Sightseeing in Osaka

Dotonbori Area: The Bright Heart of Osaka

The lively entertainment area of Dotonbori is Osaka’s most famous tourist destination and renowned for its gaudy neon lights, extravagant signage, and the enormous variety of restaurants and bars. The name “Dotonbori” generally refers both to the Dotonbori Canal and to Dotonbori Street which runs parallel to the canal’s southern bank. It is one of the most colorful areas in Osaka and an absolute must-visit location when traveling through Kansai region. Read more 

Shinsekai and the Tsutenkaku Tower

Shinsekai is a colorful area to the west of Tennoji Park packed with cheap shops and eateries and best known for its iconic Tsutenkaku Tower. Read more 

Universal Studios Japan (USJ)

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is a very popular theme park located in Osaka Bay. The park has a great variety of attractions and entertainments suitable for young or old which include hair-raising roller coaster rides, child friendly merry-go-rounds, monster rock shows, and colorful parades with spectacular floats and dance performances. Read more

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan & Tempozan Harbor Village

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is located in Tempozan Harbor Village which is close by Osaka Bay. It is one of the world’s largest aquariums, and certainly the most impressive aquarium in Japan. Read more

Umeda Sky Building

Umeda Sky Building is a strikingly unique and very shiny high-rise structure of glass and steel which stands tall and aloof in an open area to the north of Osaka Station. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the Japanese architect who also designed Kyoto Station, and completed in 1993, the 173 meter tall building consists of two separate towers which are joined at the top by a ring-like observation deck. Read more

HEP FIVE

One of Umeda’s best known landmarks, HEP FIVE is essentially a shopping mall that just happens to have a huge red Ferris wheel attached to its roof. Read more

Abeno Harukas

Abeno Harukas is a 300 meter high skyscraper above Osaka Abenobashi Station and the tallest building in Japan. The 62 story building has observation decks on its upper floors, and contains a hotel, a museum, and a massive department store with extensive shopping and dining facilities. Read more

Osaka Castle & Osaka Castle Park

Osaka Castle is a popular tourist spot and a striking historical landmark in the middle of a modern urban cityscape of high-rise concrete blocks. The castle stands in an expansive lawn covered park and consists of a complex network of moats, turrets, and walls surrounding a massive central tower. Read more

Osaka Museum of History

Osaka Museum of History is a wonderful facility that provides an in-depth look at local history in a most entertaining and memorable way. Inside are a series of displays that graphically tell the story of Osaka’s development from ancient times to the present day. From the upper levels of the museum you can also enjoy excellent views of the nearby Osaka Castle. Read more

Nipponbashi’s Denden Town

Nipponbashi is an area in the southern Minami district of Osaka that has long been known for its cheap electronics and appliance stores and has more recently become equally well-known as a center of otaku (or geek) culture. Nicknamed Denki Machi which means “Electric Town” or just Denden Town, this area is Osaka’s answer to Tokyo’s famous Akihabara electronics district. Read more

Tennoji Park & Zoo

Tennoji Park is a large park in Osaka with spacious lawns and recreation facilities, a traditional landscape garden, and a zoo. Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts is also located inside this park. Read more

Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts

Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts is a large museum located inside Tennoji Park that has a permanent art collection of over 8,000 items. Because a lot of the museum’s artworks were donated by private collectors, the content is extensive and varied.

Inside you will find traditional Asian Buddhist art, ancient works from the Mediterranean, Chinese paintings and calligraphy, Japanese metalwork, ceramics, lacquerware with gold and silver inlay, finely carved netsuke kimono toggles, seal cases, and other precious craftworks. The Japanese collection includes paintings from the Edo and Meiji periods and later. There are also many items that have been donated by shrines and temples in the Kansai region. In addition to the permanent collection, the museum also hosts special exhibitions of artworks from all around the world. Read more

Shitennoji Temple

Shitennoji Temple is Japan’s oldest official temple. It was founded in 593 by the prince Shotoku Taishi; a major figure in Japanese history who played a leading role in introducing Buddhism to Japan. He named the temple after the shitenno: four heavenly kings of Buddhist tradition who guard the world from evil. Read more

Tsuyu-no-Tenjinja Shrine (Ohatsu Tenjin)

Tusyu-no-Tenjinja Shrine is the guardian shrine of the Umeda area and is said to have been founded 1,300 years ago on an island in what was then a marshy bay. A popular spot both for young couples, and for those who are seeking true love. People write their prayers for success in love on special wooden plaques called ema, many of which bear the image of Japan’s Romeo and Juliet – Ohatsu and Tokubei. Read more

