Osaka大阪府

Places to seeWhere to go in Osaka

Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day. Osaka is a place to eat rather than a place to sightsee — the castle, then the food streets.

Dotonbori道頓堀

A canal of lit signs and street food. Loudest and best after dark.

An evening

MAP

Osaka Castle大阪城

A rebuilt keep in a large park of stone walls and moats. Cherry trees all round it.

Half a daySpring only

MAP

Kuromon Market黒門市場

A covered market of fish, fruit and grilled skewers, eaten standing up where you buy it.

2 hours

MAP

What Osaka is

It is loud, direct and less formal than Tokyo or Kyoto, and it is built around eating.

The centre of that is Dotonbori, a canal lined with lit signs, where the food is sold to you on the street: takoyaki, balls of batter with octopus inside, and okonomiyaki, a thick savoury pancake cooked on a hot plate. There is a word here, kuidaore, for eating until you fall over. It is used approvingly.

When to comeThe same place, four different places

Pick the season first and the days will arrange themselves.

March – May

Cherry blossom around the castle in early April. Warm, and the streets are at their best.

June – August

Everything indoors and underground is air-conditioned.

September – November

The best season. Dry, cool evenings, and the food streets are comfortable to walk.

December – February

Cold but rarely snowy. Winter is hotpot season, and Osaka does it well.

Find it fastEverything in Osaka