TOP 10 OSAKA PLACES TO VISIT 🇯🇵 Osaka Travel Guide 🐙 #osakajapan

Something I often hear from people that visit Japan is that there really wasn't much to do in Osaka apart from eating and Universal Studios, which makes me really sad because Osaka has got to be one of my favorite cities in Japan. Having said that, the first time I visited Osaka as well I didn't get the hype either. From the research I had done, Dotonbori was where you needed to go to eat either takoyaki or okonomiyaki but to only do it as a day trip because Osaka is dangerous at This actually couldn't be further from the truth. Osaka has so much to offer from trendy neighborhoods with cafes and vintage clothing stores to scenic parks, history and skyscrapers all the way to its insane grunge nightlife and delicious izakayas. Osaka has got to be the Japanese city with the most personality. So today I want to introduce you to 10 places in Osaka that'll make you fall in love with the city. We'll go through how to get to each location, practical tips, things to do and places to eat. Let's get started. We start in the trendy neighborhood of Nakazaki-cho. Nakazaki-cho is full of old traditional houses that have been renovated and repurposed into cafes and walking around you can really see where old meets new with boutiques and coffee shops popping up in between the residential houses. Nakazaki-cho has its own station on the Tanimachi line but it's also just a 10-15 minute walk from Osaka station which makes it a very central area. Osaka station city is where everything connects in Osaka which is why it's my top recommendation for where to book a hotel if you're staying here. It's also what I'll be using as the starting point for directions for all of the Osaka neighborhoods that we'll be going through in this video. Unfortunately and probably because of its major connectivity it's also a notoriously confusing station with multiple naming systems. If you've already done some research on Osaka in preparation for your trip you might have seen it referred to as Osaka station or Umeda or Osaka Umeda, Kita or even some other name. I'll go through why this is and how to navigate through it when we go through this area of Osaka later on in the video but for now let's get back to Nakazaki-cho. Nakazaki-cho is one of my favorite places to grab a coffee. You've got an endless supply of cafes to choose from but let me introduce you to three of my favorites. Yacht Nakazaki-cho is a super fun bohemian style cafe with a huge window where you can just relax and people watch while you sip your coffee. Then we've got Paohana which specializes in drip coffee and the owner is very welcoming so you'll have such a pleasant experience just chatting and drinking your coffee here. Then we have Owlog which gives kind of like a minimalistic beach vibe which was very unexpected but also very relaxing. If you're looking for another area with trendy cafes I would recommend checking out Kitahama. Kitahama runs along the southern bank of the Tosobori river here in central Osaka. As you can see it's predominantly office buildings but you do have cafes and restaurants lining the bank here which you can really capitalize in the warmer months where you can sit on decks at places like Motoko-hi or Brooklyn Coffee Roasters. Motoko-hi also has a second story where you can relax and eat a toasty while you enjoy the views over the river. Brooklyn Coffee Roasters on the other hand also has an indoor section where people work remotely but the deck is huge and honestly it's still quite pleasant in the colder months especially with the view of Nakanoshima the little island sitting in the middle of Tosobori river. Nakanoshima is this little strip of land that sits right above Kitahama so if you are visiting Kitahama I would definitely suggest having a wander around here as well. This is where the city hall is which is this very European looking building but there is also a children's book forest designed by the famous architect Tadao Ando which if you're into architecture is definitely worth a visit even if you can't read the Japanese books. There's also a gorgeous rose garden here that you can go for a stroll through. So Nakanoshima also has a train servicing it which is pretty wild but if you're interested in the children's book forest and the rose garden get off at Naniwabashi station. Alternatively you can access both the cafes in Kitahama and Nakanoshima from Kitahama station via the Keihan line or the Sakaisuji line. Unfortunately there's no direct line from Osaka station to Kitahama station you either have to change trains or take the Midosuji line to Yodoyabashi station and then walk there. Either option though will take you about 15 minutes to get there. Google maps is your best friend here it'll give you things like accessibility information, which carriage to