Hi Friends!
Little did I know but Osaka is one of those cities that you will seriously fall in love with while you are visiting! I loved everything the city had to offer from the street food stalls of Dotonbori to the peaceful charm of the Osaka Botanical Gardens, there was something there for every kind of traveler. Whether you're a foodie chasing the next great takoyaki spot, a culture buff diving into temples and history, or just looking for a place to casually stroll until you smell dinner, Osaka delivered! In this blog post, I am sharing where we stayed, some of our favorite places that we ate, and some of the things that we did while we were in Osaka as well!
All blog posts for this Osaka and Tokyo Japan Trip
Packing for a 14 Day Trip to Osaka and Tokyo Japan
Where to Eat, Stay and Play in Osaka, Japan
20 Tips to Know Before You Go to Japan
Spend a Day at Disney Sea in Japan
Where to Eat, Stay and Play in Tokyo, Japan
Spend a Day at Disneyland Tokyo
A Day Trip to Nara Park + Kyoto from Osaka, Japan
Where to Eat, Stay and Play at Disneyland Tokyo and Disney Sea
Spend a Day at Universal Studios Japan
Eat Ramen Around Japan with Dustin
Budget Breakdown of the entire 14 Day Japan Trip
A Few Things to Have on Hand!
Rain jacket or an umbrella
Small backpack or a crossbody for purchases, we also carried this reusable compact bag for times when we had too many things to carry!
Camera or Phone for pictures
LAYERS! I was so thankful that I had a rain jacket, a sweatshirt and a t-shirt on because I shed and added layers all day long!
Passports - we needed to have our passports anytime we left the hotel!
Where to Stay in Osaka
Henn Na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi - We feel like we picked a hotel with the perfect location in Osaka to all of the things that we wanted to see. The Henn na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi was a great pick! Just a 10-minute walk from the popular Dotonbori and close to must-see spots like Kuromon Ichiba Market and Osaka Castle, the location was super convenient for exploring. The hotel had a free continental breakfast, free WiFi, and we didn’t know this until after we left but they even bike rentals if you're wanting to explore the city from a bike! The rooms were small but manageable and they were clean and modern, with a nice shower and a deep tub. It was the perfect place to crash at night while staying near the action! We also loved that it was super close to the train station which made it easy to get to places like Nagai Botanical Gardens. It was affordable, clean, centrally located and we would absolutely stay here again!
Where to Eat in Osaka
Coffee Kan Shinsaibashi - We had breakfast here one morning and it was right next to our hotel, like on the same block as it! I got an iced caramel coffee and Dustin got a mocha latte and they were both really good. Then for food we both got their super thick and fluffy pancakes, Dustin got two with basically one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of vanilla ice cream which was super good! I got one pancake (I wish I had gotten two) with basically a thin strawberry jam on top and syrup and that was also really good! We sat downstairs so this didn’t bother us but apparently up on the second floor is a smoking area. Some reviews complained of being able to smell the smoke but honestly we didn’t so take that information as you wish!
Mill Pour Coffee - This was the cutest coffee shop, it was so small but so cute inside! The latte art is what initially drew us in to stop here and I got an iced maple nut latte that was so so good and Dustin got a cafe mocha and he liked his as well. We didn’t get any good pictures of the latte art though because we took our coffees to go!
担々麺 くろおに 南船場店 - This spot was just down the street from our hotel and it was the only ramen spot that I had while we were in Japan that had ground meat and it was delish! It was super rich and the noodles were cooked perfectly. I would give the ramen a 9/10 and the gyoza a 5/10. I didn’t love the gyoza because it was super lemony with hints of ginger and I’m not a huge fan of that, but Dustin liked them a lot more than I did!
Kamakura Shinsaibashi Ramen - This was a ramen chain and we didn’t even really notice that until we were sitting down and eating. The ramen here was okay, Dustin had ramen, I had friend rice which was pretty good and then we shared some gyoza which we liked. But we were so hungry that we just needed to pick a spot and this is what we ended up with! If you’re in a pinch, stop in here but if you have time to look for a better ramen place then I would do that or choose one of the other spots I mention in this blog post!
