Osaka Travel Guide -Where to Visit? Where to Stay? What to Eat? Where to Shop? -

Where to stay in Osaka?

• Staying at a hotel near the train station if you are an individual traveler.  Same with Tokyo, Osaka is surrounded of JR Trains and subways wherein you can go anywhere easily and it’s very accessible.  
  Osaka Subway Map 
  
  

• 3 star hotels are good enough as some of them offers free breakfast too
  
  
• Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori Area is recommended if you want to enjoy shopping as this is where you can find the famous Shinsaibashi Shopping Street, which is the longest shopping street in Japan. You can find more budgeted, 3 star and 4 star hotels in this area.  But please keep in mind that if you will stay at a budgeted hotel in Shinsaibashi area, there’s a possibility that you will walk from the main highway as the streets are kind of narrow, and buses, taxis sometimes cannot go through.

We stayed at Candeo Hotels Osaka, a 3-4 minute walk to Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street and 10 mins walk from Namba sta, JR-Namba sta and Shinsaibashi sta. I can say that this is a very good hotel, though hotels in Japan have smaller rooms (unless it’s suite), still it’s a big thumbs up! It’s very convenient and accessible to shopping areas, given that it’s located on the main highway. This hotel also serves delicious breakfast, and has a money changer machine at the lobby too!

• JR Osaka and Umeda Area is recommendable for those who prefer to stay in 4 stars and 5 stars hotels. There are lots of places where you can enjoy more high-end shopping like in Department stores, compared to Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori Area. Also those who are planning to go to Kyoto and Nara with Train, it's more accessible from JR Osaka and Umeda Area.

What to eat in Osaka?

There are lots of varieties of foods to choose from in Osaka. Ramen shops are everywhere! But of course who can forget and resist the famous Ichiran Ramen, Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki?! Since our hotel is already located just beside Dotonbori, we can find any type of restaurants everywhere.

We tried Ichiran Ramen Dotonbori (they have ramen shops almost everywhere in Japan), it just took us about a 5-6 minute walk to get there from our hotel. We decided to eat there around 12 midnight (they are open 24 hours), as they usually have a long queue in daylight. The taste? Well what would you expect? Bongga! It’s very rich in flavor!

 

 

 

 

 

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Another superb food that we tried is the famous Takoyaki at Dotonbori. It’s an 8 degree celsius night and we were just walking along the Dotonbori bridge and found a Takoyaki shop beneath it. There were lots of Japanese who were in the queue during that time, so we decided to try it and of course, it did not disappoint us. I have never liked eating Takoyaki in the Philippines before but this is really a must try that makes me want to eat more! It’s perfect for the cold temperature.

Okonomiyaki is also local food from Osaka, described as a "savory pancake," made of flour, cabbage, meat, seafood, or other toppings are added.

Shopping in Osaka?

Shinsaibashi Shopping Street

Shinsaibashi Shopping Street is the longest shopping street, with 200 shops and restaurants on the 600 meter long street, which is located between Shinsaibashi station and Namba station where the famous Glico man is also located. 
They even have tax free shops that you would like to consider. The most famous one for Filipinos is Don Quijote. It’s a tax free department store. You can even bump with some Filipinos here while shopping.

Rinku premium outlet

The largest outlet shopping center in western Japan, located near Kansai International Airport. 10 mins drive from Kansai International Airport and around 45 mins from Osaka Main Area by car. 

Kuromon Market

Where to go in Osaka? 

• Universal Studios Japan

Aside from the shops in the city, many of us already know that the famous Universal Studios Japan is located here. It is highly advisable to get here early in the morning to avoid long queues on the rides.

• Osaka Castle 

• Asahi Beer Factory 

• Nissin cup noodles museum

Do you know that Cup Noodle was invented in Osaka around 60 years ago? You can learn The History of Cup Noodles on how it became global food and even space food. You can also make your own Cup noodle and design the cup as well.