kansaiosaka
Osaka
Osaka is the great merchant city of western Japan, the capital of Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region, on Osaka Bay, fifteen minutes from Kyoto by Shinkansen and known across the country for its castle and its cooking.
The castle moat at night, Osaka
- Prefecture
- Osaka
- Region
- Kansai
- Journeys
- Five include Osaka
overview
A merchant city that has always eaten well, and still does.
Osaka has been a port and a market for as long as Japan has had a written history. As Naniwa it hosted the imperial court for a time in the seventh century, and in 1583 the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose it for his castle, the largest of its day. Under the Tokugawa shoguns the city became the warehouse of the nation: the rice of every domain was shipped here to be sold, and in 1730 the rice exchange at Dojima was licensed to trade in contracts for future delivery, often called the first organised futures market in the world.
That trade gave Osaka its name of tenka no daidokoro, the nation's kitchen, and its character. This was a city of merchants rather than samurai, where wealth was spent on food, theatre and pleasure. The puppet theatre of bunraku was formed here in the seventeenth century, the canal of Dotonbori was lined with playhouses, and the people of Osaka still describe themselves with the word kuidaore, to eat until you are ruined. The soft water of the city and the kombu kelp that came by ship from Hokkaido made a lighter, clearer dashi than Tokyo's, and it remains the foundation of Osaka cooking.
For a traveller, Osaka is the most relaxed of Japan's great cities: open, humorous and direct, with a castle above its moats, a river island of museums and old banks, and some of the most accomplished kitchens in the country. It is the natural first or last stop of a journey through western Japan, an hour from Kansai International Airport and within easy reach of Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji.
Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan
see and do
What to see in Osaka
Osaka Castle
Hideyoshi's fortress, begun in 1583 and rebuilt by the Tokugawa after its fall in 1615, stands within two rings of moats and walls of enormous fitted stones. The largest, the Takoishi, has a face of some fifty-nine square metres. The present keep, rebuilt in 1931, contains a museum of the Toyotomi age, and the wide park around it is one of the great green spaces of the city.
Dotonbori
The canal dug in 1615 that became the theatre street of Edo Osaka, now a corridor of neon, moving signs and food stalls along both banks. It is at its most theatrical after dark, when the lights fill the water and the running man of the Glico sign looks down on the bridge at Ebisubashi.
Hozen-ji Yokocho
A stone-paved lane of small bars and counters a few steps from Dotonbori, lit by lanterns, with a small temple at its heart whose statue of Fudo Myoo is entirely clothed in moss from the water poured over it by those who pray.
Kuromon Market
A covered market of some 150 shops that has supplied the city's kitchens for about two centuries: tuna, sea urchin, Kobe beef, fruit wrapped like jewellery, much of it cooked to order and eaten standing at the counter.
Sumiyoshi Taisha
One of the oldest shrines in Japan, founded by tradition in 211 and the head of some 2,300 Sumiyoshi shrines across the country. Its four halls, rebuilt in 1810 in a style that predates Buddhist influence, are National Treasures, and the steep vermilion arch of the Sorihashi bridge leads to them over a pond.
Shitenno-ji
A temple founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku, one of the first Buddhist temples in Japan. Its buildings have been rebuilt many times, but the plan is the original: gate, pagoda, main hall and lecture hall laid out in a single straight line.
Nakanoshima
A long island between two rivers in the centre of the city, where Osaka's banks and institutions built in stone and brick: the red-brick Central Public Hall of 1918, the Museum of Oriental Ceramics with its celebrated Korean celadon, and the black cube of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, opened in 2022.
The National Bunraku Theatre
The home of bunraku, the puppet theatre recognised by UNESCO, in which three puppeteers move each principal figure in full view while a chanter and a shamisen player tell the story. Its tradition began in a Dotonbori playhouse in 1684.
Umeda Sky Building
Two towers of 173 metres joined at the top by an open-air ring, the Floating Garden Observatory, with the city, the bay and the mountains of Rokko spread out on every side.
Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku
A district laid out in 1912 on the model of Paris and Coney Island, now an old-fashioned quarter of lanterns and kushikatsu counters beneath the steel tower of Tsutenkaku, rebuilt in 1956.
Kitashinchi
The city's most polished quarter for dining and drinking, a few blocks of discreet doorways where some of the most respected kaiseki, sushi and teppanyaki counters in Kansai keep a dozen seats or fewer.
Yamazaki Distillery
Japan's first malt whisky distillery, founded in 1923 in the wooded valley where three rivers meet between Osaka and Kyoto, chosen for the softness of its water. Its tours end with a tasting.
experiences
The best of Osaka
An evening at the counter
Osaka's great cooking happens across a counter of pale hinoki: an omakase of sushi, or kaiseki built on Osaka's kombu dashi, at one of the city's Michelin-starred kitchens, the chef working a metre away.
