Things to Do in Osaka: Castle, Dotonbori and Where to Eat
What to do in Osaka by area: Osaka Castle Park, Dotonbori's canal, Shinsekai, Nakanoshima, Kuromon Market and wet-weather options, with closing days.
Start with the three things Osaka does best. See the castle, eat your way along the Dotonbori canal, and spend an evening in Shinsekai. Most of what’s below is within a few stops of the Midosuji Line or the JR Loop Line, and the map shows how the areas fit together.
Osaka Castle
Osaka Castle Park covers 105.6 hectares around the keep, with moats, stone walls and a plum grove, and it’s open at all times. The Osaka Castle Main Tower, rebuilt in 1931, is a museum of the Toyotomi era with an observation deck on the top floor. Last entry is 17:30. The Osaka Museum of History covers nearly 1,400 years and keeps the remains of the Naniwa Palace in its basement. It closes the next day when Tuesday is a holiday.
Nishinomaru Garden is a lawn garden with about 300 cherry trees, and it’s closed on Mondays. If you’d like to see the moat from the water, the Osaka Castle Gozabune boat takes about 20 minutes. Read the Osaka Castle guide.
Dotonbori and Namba
The canal is the draw. Walk the Tonbori Riverwalk, about 600 m of promenade, then see the Glico Sign beside Ebisu Bridge. For food, Kushikatsu Daruma Dotonbori fries skewers at the counter, Dotonbori Imai Honten serves udon, and Okonomiyaki Mizuno makes okonomiyaki. Behind the canal, Hozenji Temple has a moss-covered Fudo statue that visitors splash with water. The Dotonbori Konamon Museum has a wax takoyaki class on its third floor.
Read the Dotonbori guide and the Namba guide.
Shinsekai and Tennoji
Shinsekai dates to 1903 and centres on Tsutenkaku, which has timed entry. Covered Janjan Yokocho holds kushikatsu and doteyaki restaurants. Spa World is the place for a bath. In Tennoji, Shitenno-ji is free in its central area on the 21st and 22nd of each month, and Keitakuen Garden is closed on Mondays. The Harukas 300 Observatory has a glass corridor on the 60th floor.
Read the Shinsekai guide and the Tennoji guide.
Nakanoshima
The strip between the Dojima and Tosabori rivers holds Nakanoshima Park, Osaka’s first city park from 1891, which is open at all times. Along it stand the red-brick Osaka City Central Public Hall and the domed Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library, both from the early 1900s. The Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka and the National Museum of Art, Osaka are here too. Read the Nakanoshima and Kitahama guide.
Markets, arcades and Korea Town
Kuromon Market is a covered market of about 150 shops, and Tsuruhashi Market is a cluster of six markets with about 800 shops by Tsuruhashi Station. Osaka Korea Town (Miyuki-dori) has more than 20 kimchi shops. For shopping, Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street is roofed for about 600 m, and Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street runs about 2.6 km under cover.
From above
The Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden Observatory is an open-air deck 173 m up. The HEP FIVE Ferris Wheel is 75 m across on a shopping-building roof, and the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel is 112.5 m.
When it rains, or with children
See the rainy day list and Osaka with kids. The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan sets its hours date by date, so check the official calendar.
Beyond the city
Nara, Kobe and Himeji Castle are all within a day’s reach. See the best day trips from Osaka. To choose a base, read where to stay in Osaka.
Places in this guide
Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.
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