Welcome back to Team Tala Travels! In this article, let us continue our 3 days of exploration in Osaka, Japan. If you want to read more about what our family did on our first day in Osaka, read here!

In this post, we will share with you our personal recommendations about what you can do and see on one full day in Osaka, along with some Japanese dishes and specialties that you do not want to miss!

Morning: Osaka Castle, Nishinomaru Garden, and Gozambune River Cruise

Let us begin our morning exploration!

Osaka Castle

We began our second day in Osaka by going to the iconic Osaka Castle, which was built in 1583. If you want to beat the crowds and explore the castle grounds peacefully, we suggest that you come here early.

Queues start to build up at the entrance ticket booth, but if you have an Osaka Amazing Pass, you can skip the lines and go to the booth where OAP QR codes are scanned. Click here to learn more about the amazing OAP!

The Osaka Castle’s main tower is 5-storeys high. You can easily see it from a distance because of its iconic green tiered roofs, elegant gold leaf details, and strong facade in the middle of towering modern buildings.

Head up to the observation deck on the 8th floor to enjoy Osaka’s stunning sights. You can also go to the museum on the 5th floor where you can learn about the history of Osaka, as well as visit the museum shop where you can purchase different souvenir items to bring home.

Nishinomaru Garden

Nishinomaru Garden is known for its cherry blossom trees and scenic views. You can enjoy a leisurely walk along the garden after visiting Osaka Castle. It is just sad that we went there during winter time, and all the cherry blossom trees are bare. Taking pictures, resting on benches, and savouring the magnificent view of Osaka Castle are activities that you can do at the garden, too!

Gozambune River Cruise

After our exploration of Osaka Castle and Nishinomaru Garden, we went to the nearby Gozambune River, where a scenic river cruise awaits.

Going on this river cruise is a unique way of exploring around Osaka Castle. By going around the castle moat, you can view the castle and its high stone walls from the outside. You will also see ducks enjoying themselves by the moat.

This cruise will take about 20 minutes. It is open from 10 am to 4:30 pm every day. Ticket prices are as follows:

Adults: JPY 1,500

School-age kids: JPY 750

Preschoolers and below: free

But, if you have an Osaka Amazing Pass, you can enjoy this activity for free!

Let’s eat!

Another thing you can enjoy for free is your train tickets at participating train lines! We are so lucky that in going to our next destination, Kuromon Ichiba Market, our train ride tickets are also covered by the OAP!

Watch our Youtube video as we explored Osaka for 3 days! Or you can also watch it on Youtube by clicking this link

To get to Kuromon Ichiba Market, take the Tanimachi Line to Temmabashi station (T22). Then go to Sakaisuji Line or K Line Platform 1 to Nippombashi station. Kuromon Ichiba Market is roughly a 4- minute walk from the station.

Lunch: Kuromon Ichiba Market

Kuromon Ichiba Market is one of Japan’s most colorful markets. It is overflowing with a variety of incredible food options. There are a lot of fresh seafood, local dishes, and yummy desserts all around! No wonder it was nicknamed Osaka’s Kitchen by the locals!

This market has been running for over a hundred years, similar to the famous Borough Market in London. There are definitely more than a hundred vendors in this Japanese market selling grilled seafood, street food staples, and the famous Kobe beef strips!

What we found interesting is that this market is not only lined with tourists who want to try the buzz about Kuromon Ichiba Market, but also locals who are shopping for fresh produce and seafood for their home cooked meals.

As for us, we tried a small restaurant in the market specializing in unagi dishes. We tried their unagi rice bowl, and we loved it! Trying it was definitely an “unagi” experience for us. You certainly got what I meant if you are a Friends TV show fan!

Afterwards, we tried street food staples such as deep fried squid, and finished off our Kuromon Ichiba Market experience with a strawberries-dipped-in-chocolate dessert.Yummy in our tummies!

Let’s Go!

Next stop is the historic Shinsekai! To get there, you can take the train via the Midosuji line Namba Station to Dobutsuen-Mae station. Then walk for about 8 minutes from the station to get to Shinsekai.

Afternoon to Evening: Shinsekai + Tsutenkaku Tower + Dotonbori + Tombori River Cruise

Our tummies are full, and our hearts are more than ready for another exploration! But, our 6-year-old daughter was feeling tired from all the morning walk, so we decided to cut short our walk from the station to Shinsekai and rest for a bit.

Let’s Rest: Community Food Hall

We found a Community Food Hall just beside the Citadines Hotel. The concept is great as it is a collection of food stalls catering to different customers. There are local delicacies, smoothie drinks, coffee and wine options, and even Italian dishes!

