Osaka Itineraries

If You Have One Day:

Your first stop should be Osaka-jo and the surrounding park, Osaka-koen. From here make your way to the Museum of Oriental Ceramics on Naka-no-shima or to the Osaka Aquarium on Kaigan-dori. In the late afternoon browse the gadget stores of Den Den Town and go to the Doguya-suji arcade for cooking utensils. For fashion, wander Amerika-mura and Minami-horie, then head to Dotombori-dori for dinner. Alternatively, spend an afternoon at a Bunraku performance to enjoy the subtleties of Japanese puppetry. Performances start at 4 pm and finish with enough time to go for a walk along Dotombori-dori before dinner.

If You Have Two Days:

Complete the one-day itinerary. On the second day, head to the sights south of the city center, which can be seen in a day. Start at Tenno-ji Park, visiting the Municipal Museum of Fine Art and its collection of classical Japanese art. Northeast of the park is Shitenno-ji (commonly referred to as Tenno-ji), Japan's first temple. South of Tenno-ji is Sumiyoshi Taisha, one of Japan's three greatest shrines. To wrap up your stay, instead of heading to Dotombori-dori, stop by Shin Sekai for kushi katsu and the night view from Tsutenkaku Tower.