How I Made Itadaki Part of My Cosplay Summit Nagoya Story

A message came in through Instagram not long ago that genuinely made my day. It was from a visitor who had come to Nagoya specifically for the World Cosplay Summit — one of the biggest subculture events in Japan, held right here in our city every summer. They had spent the morning in full costume exploring Osu Shopping Street, stopped at Osu Kannon Temple, browsed the vintage anime shops, and then — almost by accident — noticed our sign on the second floor.

They wrote: "I traveled to Nagoya specifically to eat here — it was 100% worth it."

What struck me most wasn't the compliment. It was the phrase "specifically to eat here." Because at some point during their Cosplay Summit trip, Itadaki had shifted from a happy accident to a destination in its own right. That's exactly the kind of story I built this restaurant to create.

Who This Is For

• ✅ World Cosplay Summit participants and anime/subculture enthusiasts exploring Osu district
• ✅ Repeat visitors to Japan who are tired of the same Golden Route meals and want something genuinely local
• ✅ Travelers who love discovering restaurants that feel like an insider secret — places where Japanese food lovers actually eat
• ✅ Visitors to Osu who want a memorable lunch between costume events and temple strolls
• ✅ Anyone who wonders whether a beef bowl can be a serious culinary experience worth planning your day around

Osu Is Not Just an Anime District — It's Where Real Nagoya Eats

Most international visitors who come to the World Cosplay Summit know Osu for its cosplay-friendly atmosphere, its 1,200-shop shopping street, and its legendary concentration of subculture shops. What many don't realize is that Osu has been a serious food neighborhood for centuries — long before the anime cafés arrived.

The district sits at the cultural crossroads of Nagoya: Buddhist temples standing next to maid cafés, Edo-period merchant buildings converted into Taiwanese restaurants, and narrow covered arcades where you'll find vendors selling everything from handmade pickles to vintage game cartridges. It's chaotic in the best possible way. And it's precisely the kind of neighborhood where a small specialist restaurant can thrive quietly — known to locals, unknown to guidebooks.

Itadaki opened here in April 2022, on the second floor of a building just a 4-minute walk from Yabacho Station Exit 4. We didn't choose Osu by accident. My name is Masayuki Goto, and I've been running MAX'S BAR since 2008. When I conceived the idea for Itadaki during the pandemic, I wanted to create something that could only exist in Nagoya — rooted in Aichi Prefecture's ingredients, built around a culinary concept no one had attempted before, and located in a neighborhood that still has some soul left in it.

Osu made complete sense.

The Guest Who Wore Cosplay to a Wagyu Bowl — and Loved Every Minute

Back to the message I received. This guest had arrived in Nagoya for the Cosplay Summit and had planned their food itinerary around convenience — looking for somewhere close to the event venue that wouldn't require them to change out of costume. They found us through Google Maps while walking through Osu, saw the sign that reads 元祖レア牛丼 頂 (Ganso Rea Gyudon Itadaki) at street level, and climbed the stairs out of curiosity.

We're fully welcoming of cosplay guests, by the way. Osu is that kind of neighborhood — nobody bats an eye, and neither do we. What we care about is that every person who climbs those stairs has an experience worth remembering.

In this case, they ordered the Rare Wagyu Gyudon featuring Mikawa Beef — our always-available signature, prepared using the same proprietary two-stage cooking technique that heats the beef to over 70°C at the core, fully meeting Japan's food safety standards while delivering that distinctive rare-style mouthfeel. They told me afterward that they had been slightly hesitant about the "rare" preparation at first, but the multilingual menu — which we offer in English, Simplified Chinese, and Korean — explained everything clearly, including a five-step visual guide showing exactly how to enjoy the dish.

They followed all five steps. They said it was the first time a restaurant had ever taught them how to eat a meal, and they meant it as the highest possible compliment.

For anyone curious about what cosplay visitors have experienced at Itadaki in Osu, there's also a dedicated post on our site: Can I Enter Itadaki in My Cosplay Outfit? — which covers exactly what to expect when visiting in costume.