Hozenji Temple & Hozenji Yokocho

Hozenji Temple is a small but quaint temple in the warren of streets that lie between the bright neon signs of Dotonbori and the shopping malls of Namba. Stepping through the temple gate is very much like stepping out of the modern world and into the past. Particularly in the evening when the lanterns are lit Hozenji has a very special, peaceful, and magical atmosphere. Read more

Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine

Sumiyoshi Taisha is Osaka’s most famous shrine and is located on pleasant grounds in the south of Osaka. The shrine has a long and respected history and is featured in the world’s first novel, the Tale of Genji, and also in the works of Nobel Prize winning 20th century novelist Yasunari Kawabata. During the three day New Year holiday period this shrine is incredibly popular and receives over 2 million visitors. Read more

The National Museum of Art, Osaka

The National Museum of Art, Osaka (also known as NMAO) is an underground museum housing a major art collection on the island of Nakanoshima in central Osaka. The museum houses mainly contemporary art created after 1945, and in addition to its permanent exhibits it holds regular special exhibitions which explore new trends in domestic and international art. Most of the museum is located underground with just the entrance lobby at ground level, but it is easy to find due to its dramatic and very distinctive rabbit ear architecture. Read more

Osaka Science Museum

Osaka Science Museum is an interactive educational facility largely targeted at children on the island of Nakanoshima in central Osaka. There are four floors of themed exhibits, a separate planetarium, and regular science shows. Read more

The Mint Museum

The Mint Museum is a free museum on the premises of the Osaka Mint Bureau which houses a large coin collection and historical exhibits. This is not only an interesting location for coin enthusiasts, but the museum itself is housed in a historical Meiji era building and there are other historical structures around it. The grounds of the museum are also famous for their cherry trees, and this is a popular cherry blossom viewing location in the spring. Read more

The Museum of Oriental Ceramics

The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka is a pottery museum in Nakanoshima Park dedicated to the collection, conservation, study and display of East Asian pottery. The museum’s superb collection consists mainly of Chinese and Korean ceramics, but there are also a number of Japanese items. Even if you don’t already have a special interest in the art of pottery, this museum may change your mind. The beauty of the exhibits and the care with which they are displayed, together with thorough written explanations in English, make this a fascinating and highly enjoyable museum to visit. Read more

Osaka Expo Park

Osaka Expo Park is a massive park and recreational facility that was created on the site of the 1970 Japan World Exposition. The park’s official English title is “Expo ’70 Commemorative Park” and in Japanese “Banpaku Kinen Koen”. With 264 hectares of grassy lawns and trees the park features gardens, museums, and enough entertainment facilities to fill an entire day’s excursion. Read more

Osaka Shin-Kabukiza Theater

Osaka Shin-Kabukiza is a theater located on the 6th floor of the Yufura shopping complex in the Uehommachi district of Osaka. Although this theater has “kabuki” in its name, classical kabuki drama is rarely if ever performed here. Most of the shows here are Japanese historical dramas, comedies, and enka style musical concerts. Read more

Noh Theater in Osaka

Noh theater is Japan’s oldest dramatic form dating back to the 14th century, and also its most mysterious having developed from ancient rituals that dramatized the links between the physical and spiritual worlds. Read more

The National Bunraku Theater

Bunraku is a sophisticated form of puppet theater which ranks along with Noh and Kabuki as one the three great theatrical traditions of Japan. This unique dramatic form developed in Osaka in the 17th century as a popular entertainment for the common people. Today one of the best places to see it is at the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka’s Nippombashi district. Read more

Osaka Shochikuza Kabuki Theater

Osaka Shochikuza is a theater in the Dotonbori district of Osaka which often holds performances of classical Kabuki drama. This Neo-Renaissance theater first opened in 1923 and was modelled after the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The theater now has seats for 1,033 people on three levels with excellent acoustics and state-of-the-art devices such as a revolving stage and trap doors. In addition to Kabuki this theater also holds performances of new contemporary dramas, musicals, comedies, and opera. Read more

The Symphony Hall, Osaka

The Symphony Hall in Osaka was built in 1982 as the first Japanese concert hall that was specifically designed for Western style classical music. Over the years the Symphony Hall has gained a reputation for its excellent acoustics and the great Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan declared it to be “one of the best halls in the world”. Read more

Osaka Shiki Theatre

The Shiki Theatre Company was founded in Tokyo in 1953 to perform Western style plays in the Japanese language. Today it is the most popular and successful commercial theatre group in Japan. The company has 8 theatres, most of which are in Tokyo, but they opened a Hokkaido branch in Sapporo in 2011, and in Western Japan the Osaka Shiki Theatre opened in 2005. Read more

Festivals in Osaka

Osaka is lively and exciting city and famous for its friendly and spirited citizens. However, when Osaka holds a festival, it really comes alive with joyful energy and exuberant celebrations. For a really memorable trip to Osaka, try to catch one of these unique local festivals. Read more