17 Things To Do In Osaka

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Historical Site (1)
Observation Deck (1)
Amusement & Theme Park (1)

1. Osaka Castle

2 km from city center

Historical Site

Built in 1583 by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Osaka Castle is one of Japan's most famous castles and sits inside a park known for its cherry blossoms every spring.

Tours starting from
₹5,867

Top Attraction

3 km from city center

Landmark

Dotonbori is Osaka's canal-side entertainment strip in Chuo Ward, running between Dotonboribashi and Nipponbashi bridges in the Namba/Minami area. Its best-known feature is the Glico sign, a running-man billboard advertising the confectionery brand since 1935, lit up on the canal's south bank beside Ebisu Bridge; the current LED version dates to 2014. Giant mechanical crab, dragon, and puffer-fish (Read More) signboards line the surrounding streets alongside takoyaki and kushikatsu stalls, and the area is busiest after dark when the neon reflects on the water.

4.3 /5

7 km from city center

Amusement & Theme Park

Universal Studios Japan opened in Osaka in 2001 and is the city's biggest theme park. Its headline areas are the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Super Nintendo World, which opened in 2021. Rides run from gentle to intense, so groups with children of different ages can split up and still find something.

Tours starting from
₹4,699

Top Attraction

8 km from city center

Aquarium

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan opened in 1990 in Minato Ward as the largest public aquarium in the world at the time, and remains one of the biggest today. Located on Osaka Bay next to the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, it holds over 10,900 tons of water across 27 tanks and 16 exhibits themed on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The centerpiece 5,400 cubic meter Pacific Ocean tank houses whale sharks and manta rays. Vis (Read More)itors follow a single spiral route down from the 8th floor.

Osaka Travel Packages

Compare quotes from upto 3 travel agents for free

6 Nights / 7 Days

Japan Highlights: 6 Nights Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka Tour

Tokyo(2N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka(2N)

₹100,000/person

7 Nights / 8 Days

Customized Holiday to Japan

Tokyo(4N) → Osaka(3N)

₹99,900/person

8 Nights / 9 Days

9-Day Japan Adventure: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka & Universal Studios

Tokyo(4N) → Osaka(4N)

₹283,815/person

6 Nights / 7 Days

Japan Cherry Blossom Tour

Tokyo (4N) → Osaka (2N)

₹87,000/person

8 Nights / 9 Days

9-Day Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka Adventure

East of Tokyo(3N) → Fujikawaguchiko(1N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka...

₹154,999/person

7 Nights / 8 Days

7 Night 8 Days Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka

Tokyo(3N) → Osaka(4N)

₹133,500/person

View All Packages For Osaka

5. Shitennoji Temple

Top Attraction

5 km from city center

Buddhist Temple

Shitennoji Temple in Osaka's Tennoji Ward is one of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples, founded in 593 AD by Prince Shotoku and serving today as headquarters of the Wa sect of Buddhism. Its central compound follows the original "Shitennoji-style" layout: a five-story pagoda, Kondo (Golden Hall), and Kodo (Lecture Hall) set in a straight line inside a roofed corridor. The wooden buildings seen today d (Read More)ate to a 1963 reconstruction after typhoon and wartime damage, but the layout has held for over 1,400 years.

Top Attraction

3 km from city center

Shopping Market

Kuromon Ichiba Market is a roofed shopping street in Chuo-ku, Osaka, stretching about 580 meters with roughly 150 shops selling fresh seafood, produce, meat, and street food. Nicknamed Osaka's Kitchen, it is best known for seasonal specialties like conger eel in summer and fugu (pufferfish) in winter, alongside grilled skewers, sushi, and fresh oysters eaten standing at the counter. The market emb (Read More)odies Osaka's tabe-aruki (eat-while-walking) culture and sits a short walk from Namba and Dotonbori, making it an easy stop for visitors.

7. Umeda Sky Building (Kuchu Teien Observatory)

Instagram Worthy

2 km from city center

Observation Deck

Umeda Sky Building is a 173-meter, 40-story twin-tower skyscraper in Osaka's Kita-ku district, designed by architect Hiroshi Hara and completed in 1993. Its two towers connect at the top through glass bridges and escalators that cross an open atrium, leading to the rooftop Kuchu Teien (Floating Garden) Observatory. The open-air deck offers 360-degree views across the Umeda skyline, with Café Sky 4 (Read More)0 and the Fence of Vows love-lock railing among its features. It sits within the Shin-Umeda City complex near Osaka Station.

Top Attraction

5 km from city center

Landmark

Shinsekai is a retro entertainment district in Osaka's Naniwa-ku, centered on Tsutenkaku Tower, a 108-metre steel structure first built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1956 after a wartime fire. The streets around it are packed with kushikatsu counters serving deep-fried skewered food, along with pachinko parlours, cheap eateries, and old neon signage. The tower's fifth floor holds Billiken, a good-luck fi (Read More)gure whose foot soles visitors rub, and its deck gives a wide view over southern Osaka. The tower is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

Top Attraction

5 km from city center

Viewpoint

Harukas 300 takes up floors 58 to 60 of Abeno Harukas, the 300 metre tower above Tennoji station that opened in March 2014 and held the title of Japan's tallest building until Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower passed it in 2023. Floor 60 is a glass-walled corridor running the full way around all four sides; floor 58 opens to the sky, with a wooden deck and a cafe under a void that climbs two storeys. D (Read More)oors open 9:00 to 22:00, last entry 21:30.

