01.04. Day Trip Osaka

Update (14.03.2024): We had to change the starting time of this Day Trip to 10am (previously 11am). The itinerary afterwards will shift a bit accordingly (not reflected on this page), but you can expect a similar finish time around 6:30pm at Tennoji.

In our Osaka Day Trip, we plan to show you the key sights and places to see in Osaka. As always: Keep in mind that there's plenty more to see in a place like Osaka, so one day is simply not enough to show you all the good spots. Check out our Google List for restaurants, sights, food spots, and more on Osaka for a full list of places we can recommend.

A general note regarding the costs and entrance fees: The fees we indicate here are for a standard adult entrance tickets. Where possible, we will try to get group discount entrance tickets. So for some sights, the effective price might be lower than what we indicated here.

What you should bring to this day trip:

• Footwear in which you can walk quiet a bit
• Some water (you'll have plenty of options to buy some as well)
• At least 5,000 Yen in cash for entrance fees, food, drinks, etc. (it's recommended to carry a couple of 10,000 Yen bills at all times in Japan, since you can rarely pay by card)
• Small bag or small backpack if you need it
• If you have, your ICOCA for quick and easy train ticket purchase (we can help you get one if you don't have one)

Here's the Itinerary for the Day Trip:

1. Start at 10am at Osaka Umeda // Visit to Umeda Sky Building

Since this day trip takes place directly after the wedding, we will start a bit later than usual :) We will meet up at 10am at Osaka Umeda. Since Umeda is a gigantic station, we will still share the specific location with you separately. We also start here, because the Kyoto Day Trip two days later will start exactly here as well, so this way, you will already know the location and place!

First, we will show you Osaka from the best viewing spot: Umeda Sky Building. You get 360° viewing of all of Osaka on the 39th and 40th floor rooftop observation deck. This will give us a good start to understand the size and layout of the city.

Entrance Fee: ~ 1.500 Yen per person. 

2. ~12:00pm - 1:30pm Transfer to Osaka Castle and Bento Lunch

Once you have seen Osaka from the top, it's time to come back to ground level and transfer to the main sight of the day: Osaka Castle. We will take the trains from Umeda to Morinomiya station at Osaka castle - there's a direct subway that takes about 20 minutes.

Having arrived right at the doorstep of the castle grounds, we will go to get some bento box lunches in the surrounding malls and shops. You can pick yours individually to suit any dietary requirements.

Our plan is (and hopefully the weather will support this...) to enjoy our bento boxes on the castle ground gardens. If the time is just right, there should be beautiful cherry blossoms (Sakura) in the gardens. Please keep in mind that the Sakura time is different every season and only lasts about 2 weeks - the current forecasts look amazing for us though!! The Sakura is forecasted to start blooming around March 24th in the Kansai region with peak bloom around April 1st - so exactly the day we do our Osaka day trip ;) Fingers crossed that it stays this way.

After having enjoyed lunch, we start exploring the ancient Osaka castle and its surroundings.

3. 1:30pm - 4:00pm: Osaka Castle and Castle Grounds

Osaka castle is perhaps the most famous sight in Osaka and rightfully so. It was constructed at the end of the 16th century and played a pivotal role in many major historic events, e.g. Japan's unification at the final stages of the Sengoku period shortly before 1600.

The entire castle grounds span about 60,000 square meters with about a dozen separate structures, one of them being the main castle itself. We will both check out the castle (inside as well) as well as some of the surroundings. Inside the castle, you can follow the depiction of some of the key battles and historic moments, particularly the siege of Osaka castle at the start of the 17th century.

Entrance Fee: ~ 600 Yen per person.

4. 4:00pm - 6:30pm: Transfer and Visit to Shin Sekai & Tennoji Park

After you've seen the historic Osaka, it's time to shift to the quirky-modern part of Osaka. And no other area might convey this like Shin Sekai ("New World"): A shabby-cool entertainment district built at the start of the 20th century, that has a weirdly retro aesthetic to it. Its bars and restaurants are vibrant to this day and while its a major touristic attraction with the corresponding masses of people, its still worth checking out.

After the (most likely) crowded Shin Sekai, it's time to relax a little and hopefully get away from the crowds in Tennoji Park which is right next to Shin Sekai. We can enjoy the beauty of a Japanese park, enjoying potential snacks and small bites you got at Shin Sekai.

Entrance Fee: free

5. 6:30pm: End of Tour at Tennoji Station and Kintetsu Department Store

What's left after historic and oddly-retro Osaka? Right, modern-day Osaka with all its conveniences: We finish the tour at Tennoji station where you can either get a direct connection to wherever you want to go, or can enjoy one of our favourite department stores, Kintetsu: Apart from an absolute next-level Japanese food court, you can find the finest gifts, sweets, clothes, and anything else you could ever possibly imagine. In the same building, there's some of our favourite spots, from bars, to cheesecake shops, to the Kintetsu department store itself. At that point, you can do whatever you want to do - Chiiya and I will explore the food court for sure and might catch a drink afterwards at Bar Plus, so feel free to join us if you feel like it!

Also, Tennoji will be the meet-up spot for the Day Trip to Nara on the next day! So the specific spot where we end this tour will be the exact spot where we meet up the next day - easy ;) 

Entrance Fee: free