9 Best Sights in The Kansai Region, Japan

This eye-catching red, gray, and blue building is Japan's best aquarium outside of Okinawa and one of the world's largest. More than 11,000 tons of water hold a multitude of sea creatures, including whale sharks, king penguins, giant spider crabs, jellyfish, and sea otters. You can stroll through 15 different environments, including the rivers and streams of Japanese and Ecuadoran forests, the icy waters around Antarctica, the dark depths of the Sea of Japan, and the volcanically active Pacific Ring of Fire. The surrounding Tempozan Harbor Village also contains a contemporary culture museum, a giant ferris wheel, cruises around Osaka Bay on a reproduction of the Santa María, and various shops and restaurants. There are often street performances outside on weekends. To get here, take the Chuo subway line to Osaka-ko Station; the aquarium is a five-minute walk northwest from the station.

Osaka's most visible tourist attraction and symbol, Osaka Castle exemplifies the city's ability to change with the times. Originally built in the 1580s, what you see today is a five-story reconstruction completed in 1931. Instead of leaving a collection of steep wooden staircases and empty rooms, Osaka turned its castle into an elevator-equipped museum celebrating the history of its creator, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the chief imperial minister to unite Japan.

For those more interested in aesthetics than artifacts, the eighth-floor donjon (tower) offers a stunning view of the urban landscape. Watching the sun set behind the skyscrapers is reason enough for a visit. The surrounding park makes for a relaxing break from the energy of the city as well. From Osaka-jo Koen-mae Station, it's about a 10-minute uphill walk to the castle. You can also take the Tanimachi subway line from Higashi-Umeda Station (just southeast of Osaka Station) to Tanimachi 4-chome Station, from there it's a 15-minute walk.

Informative as it is enjoyable, the Osaka Museum of History immerses you in the city's history from pre-feudal times to the early 20th century. Full of life-size displays and hands-on activities, the museum does an excellent job of offering attractions for both children and adults. There are two paths through the exhibits, a Highlight Course (to get a hint of Osaka's past in less than an hour) and the Complete Course (for a fuller experience). The museum makes an excellent stop on the way to Osaka Castle.

Come for the park's open-air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses (Nihon Minka Shuraku Hakubutsukan), and wander about full-size traditional rural buildings such as the giant gassho-zukuri (thatched-roof) farmhouse from Gifu Prefecture. The park also has horseback-riding facilities, tennis courts, and an open-air stage that hosts concerts and other events in summer. There's even an outdoor Kabuki theater. An English-language pamphlet is available. Take the Mido-suji subway line from Umeda to Ryokuchi Koen Station; the park is a 10-minute walk away.

The exhibits of "beauty from day-to-day life" at this museum in Senri Expo Park explore the diversity and intricacy of Japanese handicrafts from Hokkaido to Okinawa. The cloth, wood, and bamboo items in simple displays evoke Japan's traditional past and make quite a contrast to Osaka's modernity.

The National Museum of Ethnology has informative displays about the Ainu (the original inhabitants of Hokkaido) and other cultures from around the world. Information sheets explaining the sections of the museum are available and supplement the English-language brochure included with admission. The museum is on the east side of the main road that runs north–south through Senri Expo Park.

Originally the site of Expo '70, the garden-filled Senri Expo Park still draws visitors thanks to the presence of the National Museum of Ethnology, the Japan Folk Art Museum, and the enormous statue by Taro Okamoto called Tower of the Sun. Located outside the city center, the park offers an interesting look at how Osaka has blossomed in the postwar years in the Expo '70 Pavilion.

This 10th-century shrine is the main site of the annual Tenjin Matsuri, held July 24 and 25, one of the largest and most enthusiastically celebrated festivals in Japan. Dozens of floats are paraded through the streets, and more than 100 vessels, lighted by lanterns, sail along the canals amid fireworks. The shrine is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the Japanese patron of scholars. Sugawara was out of favor at court when he died in 903. Two years later plague and drought swept Japan—Sugawara was exacting revenge from the grave. To appease Sugawara's spirit he was deified as Tenjin-sama. He is enshrined at Tenman-gu. On the 5th, 15th, and 25th of each month students throughout Japan visit Tenman-gu shrines to pray for academic success.

The 140-acre Universal Studios Japan combines the most popular rides and shows from Universal's Hollywood and Florida movie-studio theme parks with special attractions designed specifically for Japan. Popular attractions include those based on Harry Potter, Spider-Man, and the most recently opened Super Nintendo World. The Japan-only Snoopy attraction appeals to the local infatuation with all things cute, as do the daily Hello Kitty parades. Restaurants and food outlets abound throughout the park, and the road from JR Universal City Station is lined with the likes of Hard Rock Cafe and Bubba Gump Shrimp, local fast-food chain MOS Burger, and Ganko Sushi. Due to high demand on weekends and during holiday periods, tickets should be bought online in advance. Express passes (to skip the lines for some attractions) can be purchased for an additional fee.