Must-see attractions in Osaka

  • Osaka, Japan - April 30, 2017: tourists looking Osaka city at Abeno Harukas, the tallest skyscraper in Japan. The building stands on top of Kintetsu Osaka Abenobashi Station near JR Tennoji Station.
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Abeno Harukas Observatory

    Abeno Harukas

    Osaka

    This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…

  • Osaka Castle in Morning
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    Osaka-jō

    Osaka

    After unifying Japan in the late 16th century, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi built this castle (1583) as a display of power, using, it's said, the labour of…

  • Tourists walking around crowded Osaka Dotonbori entertainment district
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    Dōtombori

    Osaka

    Highly photogenic Dōtombori is the city's liveliest night spot and the centre of the southern part of town. Its name comes from the 400-year-old canal,…

  • Amerika-Mura

    Osaka

    West of Midō-suji, Amerika-Mura is a compact enclave of hip, youth-focused and offbeat shops, plus cafes, bars, tattoo and piercing parlours, nightclubs,…

  • National Museum of Ethnology

    Osaka

    This ambitious museum showcases the world's cultures, presenting them as the continuous (and tangled) strings that they are. There are plenty of…

  • Excited school children gazing at sting rays at Osaka Aquarium.

    Osaka Aquarium Kaiyūkan

    Osaka

    Kaiyūkan is among Japan's best aquariums. An 800m-plus walkway winds past displays of sea life from around the Pacific 'ring of fire': Antarctic penguins,…

  • Colorful signs and Tsutenkaku tower in Osaka

    Shin-Sekai

    Osaka

    A century ago, Shin-Sekai ('new world') was home to an amusement park that defined cutting edge. Now this entertainment district mixes down-at-heel with…

  • JAPAN - DECEMBER 10: Sumiyoshi Taisha Shinto Shrine, Osaka, Japan, 3rd century. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Sumiyoshi Taisha

    Osaka

    Dedicated to Shintō deities of the sea and sea travel, this graceful shrine was founded in the early 3rd century and is considered the headquarters for…

  • Osaka, Japan - 3 November 2015 - Taiyo no To was created by Japanese artist Taro Okamoto.; Shutterstock ID 515763919; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Tower of the Sun

    Osaka

    The 70m-tall Tower of the Sun was created by Japanese artist Okamoto Tarō for Osaka's Expo '70. While the curious three-faced creature (there's one face…

  • Twin tower office building in Osaka Japan; Shutterstock ID 14086606; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Umeda Sky Building

    Osaka

    Osaka's landmark Sky Building (1993) resembles a 40-storey, space-age Arc de Triomphe. Twin towers are connected at the top by a 'floating garden' (really…

  • OSAKA, JAPAN - APRIL 6, 2015: Hozenji yokocho buddhist temple in Osaka. ; Shutterstock ID 270413630; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Hōzen-ji

    Osaka

    This tiny temple hidden down a narrow alley houses a statue of Fudō Myō-ō (a deity of esoteric Buddhism), covered in thick moss. It's a favourite of…

  • OSAKA, JAPAN - NOV 6: Tourists shopping and visit  in Kuromon Ichiba market on November 6, 2015 in Osaka, Japan. it is market places popular of Osaka; Shutterstock ID 413962024; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Kuromon Ichiba

    Osaka

    An Osaka landmark for over a century, this 600m-long market is in equal parts a functioning market and a tourist attraction. Vendors selling fresh fish,…

  • OSAKA JAPAN - 19 JUNE, 2014:Americamura district. Americamura, America village is a sizeable retail and entertainment area near Shinsaibashi Osaka. ; Shutterstock ID 207294088; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Triangle Park

    Osaka

    In the middle of Ame-Mura is Triangle Park, an all-concrete 'park' with benches for sitting and watching the fashion parade. Come night, it's a popular…

  • Momofuku Andō Instant Ramen Museum

    Osaka

    From its humble invention in 1958 by Andō Momofuku (1910–2007; later chair of Nissin Foods), instant rāmen has become a global business and one of Japan's…

  • O-hatsu Ten-jin

    Osaka

    Hiding in plain sight amid the skyscrapers of Umeda, this 1300-year-old shrine owes its fame to one of Japan's best-known tragic plays (based on true…

  • Museum of Oriental Ceramics

    Osaka

    This museum has one of the world's finest collections of Chinese and Korean ceramics, with smaller galleries of Japanese ceramics and Chinese snuff…

  • Redhorse Osaka Ferris Wheel

    Osaka

    Japan's tallest Ferris wheel (123m), and the fifth tallest in the world, opened in 2016 and offers sweeping views over Expo Park and the Tower of the Sun…

  • Ebisu-bashi

    Osaka

    This bridge has the best views of Dōtombori's famed neon nightscape.