Bunraku, explained
A performance of bunraku with a specialist beside you to explain the story, the chanting and the craft of the puppeteers, who train for decades before they may move a puppet's head.
A market morning with a food writer
Kuromon Market and the backstreets of Namba in the company of someone who knows the city's kitchens, tasting as you go: tuna cut to order, a warm takoyaki, a sliver of wagyu seared on the stall.
Whisky at Yamazaki
A visit to the Yamazaki distillery, among the copper stills and the cask warehouses, with a tasting of single malts, some of them poured only at the distillery.
The city from the river
A private boat on the Okawa and the rivers around Nakanoshima, past the castle, the old Mint and the stone bridges of the business district, as the lights come on.
plan your visit
Osaka on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Two nights gives Osaka its castle, its markets and two evenings at table; three allows a day out to Nara, Kobe or Himeji. Many guests give it the last nights of a journey, close to the airport.
- Getting there
- By the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka in about two and a half hours, or fifteen minutes from Kyoto. Kansai International Airport is about an hour from the city centre by private car, and Itami, the domestic airport, about thirty minutes.
- Pairs well with
- Osaka is the hub of Kansai: Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji are each under an hour away, Arima Onsen and Koyasan make a night in the hills, and Kinosaki Onsen is a train ride north.KyotoNaraKobeHimejiKoyasanArima OnsenKinosaki Onsen
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan in Osaka
Osaka's luxury hotels gather in three places. Around the castle park, one hotel has suites turned to the trees and the keep, and another stands at the edge of the park. On the Okawa River, in the north of the city, a third looks over the long riverside park and the lights of the business district.
On Nakanoshima, between the two rivers, a hotel occupies the upper floors of a tower over the water, close to the museums and a short drive from the counters of Kitashinchi. Namba and Dotonbori are best enjoyed for an evening and left for the quiet of one of these.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Osaka
Each journey below includes Osaka; choose one to see its route, dates and price. For a journey on your own dates, the Custom Tour of Japan can include Osaka and anywhere else you would like to go.
SpringThe Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan
12 days30 March to 10 April 2027$19,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
AutumnThe Autumn Leaves Tour of Japan
12 days23 November to 4 December 2026, sold out$19,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Private CollectionEssential Japan
9 daysOn the dates you choose$18,000per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Private CollectionClassic Japan
11 daysOn the dates you choose$22,000per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Private CollectionDefinitive Japan
13 daysOn the dates you choose$26,000per person, twin shareSee the journey
Planned around youThe Custom Tour of Japan
Your party aloneWith your own Tour DirectorFrom five nights, on the dates you chooseSee the journey
questions
Osaka: questions answered
How many days do you need in Osaka?
Two nights for the castle, the markets and two evenings of its food; three if you would like a day out to Nara, Kobe or Himeji. Osaka also works well for the last nights of a journey, an hour from Kansai International Airport.
Is Osaka worth visiting if you are staying in Kyoto?
Yes. It is fifteen minutes away by Shinkansen and a different city entirely: modern, open and devoted to food, with a great castle and some of the most accomplished restaurants in Japan.
Where is the best area to stay in Osaka?
Near the castle park or along the Okawa River for space and quiet, or on Nakanoshima for the museums and the dining of Kitashinchi. Namba and Dotonbori are for an evening out rather than a night's sleep.
How do you get from Tokyo to Osaka?
By the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo or Shinagawa to Shin-Osaka, about two and a half hours on the fastest trains. On our journeys a private car meets you at the station.
What food is Osaka famous for?
Takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu on the street, and pressed sushi, kitsune udon and a kombu dashi lighter than Tokyo's at the table. The city also has some of the most celebrated kaiseki and sushi counters in Japan.
How far is Osaka from Kansai International Airport?
About an hour by private car to the city centre, or a little less by the Haruka express to Tennoji. The airport stands on an island of its own in Osaka Bay.
Can you visit Osaka Castle inside?
Yes. The keep, rebuilt in 1931, is a museum of Hideyoshi and the Toyotomi age, with a viewing gallery at the top over the park and the city.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Osaka?
The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan, The Autumn Leaves Tour of Japan, Essential Japan, Classic Japan and Definitive Japan include nights in Osaka. The Custom Tour of Japan can include Osaka on any dates, created around your party alone.
Can Osaka be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with a Tour Director beside you, and it can include Osaka. For independent travel, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Osaka, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Osaka. We will answer with a journey shaped around it: one of our tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.