✓ Key Takeaways

• Itadaki is located in Osu — Nagoya's most distinctive neighborhood — a 4-minute walk from Yabacho Station, making it a natural lunch stop during a Cosplay Summit itinerary
• Our multilingual menu (English, Chinese, Korean) with a five-step visual guide makes the rare wagyu experience fully accessible to international visitors without any Japanese language knowledge
• Cosplay guests are welcome — Osu's character means you'll fit right in, and we're focused on making every visitor feel at ease

What Makes a Hidden Gem Worth Traveling for — Even Within Your Existing Trip

There's a specific kind of satisfaction that comes from finding a restaurant that wasn't on any list you downloaded before your trip. Repeat visitors to Japan — especially those from Hong Kong or Taiwan who may be visiting for the fifth or tenth time — know exactly what I'm talking about. The famous sushi counters and the Kobe beef steakhouses are wonderful. But they're not discoveries. Discoveries feel different.

What I tried to create at Itadaki is something that rewards the curious. Every element of the menu traces back to Aichi Prefecture: the rice is Aichi no Kaori, the miso soup is made with Hatcho miso from Okazaki, the pickles are Atsumi Ichō-zuke from the Atsumi Peninsula, the egg is a Nagoya Cochin from Yamada Poultry Farm. We even use white soy sauce from Hekinan City as the base of our house "magic sauce," blended with wine into something I don't think you'll encounter anywhere else.

And then there's the beef itself. Horai Wagyu — raised in Okumikawa, fed on sake lees from the renowned Horaisen Sora brewery — is produced by only three farms in Japan, with just 300 heads raised annually. Out of approximately 500,000 wagyu cattle in Japan, only 300 are Horai Wagyu. We limit it to 10 bowls per day, not as a marketing device, but because that's genuinely how much we receive. If Horai Wagyu is what you're after, a reservation via Tabelog Online is the most reliable path — and when booking, you can copy this phrase into the notes field to request it specifically: 鳳来牛希望.

For visitors planning a broader Nagoya itinerary around their event, it's also worth knowing that Itadaki has become a go-to for those attending other events in the city — from business travelers to sports fans. You can read about one such experience in this post about an Asian Games family's Nagoya lunch discovery.

"I traveled to Nagoya specifically to eat here — it was 100% worth it."

Cosplay Summit Visitor, Osu Nagoya

Planning Your Itadaki Visit Around the Cosplay Summit (or Any Osu Day)

Itadaki is open for lunch only — Tuesday, Monday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11:00 to 15:00, with last order at 14:30. On public holidays, we open slightly earlier at 9:00. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are our regular days off, though the schedule can shift month to month. Our monthly business calendar is always posted on our official Instagram page, so that's the most reliable place to confirm before your visit.

The easiest route from central Nagoya: take the Higashiyama Line from Nagoya Station to Sakae, transfer to the Meijo Line, and get off at Yabacho — about 10 minutes in total. Use Exit 4, and it's a 4-minute walk from there. Look for the Japanese sign at street level and head up the stairs to the second floor. You'll find 18 seats total, with sofa-style table seating that's comfortable for longer lunch stays — including groups in costume who want to settle in and actually enjoy the meal rather than rush through it.

If you're combining your day with a stroll through Osu Kannon Temple or a browse through the shopping arcades, we're right in the middle of your route. And if you're visiting Hisaya-odori Garden Flarie — the beautiful free-admission garden that opened just steps from Yabacho Station — Itadaki makes a perfect lunch stop before or after.

The Story You'll Carry Home

I think about this a lot: what makes a meal memorable? It's rarely the price. It's rarely even the taste alone. It's the combination of place, story, and the feeling that you found something real — something that wasn't handed to you by an algorithm or a tour package.

The guest who messaged me about their Cosplay Summit trip didn't discover Itadaki through a guidebook. They found us by walking through a neighborhood they were already in love with, noticing a sign in Japanese that meant nothing to them at first glance, and deciding to climb a flight of stairs out of curiosity. That's exactly the kind of discovery I hoped Itadaki would become when I opened it in 2022.

Whether you're here for the Cosplay Summit, a temple visit, or simply because Nagoya ended up on your itinerary and you're looking for something worth remembering — the bowl is waiting. The story behind it is real. And the stairs are right there.

For our complete menu, access details, and store information, visit our official page at https://itadaki8.com/english/.