Hanamaruken Namba Hozenji Ramen Shop - This ramen was SO SO SO good, it might have been the best ramen that I had while we were in Japan. My ramen had beef short ribs on top and I can’t even believe how good it was! The gyoza was also good and Dustin loved his ramen! This was one of those shops that only had about 10 spots to sit and there were so many locals that were eating lunch in here which made us feel good about how much we liked it here! It is in the middle of Dotonburi so plan to stop here if you are in the area exploring on your own trip!
Lekei Ramen Menya Yoshikawa Ramen - This ramen shop was right next to our hotel and Dustin loved this place! It was really good and we had this ramen a couple of late nights after exploring all day! Dustin ate ramen there inside the shop and then also brought the ramen back to us at the hotel and it was really really good!
Bars in Osaka, Japan
Bar Fun - This was the bar that we went to after wandering around Dontonburi all afternoon and we just stopped in th get one drink. One drink turned into two and that turned into us spending the whole night there until it was time to go find a snack before heading to bed! The vibe was very chill, we sat at the bar and played cards for about 3.5 hours and the owner kept serving us and talking with other people that came in and out of the bar throughout the night! It was up on the third level of the building it was in and at first when we got to the door we thought it was closed but it wasn’t so definitely make sure you check the door before deciding to turn away!
Kenny Bar Osaka - We stopped in this bar for our first drink on Dustin’s birthday and we were greeted with literally the nicest old lady that was running the bar! She was so happy that we were in there! I had a glass of red wine and Dustin got this drink that was almost like an experience, it was explained to us that the first shot was the Japanese whiskey as it comes normally and then the second shot is the same Japanese whiskey that had been aged in a barrel. He said it was pretty good! We also got a snack of different nuts that were seasoned with Japanese peppers and they were seriously better than I could have ever imagined. I liked them so much I want to recreate them and have them on hand here at home! Overall the bar was very low key but that is how we like things so it was perfect for us to spend time there.
Kizuna - This bar was where we went after the Kenny Bar on Dustin’s birthday and WOAH. It was seriously a blast, the owner and the other bartender were so fun and nice. They just wanted us to have a good time! They had so many things to offer us, they had a book that translated basic sayings and we actually learned a lot that night. They people that were in the bar were mostly locals that had just gotten off of work and we sang karaoke with them for the entire night! Keeping in mind that this spot is TINY and really only could hold 10-15 people, it was full and everyone was in a great mood! When the whole bar found out it was Dustin’s birthday the owner popped a bottle of champagne and everyone in the bar toasted to Dustin and drank and just had the best time! I can’t recommend this place enough! We loved it!
Sites to See in Osaka, Japan
Dotonburi - We spent a lot of time in Osaka hanging out around Dotonbori! It is super lively, with neon lights and signs and it was packed with energy, incredible food, and tons of photo spots around what felt like every corner. I wanted to note some things to make sure you check out when you’re visiting!
Glico Running Man sign— It is really just a sign to look at but there were so many people taking photos and selfies with this giant sign that was overlooking the canal, this is also where we saw the canal tours happening as well!
Kani Doraku crab sign, another famous landmark but honestly there are SO many signs to look at while you are exploring around! Like giant dumplings, a giant crab, huge chicken nuggets for some reason, different fish… It was actually really cool!
Hozenji Yokocho - This was a cute alley full of traditional eateries and a peaceful moss-covered temple tucked away in the middle of the action, we were so surprised to see this in the middle of the hustle and bustle!
Don Quijote Dotonbori is a massive, 24-hour discount store that’s an experience all on its own, seriously a shopping experience I will never forget. Anything you could ever want or need was inside this store. There is this quirky song playing the whole time and when we were in there, suddenly like three hours had passed. I wish I would have taken photos or a video inside the store but if you look up Don Quijote on Tiktok or Instagram you will get a good idea as to what I am talking about haha!