  • Shitennoji Temple in Osaka, Japan

    Shitennō-ji

    Osaka

    Shitennō-ji is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan, said to be founded (in 593) by priest-prince Shotoku-taishi (who first spread Buddhism in…

  • OSAKA, JAPAN - JANUARY 13: Osaka Museum of History on January 13, 2016. Osaka Museum of History is located next to NHK Osaka and opened in 2003.; Shutterstock ID 363348881; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Osaka Museum of History

    Osaka

    Built above the ruins of Naniwa Palace (c 650), visible through the ground floor, this museum tells Osaka's story from the era of this early palace to the…

  • National Museum of Art, Osaka

    Osaka

    Originally built for Expo '70, this underground construction by architect Cesar Pelli now houses Japan's fourth national museum. The building – like a…

  • Tsūten-kaku

    Osaka

    When Tsūten-kaku was first built in 1912, it was, at 63m high, the second tallest structure in Asia and the pride of Osaka. Damaged by fire in 1943, it…

  • Billiken

    Osaka

    Ever-smiling (and a bit creepy looking) Billiken sits, toes out, like a golden Kewpie doll on a pedestal reading 'The God of Things as they Ought to Be'…

  • Imamiya Ebisu-jinja

    Osaka

    Nicknamed 'Ebessan', this famous shrine is said to have been founded by Japan's most revered historical figure, the priest-prince Shotoku-taishi, c AD 600…

  • Tenjinbashi-suji Shōtengai

    Osaka

    Japan's largest covered shopping arcade, which began as a wet market during the Edo period (1604–1868), stretches 2.6km over six blocks. The majority of…

  • Osaka Museum of Housing & Living

    Osaka

    Two subway stops from Umeda, this museum contains a life-sized reproduction of an 1830s Osaka neighbourhood with shophouses, drug stores, an old-style…

  • Liberty Osaka

    Osaka

    Japan's first human rights museum began in 1985 as an archive of documents relating to the burakumin – the lowest caste under the old feudal system …

  • Osaka Tenman-gū

    Osaka

    Founded in the 10th century, this shrine is where Osaka students come to pray for success: it's dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, also known as Tenjin-san,…

  • Honbō-teien

    Osaka

    This strolling garden in the northeast corner of Shitennō-ji illustrates a Buddhist parable of overcoming earthly hell to arrive at paradise, symbolised…

  • Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum

    Osaka

    This narrow two-storey museum is worth a visit for anyone with an interest in ukiyo-e (woodblock prints). It mainly displays prints of famous kabuki…

  • Giant Ferris Wheel

    Osaka

    Among the biggest in the world, this 112m-high Ferris wheel offers unbeatable views of Osaka Bay and the seemingly endless Osaka/Kōbe conurbation. Give it…

  • Abeno Harukas Art Museum

    Osaka

    This state-of-the art museum inside Abeno Harukas hosts temporary shows that vary wildly, including, so far, Renaissance painting and tantric Buddhist…

  • Kani Dōraku Honten

    Osaka

    You can't miss the giant animated crab that marks the entrance to Kani Dōraku Honten, which is, of course, a crab restaurant. The shop sells tasty crab…

  • Nakaza Cuidaore Building

    Osaka

    Home of the most famous statue of Kuidaore Tarō – the drum-banging clown who represents the city's culture of kuidaore ('eat 'til you drop').

  • Naka-no-shima-kōen

    Osaka

    Osaka's first public park, created in 1891 at the eastern end of Naka-no-shima, is a good place for an afternoon stroll or picnic lunch.

  • Hōzen-ji Yokochō

    Osaka

    An atmospheric alley dotted with traditional restaurants and bars.

  • Karahori Shōtengai

    Osaka

    This classic shopping arcade wends along the path of an old moat (from an earlier, larger incarnation of Osaka-jō), long since filled in. The arcade…

  • Osaka Central Public Hall

    Osaka

    Built in 1911, this dramatic, red-brick neo-Renaissance building is an important cultural property.

  • Osaka City Hall

    Osaka

    A mid-1980s building incorporating some elements from the 1921 City Hall.

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