get on and which exit to take. So just use these diagrams as like guidelines to roughly visualize where everything is in relation to each other. Now obviously no trip to Osaka can be discussed without talking about Osaka castle and you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy this one. Although for those interested there is a museum and an elevator inside the castle. I'm not a history buff so I'll give you my recommendations on how to enjoy this area and you take it with a grain of salt. I'll start with how to get here for context and this will make sense in a second. There are many ways to get to the castle and its grounds but the recommended way according to the internet is through the Otemon gate at the southwestern end. For this way you would either take the Tanimachi line or the Chuo line and get off at Tanimachi Yonchome station. Alternatively you can take the Osaka loop line to Osaka-Jo Kouen station which will put you on the northeastern end of the grounds. Just a heads up these grounds are big. Both of these routes are great but if you're coming in spring I'd actually recommend a different route. Osaka castle is well known for its beautiful views in cherry blossom season but what's not talked about enough is Sakuranomiya. So just two stops earlier on the Osaka loop line is Sakuranomiya station. Maybe you can tell by the name but this park is absolutely exploding with sakura trees that run along the riverbank. If you can time it bring some snacks and some drinks and have a picnic under these cherry blossom trees. It's amazing. Or don't bring food and check out some of the many food stalls that they have going. Just something to note I only found out about this recently too but it is said that if you pick a cherry blossom off the tree it will not bloom there again the following year. I don't know if this is true but either way it goes without saying please be respectful and admire the trees without touching them and especially please don't shake them. I know it looks cool but it's damaging the tree. Sakuranomiya stretches along the riverbank all the way to Osaka castle so if you are coming in late March or early April I would recommend dedicating a whole day to just enjoying the sakura along this trail. The Osaka castle grounds themselves are free if you want to enter the castle or the Nishinomaru garden there is a small fee. Afterwards check out the teppan grill at New Otani hotel where you can have some delicious teppanyaki while enjoying this insane view of Osaka castle. If you like parks and illuminations I have two other recommendations for you. First is the Expo 70 commemorative park but everyone just calls it Banpaku. This is where they hosted a world fair called the Expo 70 held back in you guessed it 1970 but now it's just a big open space with like a ferris wheel shopping center and much more. It's also where you can see the famous tower of the sun statue designed by Taro Okamoto. This park is another great choice to visit during cherry blossom season. If you're visiting during winter I highly recommend jumping on this ferris wheel it gets decked out with a heated table called a kotatsu oh my god it's so warm and you're also provided with warm sake and food. It's just a great way to escape the cold and still enjoy the cityscape. If you want to know more about this kotatsu in the sky I've made a separate video about it so click in the link on the top right hand corner or in the description below to navigate through to it. So Banpaku park is in northern Osaka so to get here from Osaka station hop on the Midosuji line transferring to the Osaka monorail at Sendichuo station. The trip takes about 45 minutes. On the other side of the city you'll find Nagai park and within the Nagai botanical gardens you'll find a team lab exhibition. If you're not familiar team lab is an interactive art installation that exists across Japan most famously in Tokyo however unlike Tokyo this one is outdoors and is designed to act as like an extension or integration of the botanical gardens. It costs 2000 yen per person and it's suitable for all ages. Nagai park can also be accessed by the Midosuji line getting off at Nagai station. This trip will take you about 30 minutes from Osaka station. Fun fact Banpaku in the north and Nagai park in the south are actually the home grounds for the two rival soccer teams in Osaka Gamba and Seresso. Do with that information what you will. Okay let's go back to the center of Osaka. This is where things can get a little confusing when planning your first time to Osaka. So this central area in Osaka can be broken down into Kita in the north and Minami in the south. Osaka station is located in the north and it kind of fits more the central business district vibe although I don't know if that's a really accurate way of describing it but we'll get back