Gaming Arcades - We went into a couple of these like gaming arcades, they were stories high with claw machines, different arcade games and so much to look at! Think of like a Dave n’ Busters here but three stories high on steroids! It was actually very fun to go into and loose a ton of coins to the claw machines after a couple of drinks! But that might have just been that we weren’t great at playing the claw machines beucase there were actually a ton of people walking around with the prizes that they were trying to get!
Tombori River Cruise, we didn’t get a chance to do this but we saw a lot of tours happening while we were there walking along the canal. But it was the perfect way to take in Dotonbori from the water!
Nagai Botanical Gardens - We didn’t have this on our agenda to start the trip but we had seen it being advertised somewhere while we were there and so we made sure to spend some time visiting the Nagai Botanical Gardens and the Osaka Museum of Natural History—they're right next to each other and made for an easy visit. The gardens are beautifully maintained, with walking paths take you through so many colorful seasonal flowers, we saw SO many cherry blossoms! They also had a beautiful pond and a small forested area to walk through as well. When we were done walking through the gardens, we stopped into the Osaka Museum of Natural History and the nerd in me LOVED IT. There were tons of exhibits on everything from dinosaurs to local ecosystems which was fun to learn about being in a different country and how things work there. It was also only about $6 total for the both of us to get into the Nagai Botanical Gardens and the Osaka Museum of Natural History which is just so worth the price!
Pokemon Center Osaka DX - This pokemon center was on the 9th floor inside the main building of the Daimaru Shinsaibashi shopping mall! If you aren’t staying in the area it is right above the Shinsaibashi Station on the Midosuji Line which was nice and easy to get to and from. We went to this location two time, the first time it was Sunday afternoon and it was absolutely insane inside. The line to check out was super long and it was just very crowded trying to shop so we went back on Tuesday morning and had no problems looking around. If it’s possible for you/your time I recommend visiting during the week rather than on the weekend.
Universal Studios Japan - I plan on writing a whole blog post on Universal Studios Japan because I have a lot to share on things like how to get there, getting your tickets, which tickets to get, what day of the week we went to the park, the rides we went on, what to bring, where we ate and tons more! I will link that blog post here when it gets written but if you have questions before that gets published you can definitely send me an email and I will answer them sooner!
Using The Train in Japan
Trains in Japan can seem indimidating but were actually pretty easy once we did it a few times. I can’t recommend enough to add a Suica card onto your iPhone’s wallet before you go and load money onto that! We did this and literally just tapped our phones to pay for tickets when we entered and exited the stations. Having the Suica card in your Apple Wallet was so helpful and to do this, you need to add your Suica card to the Wallet app and then enable Express Mode. Enabling Express Mode was what allowed us to use the Suica card without having to unlocking our phones. It was so nice to not have to try and get tickets at each station and this made things so much easier! Most of the signs are really clear and have both Japanese and English. Keep in mind when you’re on the trains to be very respectful and quiet. The trains were always clean, quiet, and in great condition, so my recommendations are to never talk loud or be talking on the phone and also if you have a backpack on, put it on the front of you or place it in the overhead storage. Lastly, the trains were literally always on time so make sure you’re early or you will probably miss your train.
Bullet Train Info
We also used bullet trains to get from Tokyo to Osaka and also to get from Osaka back to Tokyo and we bought our tickets online and it was so easy. We used Klook to get these tickets, I will link that website for you guys here! We got first class tickets to make sure we had a nice seat that we were able to stretch out and be comfortable for the whole trip and that was really nice. I would suggest getting snacks at the train station before you get on the bullet train but they also have snacks and drinks that you can order to your seats which was pretty cool!
As I mentioned, Osaka completely stole my heart, and I hope this guide helps it steal yours too. Whether you're planning your first trip or just daydreaming about your next adventure, this city has a way of surprising you at every turn—in the best possible way. From incredible eats to peaceful green escapes and everything in between, there's truly something for everyone who wants to visit. If you end up visiting any of these spots (or find new favorites!), I’d love to hear about it. As always, if you have any questions at all, please comment below or send me an email at tarynintotravel@gmail.com and I will get back to you asap!
Much Love,
Emma
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
