Are you looking for information about what to see in Osaka? Here we are going to tell you. Osaka was one of the stops we made on our Japan itinerary. Also one of the ones we liked the most. And it is that It is a totally different city from what we are used to visiting in any European capital. That's why his madness captivated us.

On our trip to Japan We dedicated 2 nights to it and it was enough to get to know the essentials. In this post, in addition to telling you what to see in Osaka, we will also give you some tips. Finally, we tell you about our gastronomic experience, which was 10. Don't miss the end of the post where we will tell you everything we know about the best restaurants in Osaka.
What to see and do in Osaka
Es the third largest city in Japan, so there is a lot to visit in Osaka. Well, if you like, let's get to the point and tell you what for us are the essentials of this city:
1. What to see in Osaka: Dotonbori, the epicenter of Osaka
It is the main shopping street and neighborhood in Osaka.. Here you will find all kinds of bright restaurants and shops that line the street. The surrounding streets are also full of shops and millions of people. In addition, you will be able to see the famous Glico sign and stroll along the Dotonbori River. We know that there are tourist boats that travel the river. We didn't do it, but it is an option that we left you in case you wanted to go all out. Dotonbori is spectacular at night, so we recommend visiting it when the sun has gone down as well. It has good alternatives to eat in Osaka, at the end of the post we tell you about the places we went to.

2. What to see in Osaka: Shinsekai, the madness of Osaka
This neighborhood also left us speechless because of its amount of neon lights and offer of restaurants with great food. Many of them advertise that they prepare food for sumo wrestlers. They put models of their huge portions in their windows, crazy! Here is also the famous Hitachi tower. As you can see, you will be able to take good photos, as well as eat delicious food. At the end of the post we tell you where to eat in this area.

3. Amerikamura, little america in Japan
It can be said that it is the most modern neighborhood and cool from Osaka, at least that's what it seemed to us. With the more underground shops, cafes, breweries, young atmosphere on the street, etc. We really enjoyed walking around and having a few beers while watching people go by. People of all kinds and from all parts of the world. Here is the little one statue of Liberty on top of one of the buildings and some of The shops and restaurants are pure American style.
4. Osaka Castle, a must see in Osaka
Osaka Castle is located within a large park and stands at the top of a small hill. It is completely surrounded by a small river. We went to visit it and got a little closer to the history of Japan. Furthermore, from the top you can see a panoramic view of all of Osaka.

To enter you have to pay 600 yen in cash. That is, about €5. Tickets are purchased at machines outside. There are people queuing to take the elevator to the top. However, if you don't have any physical problems, there are only a few floors and it is not hard at all because you visit things in the castle on each floor until you reach the observatory on the top floor. This way, you will avoid the elevator queue. To get to Osaka Castle with the JR Pass you must take the loop line from the subway and stop at Morinomiya or Osakajokoen and walk about 10-15 minutes through the park.

5. Tejimbashisuji Shopping Street
It is a 2 kilometer long shopping street where you will find practically everything, even the typical ones pachinkos where the Japanese entertain themselves. It is not bad to walk partially through it and shortly before take a detour to visit the Kuromon market that is next door.
6. What to visit in Osaka: Kuromon Market
This market was also some of what we liked to visit the most in Osaka. See all the display of seafood of all kinds, fresh wasabi, sweets, teas, takoyakis (Osaka specialty based on fried octopus balls), etc. Highly recommended to go through the whole thing. It is next to the shopping street that we mentioned before.

And these are mainly the sites what to visit in Osaka to get a general idea of the city. Now we move on to places to eat in Osaka.
Restaurants in Osaka
Generally In Osaka we ate very well and very cheaply of our entire itinerary through Japan. We tell you about the restaurants we visited, all highly recommended.
1. Daikisuisan Sushi, Dotonbori.
Here you can eat sushi for approximately €15 per person, you pay for the pieces you pick. We had to queue a bit, but it went pretty quickly. They also sell freshly made sushi to take away. This site is a franchise, you can enjoy it in more places in Osaka. You can pay by card.

2. Kinryu Ramen, Dotonbori.
It's a ramen restaurant with a giant green dragon on top. It is located a few meters from Sushi Daikisuisan, on the same Dotonbori street. Here we paid about €6 per person for a delicious ramen each. Yes, you have to choose ramen from a machine that only accepts cash. Queues usually form outside, luckily we only waited about 5 minutes.

3. Gansokushikatsu, Shinsekai.
This is a kind of fry shop, also a franchise with several locations in Osaka. We ordered a dish called Daruma combo for €10 per person. It included battered and fried vegetable, meat and fish sticks. Very rich and tasty too. The restaurant is known for having a large moving Japanese outside.

Hotels in Osaka
We stay next to JR Tsukamoto Station, just one stop from Osaka with another subway line that covered the JR Pass. For quality price it was great and we had the JR station less than 5 minutes walk away. We paid €70 each night and the hotel was called Best Western Osaka, in case you want to secure a cheap, well-connected and clean place. Otherwise, you can always search here for all the hotels in Osaka.
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Below you can see other articles that will help you when organizing your trip to Japan:
- What to see in Kyoto
- What to see in Tokyo
- What to see in Koyasan
- What to see in Shirakawa-go and Takayama
- What to see in Hiroshima and Miyajima

Hello! I am Ruth, Canarian with a traveling soul. With training and experience in the tourism and digital marketing sector. In this blog I tell you all the tips you need to get to know the most authentic side of Gran Canaria on your own. I also share my travel guides to all the places in the world that I am visiting so that you can discover the destinations like a local and save time planning. In addition to traveling, I love gastronomy and sports. I run and hike in the mountains with my “dog-children” (Silver and Plata). In all these adventures my partner accompanies me, Jorge, which you will also see a lot on this blog.
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