Hidden Gem

9 km from city center

Temple

Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, founded in 211 CE and dedicated to the Sumiyoshi deities and Empress Jingu. Its four main halls, built in the distinctive Sumiyoshi-zukuri style found nowhere else, are designated National Treasures of Japan. Historically the shrine watched over maritime safety and diplomatic voyages leaving nearby Suminoe no Tsu, one of Japan's earliest in (Read More)ternational ports. Set in Osaka's Sumiyoshi-ku, it draws far fewer international visitors than Osaka Castle or Dotonbori, making it a quieter stop for travelers interested in Shinto history and architecture.

4.5 /5

4 km from city center

Town

Tennoji is built around Abeno Harukas, at 300 metres Japan's second-tallest building, with an observation deck on its top floors. The area also holds Shitennoji Temple, Tennoji Zoo and Tennoji Park, so modern Osaka and its older quarters sit side by side.

Tours starting from
₹1,086

Instagram Worthy

4 km from city center

Religious Experience

The stage at Namba Yasaka Shrine is a giant lion's head with its mouth wide open, built in May 1974 and housing the fierce aspect of Susanoo no Mikoto. It stands in a compact precinct a short walk south west of Namba station, and it is the reason the shrine appears on itineraries at all. The institution behind it is old: recorded as a Gozu Tenno sanctuary by the 1070s and long the tutelary shrine (Read More)of the Namba district, with halls rebuilt after the Osaka air raids of March 1945.

Popular among Locals

5 km from city center

Hot Spring

Spa World is a large hot spring theme park in Osaka's Shinsekai district, split into "Europe Zone" and "Asia Zone" floors that swap between men's and women's sides monthly. It houses 17 differently themed baths modeled on baths from Rome, Greece, Finland, Bali and other countries, plus saunas, ganban-yoku stone-bed spas, and a swimming pool area with water slides. Open since 1997, it operates admi (Read More)ssion-based access around the clock. Note: the facility enforces a strict no-tattoo policy for all bathers.

3.8 /5

3 km from city center

Minami is Osaka's southern downtown district, covering Namba, the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade, Ebisubashi bridge and the Dotonbori canal. Dotonbori is one street inside it, so treating Minami as the wider area gets you the covered arcades, bars and side lanes as well as the neon strip. Most of it can be walked in an evening.

Tours starting from
₹10,864

3.7 /5

34 km from city center

Beach

The Bay Area sits on reclaimed land south-west of central Osaka. Its landmark is the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, and the harbourside around it has restaurants, a shopping complex and ferry departures. Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is in the same complex, which makes the whole area an easy half-day out.

Tours starting from
₹869

Top Things To Do

0 km from city center

Garden & Park

Nakanoshima is a narrow, 3-kilometer sandbank in central Osaka, split from the surrounding city by the Dojima and Tosabori rivers. It holds Nakanoshima Park, opened in 1891 as Osaka's first public park, along with the domed Osaka City Central Public Hall (1918, a National Important Cultural Property), the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. Riverside promenades, a rose (Read More)garden, and Osaka City Hall round out a district that mixes civic history with contemporary culture, all reachable on foot from Yodoyabashi and Kitahama stations.

3.8 /5

3 km from city center

Shows & Theatres

Bunraku puppet theatre originated in Osaka and remains one of the city's most distinctive cultural experiences. Performances run in limited three-week seasons (January, April, June and November), so check show dates before planning around it.

Tours starting from
₹2,091

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FAQs on Osaka

What are the top hotels in Osaka?

There are 4903 Hotels in Osaka which can be booked through Holidify. The most popular hotels in Osaka are Ideal Apartment in Namba 301, Alex Apartment in Nishinari 801F, Apartment in Kozu SD63, Seaside Room Ebisu, Apartment in Kozu SD4, Patiokyobashi Apartment PK-803. You can see all the hotels in Osaka here

What are the top activities in Osaka?

The top activities in Osaka are Nankai Line Airport Express Train Tickets (KIX or Namba Departure), Osaka Amazing Pass (Osaka/HK/ICN/TH Pick Up & HK/TW/PH/TH/MY Delivery), Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan Ticket, HARUKAS 300 Observatory E-Ticket, Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass 1 Day/2 Days (Pick up at Osaka), JR Haruka Airport Express - Kansai Airport to/from Kyoto/Shin-Osaka/Tennoji (One Way).

What are the top sightseeing places in Osaka?

The top sightseeing places in Osaka are Tennoji, Universal Studios, Osaka, Osaka Castle, Bunraku Theatre, Minami, Bay Area.

How can I commute within Osaka?

The subway, the bus, and railways are the best modes of transport. 24- hour passes can be procured for heavy travelling, while IC transferable storage cards can be used for payment.
Read More

Things To Do In Osaka

"Japan’s food capital and urban playground"

17 Things To Do In Osaka

1. Osaka Castle

2. Dotonbori (Canal and Glico Sign)

3. Universal Studios

4. Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Osaka Travel Packages

Japan Highlights: 6 Nights Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka Tour

Customized Holiday to Japan

9-Day Japan Adventure: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka & Universal Studios

Japan Cherry Blossom Tour

9-Day Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka Adventure

7 Night 8 Days Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka

5. Shitennoji Temple

6. Kuromon Ichiba Market

Top Hotels In Osaka

7. Umeda Sky Building (Kuchu Teien Observatory)

8. Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku Tower

9. Harukas 300 Observatory

10. Sumiyoshi Taisha

11. Tennoji

12. Namba Yasaka Shrine

13. Spa World

14. Minami

15. Bay Area

16. Nakanoshima

17. Bunraku Theatre

Things To Do In Nearby Places

FAQs on Osaka

What are the top hotels in Osaka?

What are the top activities in Osaka?

What are the top sightseeing places in Osaka?

How can I commute within Osaka?

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