The place is comfy, cool, and clean. People can come here to rest, to charge their phones, to chat, and even to work. Of course, the idea is to order something from any of the food stalls and use their community space. We ordered a strawberry banana smoothie.

Tala took a 1-hour nap here, enough for an afternoon and evening of exploration and more walking!

Find out what they are offering at this Community Food Hall here!

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Shinsekai + Tsutenkaku Tower

Shinsekai is a famous tourist spot in Osaka not only because of its retro atmosphere, but also because of the soaring Tsutenkaku Tower that stands at its heart.

Old meets new is the theme centering Shinsekai as its retro look is paired with modern developments that make the place a unique townscape for people to enjoy. There are many eateries, shops, and attractions that will definitely catch your eye.

Tsutenkaku Tower is definitely one of the main landmarks in Osaka. This 103-meter-tall structure truly impressed us, especially when it started to change colors and glow in the middle of the night.

We did not opt to experience the observation deck in the interest of time. But if you plan to, I am sure you will enjoy seeing the entire Osaka cityscape, and even Kobe on a clear day!

Billiken-san

While exploring, we saw many charming statues at store entrances. Later on, we found out that this statue is Billiken, the god of good fortune in Osaka, and is considered as the official mascot of Tsutenkaku Tower. Legend says that rubbing the soles of Billiken’s feet will make your wishes come true.

Let’s See the Glico Man!

Next stop is the famous Dotonbori, where the billboard of the Glico Man is. To get here, we just traced our way back and took the train to Namba Station on the Midosuji line. Dotonbori is roughly 5 minutes away from the station.

Dotonbori

Dotonbori is a lively district in Osaka that is renowned for its dazzling neon lights, delectable street food, and bustling shopping sites. It is also famous for the billboard of the Glico Man, a man running on a blue track, installed above the Dotonbori bridge.

Of course, we took pictures with the Glico Man!

Dotonbori in real life is the same as what it is on YouTube vlogs: it is a sensory overload! From huge signages to bright LED billboards, it can induce a migraine of sorts if you have one. Plus, with the number of people walking on all directions, Dotonbori can be really chaotic.

But, Dotonbori is also a beautiful experience. There are so many restaurants to choose from and so many souvenir shops to go to. The good ones are crowded and with long queues. And this is true for almost all restaurants, especially those that sell takoyaki and grilled seafood.

But, we did not go to Dotonbori and NOT eat! Our aim is to try all the food here that our bellies can fit!

Because almost all restaurants are packed, we settled with a ramen house that had a table for the 3 of us.

Takoyaki

We, especially Emman, wanted to eat at a restaurant by the riverside. We tried walking on the east and west sides of the river, but we were unlucky. When we were almost ready to give up, we saw a small takoyaki shop with a vacant table. There, we tried our very first Takoyaki in Osaka. Yum!

Ramen + Gyoza

Our bellies are happy, but we still wanted more! This time, we went to the streets of Dotonbori and tried to look for more Japanese dishes to try. However, almost all restaurants have a long queue outside!

We decided to simply settle for a restaurant with no queue outside and with a table for us. Luckily, we saw a ramen place with no hustle at its entrance doors. My first thought: maybe the food here is not delicious, but let’s give it a try.

I.WAS.WRONG.

This ramen place is a hit! It is called King Emon Dotonbori Ten, and their ramen is by far the best ramen I have ever tasted in Japan!

We ordered King Soy Sauce Ramen with special boiled egg, gyoza, and extra beef toppings. Our bellies were full afterwards! Try King Emon Dotonbori Ten when you go to Dotonbori!

Tombori River Cruise

This is our second river cruise of the day. Wait, let me repeat.

This is our second FREE river cruise of the day. Yes, tickets to the Tombori River Cruise are also free when you avail of the Osaka Amazing Pass!

The boarding point of the river tour is in front of the Don Quijote ferris wheel. It is important to be in the area minutes before your river tour schedule so you can line up and choose a great seat on the boat.

The Tombori River Cruise is a 20-minute river tour. The main attractions of the tour, other than the shops on both sides of the riverbanks, are the bridges that connect both sides of the river.

Our tour guide animatedly named each bridge and explained the purpose of each, and the “bridge age” of each. At one point, we had to duck because one bridge was too close to the water. Our guide also reminded us not to touch the bridges even if they are within our reach.

The river cruise gave us another look of Dotonbori. I recommend this river tour to those visiting Dotonbori for the first time.

Home Time!

Our second day in Osaka was a blast! We were tired for sure, but our hearts and our bellies were full and happy!

Thank you for reading this far! If you found this blog fun and informative, please give it a thumbs up or share it with someone who might be planning a trip to Osaka!