to that in a sec. Then you've got Namba and Dotonbori in the south with the famous Glico sign and this would probably be called downtown. Now if you want to see the quote unquote iconic shots of Osaka they're here in Namba. Could you call it a tourist trap? I mean I'll leave that for you to decide. The district in which the JR west Osaka station is located is called Umeda. I don't know where the borders actually end because generally this whole area is referred to as Umeda but what's important to note is that there is not just Osaka station here there's also the Hankyu Umeda station and the Hanshin Umeda station located here too along with like a whole lot of buildings and an underground city. This is why it's called because it's literally a city of its own here and you can also reach a range of other nearby trains and subways through this underground network too like Umeda station Nishi Umeda Higashi Umeda and Kitashinchi stations but these three stations here are essentially the central stations of three separate train lines JR west Hankyu and Hanshin. All three of these are essentially Osaka station for their representative lines they just couldn't all be named Osaka station they had to have unique names. So yeah that's why this area is referred to as Kita or Osaka station city or Umeda. Which one is the most accurate? I don't know but from living with a Japanese person raised here in Osaka he generally refers to this area broadly as Umeda. Now as I mentioned this is a city in itself I could easily spend days here and not get bored. It's got all the shops you want including Yorobashi Camera, Don Quijote, department stores, boutiques, cafes, izakayas name it it's here. So I would highly recommend having a hotel here. It is the most convenient place to stay while you're here in Osaka. Everything converges and can be found here which can also be very overwhelming so let me give you a couple of places to get you started. First up in this Rukua-ide building it's like double one double o but it's pronounced Rukua-ide apparently I think is a super super cute cafe called Pathfinder. It's owned by a person called Nobu-san who is a world champion latte artist and we actually know him from my hometown back in Melbourne Australia where he had a couple cafes that were amazing and he's got a couple of cafes here in Osaka as well as in Kyoto and he never misses. They've got regular coffees as well as like oat milk, almond milk, everything milk and a Melbourne specialty called a magic you should try it out and they've also got this thing called a rainbow latte which looks super super cool. I don't know how they pull that off. Also please note this cafe is on the fourth floor of the Rukua building for some reason the English google map said it's on the first floor. It's not. For lunch I really liked this 100% buckwheat soba noodle joint. You might have to line up depending on the time but the noodle soups are so good. I'll go into the dinner spots a little bit later because I'm going to talk about them along with some other areas altogether. This building is the Umeda Sky building and for 2000 yen you can jump up to its observatory for some views of Osaka. I did this back in 2017 and it was cool. I tried to use AI to remove cave space from this image so I could show you and this is how it turned out. If you go to the top of the Hanshin building you can get some free views of the Umeda cityscape. It's not panoramic like Umeda Sky but it's still pretty cool. At the top of the Minami area you can find a neighborhood called Shinsaibashi. Take the Midosuji subway line from Osaka station and get off at Shinsaibashi station. I reckon Shinsaibashi is one of the coolest areas in Osaka. It's full of vintage clothing stores, lots of cafes and some people with great style. If you're into thrifting this is where I would recommend visiting in Osaka. If you're looking for a coffee break or to get some remote work done check out Stringer's Coffee Company. It's got a very laid-back straight vibe with mega cups of coffee. This area has a strong American influence. At some point here Shinsaibashi turns into the famous area known as Amerikamura or Amemura for short. Amemura is super cool but it can be a bit overwhelming. Same goes for Shinsaibashi-suji the covered shopping arcade. Don't let that stop you from going though I'm just giving you a heads up. I know I'm brushing over this but there would just be too much to go over if I dove into everything and the video would end up being over an hour long. However if you do want to see a whole video dedicated to the Honmachi or Shinsaibashi areas let me know in the comments down below. The further south you go and the closer you get to downtown the more izakayas start popping up and this is definitely the route I would recommend to take if you want to go and explore the