medaka No. 2 is located in Osaka’s Kita and Umeda district. See our complete list of things to do in the Kita and Umeda district, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.

Best Osaka Restaurants
See our list of the best Osaka restaurants for even more ideas about great places to eat in Osaka.

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