Supersize me: Why Osaka's Dotonbori billboards reign supreme

Urban revitalization and traditional showmanship collide to spawn mega-ad zone

Dotonbori Top 2025-11

Huge billboards line the Dotonbori River in Osaka's Dotonbori district. (Photo by Jino Asano)

JINO ASANO

OSAKA -- Billboards in Osaka's splashy Dotonbori district are unapologetically huge. The area's best-known landmark signage -- the 20-meter-tall Glico running man exulting in victory with his arms raised to the sky -- is just one of many oversized corporate logos and product names crowding the waterfront of the Dotonbori River.

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