One day to discover Osaka
When in Japan for the first time, Osaka is a must-make-time-to-visit sort of place. At least that is what the general opinion seems to be according to the internet. Only having experienced a fraction of the wonders Japan has to offer, I will refrain from expressing an opinion.
Our first visit to Japan did have a day allocated to discovering Osaka. Having read plenty of travel blogs I completely understand why most of them wisely advise to take your time exploring a place. Unfortunately, this is usually only possible if you are not limited by statutory annual leave. Because of this, we end up having to prioritize and plan in a way that we can efficiently see as much as time allowed us. So, we picked the best things to do and see in Osaka put them in an ambitious one-day itinerary.
Osaka Castle
That morning we got an early start. We hoped to have a look inside the Osaka castle when the crowds are not too thick. We managed to get there just around the time it got opened. Unfortunately, plenty of other people had the same idea so the queue was growing pretty fast. If that is the least busy time to visit, I don’t want to know what the busiest hours are like.
We were only going to spend one day in Osaka and we didn’t want to carry our suitcases around. Therefore, we decided to spend this day between the two days we had planned in Kyoto. The train we got on from Kyoto took about an hour to Osaka from where we had to take the metro to the Osaka castle.
The inside of the castle is reconstructed and turned into a museum with many historical artifacts on display. An observation deck provides a panoramic view of Osaka. For an additional fee there you can get photographed wearing a helmet and surcoat or a kosode kimono. Unable to resist, we had our pictures taken as samurai. Although one of us being a girl provoked some weird looks among the crowd.
After the visit to the castle we went for a stroll in the surrounding park to enjoy the cherry blossoms and the taste of strawberry daifuku.
Shitenno-ji
Our next stop on the list was the Shitenno-ji temple. It is one of the oldest temples in Japan. Despite burning down several times, it was always reconstructed to reflect the original design. The temple courtyard is free to access, but there is a fee if you wish to enter some of the buildings.
Even just walking around the courtyard was a nice experience. There were almost no other people around which allowed us to really enjoy the beautiful traditional architecture. Walking around the temple and climbing to the top of a small pagoda where we managed to accidently disturb a guy’s meditation was fun.
Shinsekai
After the peaceful stroll around the temple, it was time to head to a livelier area – the famous Shinsekai. It is quite close to the Shitenno-ji temple. We took advantage of a slightly longer route through the Tennoji park – a great cherry blossom spot.
Shinsekai is a district full of shops and eateries – perfect timing as we were ready for lunch, so we just randomly picked a place to try out some traditional kushikatsu. Who doesn’t like deep fried food?
The Tsutenkaku Tower looks over the area as a symbolic monument of the district, designed to resemble the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Shinsekai has the reputation of a relatively dangerous district due to the population of homeless people in the area, though compared to Europe, and possibly the rest of the world, Japan’s safety standards are rather high.
The Kuromon Market was another lunch option, though it can get rather crowded. It is a covered market that dates from the Edo period and contains shops that sell meat, traditional sweets, clothes, and all sorts of other stuff. Shinsekai is also a busy area where you can buy all sorts of things and eat all sorts of food. It is difficult to choose when the restaurants have a bunch of creative 3D signs mounted on the exterior walls to advertise them.
There are statues of the local mascot, called Billiken all over Shinsekai and rubbing his feet supposedly brings good luck. We did not know that at the time, so we missed our opportunity.
Arcade Game Center
After lunch we headed back towards the Umeda station. We had decided to watch the sunset from the rooftop of Umeda Sky Building so we had some time to kill. We found a game center near Umeda train station within a walking distance from our next stop and gave it a nostalgic go at the selection of arcade games.
Umeda Sky Building
The Umeda Sky building itself is quite the view. The main reason why it is so popular is that it has a doughnut shaped observatory at about 170 meters height providing a 360-degree view of Osaka and is famous for being a great spot to enjoy the sunset.
Getting there about an hour early turned out to be essential for securing a good spot though. We spent about over an hour enjoying the view while lending our good spot from time to time to people who were too late so that they could also take a few photos of the red horizon.
Shinsaibashi
On our way to the entertainment district we walked through the Shinsaibashi shopping street. It is nearly 600 meters of commercial avenue featuring all kinds of stores – from expensive boutique stores to 100-yen shops. Our goal was not to do any shopping although we entered a few stores to look for souvenirs, but it’s definitely worth spending a day shopping in that area.
Dotonbori
After sunset is the best time to visit the heart of Osaka – the Dotonbori area and the Shinsaibashi street lead us right to the Ebisu bridge with the famous sign of the Glico running man iconic for this district.
This area is probably the most famous tourist destination in the city renowned for its colourful neon lights and variety of bars and restaurants.
It is a very crowded area and it wasn’t easy to find a place to have dinner even though the options are countless.
The bottom line
Dotonbori was the last stop for our day in Osaka, and it was a good one. It was time for us to get on the fast train back to our Hotel in Kyoto which took about 40 minutes.
Osaka offers tons of things to see and do if you have the time. However, mark my words – the city’s food culture can quickly empty your pockets if you’re not too careful.
We are not the city loving kind of tourists, but even with its crowds and queues, Osaka left its mark in our memories with the encouragement for us to come back.
Useful links
Japan Rail Pass – Though it might seem a bit pricey, if you are travelling around Japan, a J rail pass will save you money and time.
Japan Travel – The Japan National Tourism organization website provides a great deal of information about Japan
If you enjoyed this itinerary, have a look at some others that we tried and recommend here.
This is such a great list! I haven’t been to Japan yet, but when it happens, Osaka is a must visit!
Thanks, Alison 🙂 Japan is truly amazing, I hope you can visit soon!
This is awesome and inspired me to plan Osaka into a future trip to Japan! Thanks for sharing how you were able fit several experiences in a day and what to expect. Great photos, too 🙂
Thanks, Scout! I hope you can enjoy Japan at least as much as we did 🙂
I’ve never been to Japan and this looks super interesting! 🙂 I hope we can travel again soon.
Thanks, Nina! I hope we can travel again soon as well, and I hope I can go back to Japan soon. It is an amazing place!
I missed out on Osaka last time I was in Japan, but I’m looking forward to visiting in the future. This list is awesome, hopefully I’ll be able to check these place out soon.
I used to live here and I am impressed you were able to see so much in one day! I usually advise people to spend at least 2 days in Osaka, but it seems it’s possible to blast through the highlights in a single day. Glad you liked the city 🙂
Thanks, Jaqueline! We did miss a lot of stuff I wanted to see as well, but we only had this one day and we had to make it count 🙂
Japan was all booked last September and it got cancelled… I have been to Osaka and reading your article made me realize how much I want to go again and make Oliver discover this amazing place too and the rest of Japan. Thanks for bringing back amazing memories.
Hi Paulyne, sorry to hear your trip got cancelled. I loved Japan, I would gladly go back any day, and in pandemic times, I am sure it is so much better in terms of crowds 🙂