5 Days Easy Relaxing Osaka Itinerary

This guide is for the Globetrotters who want a relaxing trip to Osaka. And it is a family-friendly guide, suitable for the not so young and the young ones too. The activities for each day are capped to a minimum so you will have plenty of time to explore the places. Osaka is a major city in Japan, so obviously this guide does not cover all the attractions but at the some of the top ones are mentioned here.

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Day 1

Osaka Castle and Osaka Museum of History. Umeda Sky Building and shopping and eating at Umeda.

The iconic Osaka Castle on the outskirts of Downtown Osaka is very beautiful. It has a large Japanese garden, boat riding at the river, scenic view of the surrounding stone walls, moats and turrets. The exterior of the castle itself is very impressive. Most of the visitors spend a lot of time taking photos from the outside of the castle. But you can also visit the museum and observation deck for a fee.

To read more about Osaka Castle, click the following link.

The Iconic Osaka Castle

Osaka Museum of History is just a few minutes walk from Osaka Castle. Inside the museum, you get to see the full-scale reproduction of the ancient palace, ancient clothing from the past, exhibits and enjoy an excavation site inside the museum.

To read more, click the following link.

Osaka Museum of History

Umeda Sky Building is one of the top places for getting the best view of the whole Osaka city. Best when you visit during sunset time where the beautiful view is very impressive. Another highlight is the mid-air escalator which can either make you excited or get weak knees.

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To read more, click the following link.

The view of Osaka city from Umeda Sky Building

Day 2

Half a day trip to Nara. Shopping and eating at Dotonbori.

Nara which is only less than one hour away from Osaka by train has a lot to offer. The UNESCO Heritage site has Todaiji shrine that houses the biggest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, a vast garden with beautiful fall foliage (if you go during fall or early winter), and free-roaming wild deer that you can feed them with deer cookies and take photos. Want to join an afternoon tour to Nara from Osaka? Click here to find out.

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Want to read about my half day adventure with the wild deer? Click the following link.

Half a day trip to Nara from Osaka

Click here to find out an afternoon tour to Nara from Osaka.

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Dotonbori is one of the MUST visit places in Osaka. This famous street is thronged with lots of restaurants, eateries, entertainment centres, movie theatres, pharmacies, fashion stores etc. It is most vibrant during the nights when all the neon signboards and lights illuminated the street and the canal alongside this street. The most famous signboard and also the icon of Osaka is the Running Man by Glico, also one of the most photographed by globetrotters all around the world.

Don’t miss the opportunity to try its street food like the okonomiyaki, takoyaki, grilled crab legs and Pablo cheesecake.

One of my favourites is the ramen from Ichiran. The tasty tonkatsu pork-based broth and thin Hakata-style ramen are very popular among locals and tourists. What I like the most is the restaurant can prepare the ramen according to your preference, such as how strong is the soup taste, the softness of the ramen, with or without spring onions etc. You queue at the vending machines to order and pay for the ramen. And then when you are seated, you will be given a sheet with your preference on the ramen. What a wonderful idea if you are going with a group of people and each has one’s own preference for the ramen.

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Day 3

One full day at the Universal Studios Japan. Osaka Kaiyukan and Tempozan Ferris Wheel

Theme park lovers should not miss this opportunity to enjoy the amazing Universal Studios Japan (USJ). Harry Potter and Hogwarts‘ fans will be spoilt for choices of what to do in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in USJ. Buy a magic wand and be a wizard/witch for one day, using spells to do magic in this magical kingdom. You can also try out all other rides ranging from the easy peasy rides to the hair-raising, screaming for your life kind of rides too. Be sure to get the authorised online ticketing agents for authentic admission tickets. Check out Klook.com where I bought my admission tickets from.

Check out my post on USJ by clicking the following link.

Things to do in Universal Studios Japan

If you have spare time after getting the thrilling rides in USJ, then you can take a 10 minutes ferry ride to the Osaka Kaiyukan and Tempozan Ferris Wheel. If not, I would suggest leaving the aquarium and Ferris wheel to the next day.

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Day 4

Half day at Osaka Kaiyukan and Tempozan Ferris Wheel. A half day shopping at Ebisubashi-Suji and Shinsaibashi-Suji.

Osaka Kaiyukan is the biggest aquarium in Japan and it houses a lot of marine species such as stingrays, penguins, otters, jellyfish, whale sharks and many more. The kids will love this and it is a great way for a family outing. There is a sensory pool where you get to touch the stingrays and whale sharks.

Another family-friendly activity is to take the Ferris wheel ride next to the Kaiyukan. You can choose a clear glass see-through gondola or a normal one. Take note that you will have to wait for a little while longer if you decided to get the see-through gondolas because they are lesser as compare to the normal ones. Long queues form especially during sunset time. But the view from the top of the Ferris wheel is totally worth it.

Check out my detail post on these places from the following link.

Osaka Kaiyukan and Tempozan Ferris Wheel

After half a day playing with the marine creatures and enjoying Osaka city view from the top of the Ferris Wheel, it’s time to be back on earth and do what people like to do, SHOPPING. One of the best places to shop in Osaka is Ebisubashi-Suji and Shinsaibashi-Suji. These two streets are famous for their fashion retails, beauty products, gourmet shops, chic cafes, big department stores and amusement centres. These are heavens for shoppers. But beware that the crowds are huge here because they are very near to Namba train stations and the gastronomical Dontonbori street. Here you can literally shop till you drop.

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If you are interested to find out more of what is offered in these streets, check out the following official links.

Ebisubashi-Suji official website

Shinsaibashi-Suji official website

Day 5

A full day trip to Kyoto

Cultural and architectural lovers will definitely want to visit Kyoto which is only less than one hour from Osaka. In fact, if you have the JR pass, you can take the Shinkansen to Kyoto in 15 minutes. If you do not have a JR Pass, there are ways you can travel from Osaka to Kyoto in less than an hour. Click here to find out more on trains going to Kyoto from Osaka. Kyoto has a lot of UNESCO Heritage sites. So in one day, you won’t be able to cover even half of the UNESCO sites. But if you only have one day to spare, then you have to make do with what you can with the limited time available, just like me.

What I did is to visit places that are near to the Kyoto main train station and took the taxi instead to save time.

You can start off with the Kiyomizu-Dera (UNESCO Heritage site), and traditional old Japanese street Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka. Have lunch at one of the restaurants in that area. Then proceed to Fushimi Inari Taisha for the thousand torii gates. After that, head back to the heart of Kyoto to see Nishiki Market that sells a variety of Japanese produces, street food and more.

Want ot join a day tour to Kyoto from Osaka? Click here to find out.