Osaka feeds you first. Then it hands you Kyoto, Nara and Himeji.
Which street-food crawl does Shinsekai properly, what a castle ticket costs, and whether Nara or Himeji earns your spare morning. Reviews of the tours you can book from an Osaka hotel.
EAT
KYOTO
NARAA food crawl, the castle keep, a tea room and the deer at Nara.
Four bookings most first visits to Osaka are built from, with the price and what people who took them said.
01The first nightShinsekai Food Tour with 13-15 Dishes at 5 EateriesThirteen-odd plates across five Shinsekai counters, kushikatsu included. Arrive hungry, it does not let up.
02The first morningOsaka Castle: Museum and Tower Entry TicketEntry to the keep and its museum for the price of a coffee. Go at opening, before the tour buses park up.
03The quiet hourTea Ceremony ExperienceA short tea ceremony in a tatami room, whisked matcha and a seasonal sweet. A calm counterweight to Namba.
04The day outNara Early Morning Tour (Kyoto or Osaka Departure Available)Nara before the crowds: the Great Buddha hall at opening and the park deer while they are still polite.
Osaka eats standing up. Choose how you want to do it.
The city has a word for eating yourself into ruin, and it is proud of it. Four ways in, from a guided crawl to a sushi class, each with its starting price.
The one people rave aboutOsaka Local Foodie Walking Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $111
Street-food crawlsTakoyaki, kushikatsu and okonomiyaki, a few bites at each counter.
Cook it yourselfSushi, ramen or okonomiyaki, and you eat what you made.
Izakaya nightsStanding bars and back-lane counters around Namba after dark.
A market morningKuromon stalls: grilled scallops, wagyu skewers and fruit before noon.
All 56 Osaka food tours →
The Osaka bookings travellers pick first.
The whole Osaka catalogue →Go-karts in costume, the castle, the food streets and a tea room. These are the days Osaka visitors book more than any other.
1
Osaka Go Karting Tour with Funny Costume
Drive a single-person go-kart through Osaka with a guide, wearing a borrowed costume if you like. The roughly one-hour route includes areas such as Namba and Dotonbori, with Tsutenkaku Tower among the sights. Kart, fuel, costume and insurance are included. You must meet Japan’s driving-license rules, and the tour may be canceled in heavy rain.
From · $46
Read our review →
2
Osaka Castle: Museum and Tower Entry Ticket
from $7
3
Shinsekai Food Tour with 13-15 Dishes at 5 Eateries
from $53
4
Osaka Food Tour: 13 Dishes at 5 Local Eateries
from $73
5
Hungry Osaka Street Food Tour:15 Tastings & 3 Drinks with a Local
from $73
6
teamLab Botanical Garden Entry Ticket
from $11
7
World Heritage Kyoto & Nara Uji Authentic Matcha Experience
from $129
8
Tea Ceremony Experience
from $25
Kyoto is half an hour away, Nara forty minutes, Himeji an hour.
Osaka is the cheaper, livelier base for the whole of Kansai. Sleep in Namba, ride out for temples, deer and a white castle, and be back for dinner on Dotonbori.
Miyajima, by bullet train
Six Osaka starting points, from Dotonbori neon to the castle moat.
Two eating districts, the castle park, the market that stocks them all, and the two easiest escapes from the city.
Osaka is better at night, and it knows it.
Dotonbori switches on at dusk, the Namba back lanes fill with six-seat bars, and the canal boats run under the signs until late.
Three things Osaka does that Tokyo does not.
A castle with a merchant city around it, a retro district built to look like the future in 1912, and wrestlers who come to town every March.
Osaka Castle
Hideyoshi raised the first castle here in the 1580s; the stone walls and moats you walk past are Tokugawa-era originals. The keep is a 1931 concrete rebuild with a museum inside and golden shachihoko on the roof. Come in late March for the cherry trees in Nishinomaru Garden, or in February for the plum grove.
- 1Osaka Castle: Museum and Tower Entry Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 2,380 reviews
- 2Osaka Castle Walking Tour and Castle Tower Admission★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 561 reviews
- 35-Hour Osaka Bike Tour to the Neighborhood of Osaka Castle★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 319 reviews
Shinsekai
Laid out in 1912 with a tower borrowed from Paris and an amusement park borrowed from Coney Island. The tower was rebuilt in 1956, the district went quietly retro, and the kushikatsu stalls stayed. One rule at every counter: the sauce pot is shared, so you dip once.
- 1Shinsekai Food Tour with 13-15 Dishes at 5 Eateries★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,204 reviews
- 2Osaka Local Foodie Walking Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 985 reviews
- 3Tsutenkaku Tower Entry Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 3.8 · 125 reviews
Sumo in Osaka
The Spring Grand Tournament fills the arena in Namba every March, and those fifteen days sell out. The rest of the year, staged shows with former wrestlers explain the rituals, let you step into the ring, and usually come with a chanko hot-pot dinner.
- 1Sumo Show & Experience w/ Optional Kimono & Hot Pot★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 609 reviews
- 2Sumo Stage Show with Bento or Snack + Fight & Photo★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 364 reviews
- 3English Stand Up Comedy Show at Osaka Comedy Club★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 203 reviews
An Osaka day out costs less than you expect.
Every tour on the site sorted by price. The castle, the observation decks and a tea ceremony all come in under $25.
Entry tickets, a tea ceremony, a canal boat and the Shinsekai tower.
Food crawls, sushi classes, bar hops and the go-kart run through the streets.
Licensed private guides, bullet-train day trips and kendo with a real instructor.
Four Osaka bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of the city can be decided over breakfast. These run on dated tickets, timed slots and small groups, so the good days go early.
- 01Universal Studios Japan E-TicketTickets are dated and the price moves with the calendar. Weekends and school holidays sell out first.
- 02teamLab Botanical Garden Entry TicketIt opens after dark with timed entry, so the slot you want is gone if you wait for the evening.
- 03Sumo Show & Experience w/ Optional Kimono & Hot PotSmall rooms and one or two shows a day. The seats nearest the ring are the first to go.
- 04Samurai Training Experience KENDO in OsakaGroups are kept small and sessions are few, so the weekend places fill quickly.
When the June rain sets in over Osaka, go indoors and learn something.
Kansai’s rainy season runs from early June into July, and August brings the heat and the odd typhoon. That is the week for a sushi class, a tea room, a calligraphy brush or a show.
A week in Kansai without moving your suitcase out of Osaka.
Base yourself near Namba or Umeda. Every stop below is a train ride out and back.
Osaka
Nara
Himeji
Hiroshima
KoyasanNeighbourhoods, and the towns a train away
By kind of day: eat, learn, ride or watch
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