Osaka Takoyaki Museum

A must-see recommendation by any Osaka local, the museum comprises five of Osaka’s most well-known takoyaki shops serving up everything from the most orthodox versions of takoyaki to somewhat avant-garde specialties. The museum offers anything and everything to do with takoyaki, whether to eat, see, buy or just enjoy—explaining events for which takoyaki is essential, offering all manner of takoyaki-related products and Osaka souvenirs, and providing displays of utensils and other items.

Umeda Sky Building

Selected by U.K. newspaper The Times as one of the “Top 20 Buildings around the World,” Umeda Sky Building’s “floating observatory in the sky” is particularly popular with foreign tourists. Constructed of two linked buildings, the first basement floor houses Takimikoji, lined with food stalls reminiscent of the early Showa era. The edifice serves as a multipurpose facility, also containing offices, an event hall and a movie theater. The observatory on the communication floor linking the buildings at the top provides a 360-degree panorama from which visitors can look out over Osaka from a height of 173 meters.

Tombori River Walk

This event space and promenade emerged along the Dohtonbori Canal in the Osaka Minami area as an appeal to the city’s water-based history. Lanterns adorn the many eating and drinking establishments lining the canal, making an attractive backdrop for a sightseeing boat tour.

Osaka Nihonbashi Denden Town

Nihonbashi is the “electric town” of western Japan. The town is filled with all manner of specialty shops offering everything from electrical appliances to personal computers, parts and audio shops for aficionados and shops selling figurines and small-scale production model kits.

Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Area

This area is lined with shops selling all manner of professional tools and accoutrements to support the thriving restaurant trade. As well as pots, kettles and dishes, the district provides nearly anything needed for the business, including shop curtains, lanterns, signs and food samples. Although traditionally aimed at professionals, many shops welcome general retail customers as well.

Hozenji Yokocho

Despite its location in a bustling shopping area of Minami, a sense of traditional Naniwa (old name for Osaka) calmness pervades Hozenji Yokocho. The Chinese characters that make up the name derive from Kanbi Fujiyama in the west and the third-generation Harudanji Katsura in the east. Located across two east-west alleys 3 meters wide and 80 meters long, the area is filled with long-standing restaurants and bars, shops selling okonomiyaki and skewered meats, and leavened with the quaint sounds of foot traffic passing through cobbled streets. The area is the backdrop for Meoto Zenzai, a novel by Sakunosuke Oda, and the subject of a popular song, the “Moon over Hozenji Yokocho.”

Tsutenkaku

Translated literally as the “tower reaching heaven,” Tsutenkaku is a landmark of Osaka’s Shinsekai district. Many visitors go to the statue of Billiken (the “god of things as they ought to be”) on the observation deck to pray for luck in admission to school or fulfillment in love.

Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle is one of Japan’s most noteworthy castles. From the observation deck 50 meters above ground, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the castle as well as the surrounding city of Osaka. Known familiarly as “Taiko’s castle,” Osaka Castle’s interior features displays of numerous relics from the life and times of its former occupant, Taiko Hideyoshi. Note: Taiko was a title for a regent

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Recreating the natural environment of the Pacific Ocean, Kaiyukan is one of the world’s largest aquariums, featuring some 580 species and 30,000 specimens. The huge “Pacific” tank houses whale sharks and manta rays, the aquarium’s most popular attractions. The tanks are extensive and suited to all tastes. For instance, in the “Aqua Gate” zone, visitors pass through a tunnel with tropical fish swimming all around them, while the “Antarctica” zone contains penguins.

UNIVERSAL STUDIO JAPAN

If you love amusement parks or have kids that do, you should definitely visit Osaka’s Universal Studios Japan (USJ). The combination of Universal Studios magic and Japanese efficiency makes it one of the most enjoyable amusement parks anywhere. But it’s busy all year round, so you really have to plan carefully.

From our hotel

Kintethu Nipponbashi(Kintethu Line) → Nishikuzyou (JR Yumesaki Line) → Universal Studio Japan

Namba Grand Kagetsu

Namba Grand Kagetsu (NGK) Theater is the headquarters of Yoshimoto, a universal brand of Japanese comedy. Opened in 1987, this large-scale entertainment hall equipped with the latest theatrical innovations revolutionized the image of playhouses at the time. Ever since, it has been providing audiences with heartfelt laughter and good times. Here you can see Vaudeville-like comedy performances such as Shin-Kigeki ("New comedy"), Manzai ("comic duo"), Kontos ("comic chat") and Rakugo twice a day (sometimes 3 times with the evening program, and 3 times on Sundays and National holidays). Not only comedy but also special programs such as song and acrobatics are often included. The theater puts on performances all year round without any days off.

From our hotel

5 min by walk

Dotonbori

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.

From our hotel

10 min by walk

CUPNOODLES MUSEUM OSAKA

The Cup Noodles Museum takes you on a delightful tour of instant ramen’s history, from a shed in Osaka (there is a full-size replica) to space. The museum is very family friendly, managing to avoid getting bogged down in details and finding interactive ways to present the science of instant ramen.

dt>From our hotel

Namba(Midosuzi line) → Umeda(Hankyu-Takarazuka line) → Ikeda Around 1H

KIMONO TEA CEREMONY MAIKOYA OSAKA

MAIKOYA is a cultural experience facility located in Osaka and Kyoto. You can become a samurai, talk to Maiko, taste tea and learn Japanese cuisine - it is mostly a lifetime experience for tourists visiting Japan. We welcome customers with the space and the best hospitality appropriate for once of the lifetime.

From our hotel

2０ min by walk

Tonbori River Cruise

About 20 minutes Dotonbori Mini Cruise delivered by the Naniwa Community Tourism Consortium.You can enjoy the "view from the river" of Osaka Minami · Dotonbori, which you can not usually taste by the guide of Osaka Crew.One of the sightseeing plans ..., on a date course ....Please enjoy the new "Osaka Minami Attractions".

From our hotel

15 min by walk

Osaka Life's Imperial Palace (Osaka Housing Museum)

Osaka living's Imperial pavilion was opened for the first time in Japan on the theme of history and culture on Osaka's residence. From the late Edo era to the end of the war, it is a place made of model and data on the house and old building as actual models. While taking a kimono experience, you can experience a time machine like riding a time machine back to the past. Shopping and gourmet are also good memories, but I recommend it to those who would like to have a special experience in Osaka.

From our hotel

Nipponbashi Station (Sakisuji Line) → Tenjinbashisuji 6tyo-me (20min)