Namba and Dotonbori area. This is Namba, Osaka's downtown and the Minami area. It's known for the Glico sign, food and Dotonbori which is the street running parallel to the canal. It's very busy here all the time. A lot of locals including my husband Kei tend to avoid Dotonbori. If you want to tick some tourist spots off your Osaka bucket list then this is where to do it and there is always something happening here so I reckon it's worth a visit at least once. Nailed it! Oh yeah the lion head shrine from the beginning of the video is called Namba Yasaka Jinja. It's in Namba and it's walkable from Dotonbori or you can take the train from Osaka station to Namba station on either the Yotsubashi or the Midosuji subway lines. If you're here during the day be sure to grab some street food like takoyaki but I actually recommend coming in the evening. Cool and then we'll cut to like a montage. Namba definitely brings the Osaka nightlife vibe but if you're looking for dinner and maybe drinks I've actually got a few other areas for you to check out. If you like that downtown vibe of Namba but don't like the crowds then consider checking out Shinsekai. Shinsekai means new world and it was designed in the early 20th century to be like a modern bustling hub in downtown Osaka and coming here you can really feel that retro yet futuristic vibe with like the really old-school style arcades, the small eateries and izakayas and then you have these huge neon lights overhead. The centerpiece of Shinsekai is the Tsutenkaku tower. It was built in 1912 and at 64 meters tall it was the second tallest tower in Asia at the time. You can go up to the top for some panoramic views of Osaka if you want for about 1000 yen per person. Shinsekai is the birthplace of kushikatsu which are a range of deep fried foods on skewers. Kushikatsu Daruma is probably the most popular kushikatsu restaurant. It's a chain now that can be found across Osaka but originally it's from Shinsekai. It's super affordable and some of the things we got in our 12 skewer set included beef, asparagus, prawns and some kind of egg. Kind of oily so start with an initial order and then add to it from there if you're still hungry. Shinsekai is located really close to Tennoji, a central hub in southern Osaka. So if you think you're going to be sticking to the downtown area and you want a cheaper hotel consider looking into this Tennoji area. In terms of getting here from Osaka station there's a station called Ebisu-cho right on the doorstep. However you have to transfer through a couple of subway lines to get here. Alternatively the Osaka loop lines and the Midosuji line will get you directly to a station within walking distance. If Shinsekai is a little bit too far or difficult to get to I've got a much closer area for you to check out. Tenma is a neighborhood just east of Osaka station. It's home to the longest shopping arcade in Japan, Tenma market and lots and lots of narrow alleyways filled with hole-in-the-wall izakayas. So to oversimplify it's like kind of Osaka's version of Shinjuku's Golden Gai. It's lively and kind of grunge and the food and drinks are dirt cheap. It's like the epitome of the Osaka street vibe and honestly I'm kind of shocked that it's gone under the radar for so long. It's a 20-minute walk from Osaka station or one stop on the Osaka loop line but I actually made a whole video where I go izakaya hopping through Tenma, eat some wacky things and play some drinking games. So if you're interested in learning more about this area go watch that video in the top right hand corner or through the link in the description below. For our last dinner spot we jump back to Umeda. Umeda hosts a great nightlife scene above ground but below ground in the buildings adjacent to Osaka station city you'll find rows upon rows of small super chill izakayas and restaurants that offer some great happy hour deals. Particularly I recommend checking out the Osaka Ikimaya second and third buildings. It's not a particular joint I recommend I reckon just head down to like B1 or something and just wander around. Let your nose lead you. For example today we went for ramen for dinner at a place called Chillery and then second dinner was at an izakaya that gives you a whole tap at your table. So we had unlimited drinks for 30 minutes for five dollars. Even going for a wander through the Umeda streets is super fun. Obviously be responsible some areas are a bit sleazier than others but it's honestly just such a unique vibe. Anyway that's my top 10 neighborhoods to visit in Osaka for an unforgettable trip. I hope you liked it. I don't recommend doing them all in one day. I just did 40,000 steps to make this video so it would mean a lot to me if you give it a thumbs up or subscribe and if I left anything out let me know in the comments but see you in the next one.