Osaka, Tokyo’s sister metropolis. Another world of bright lights, cultural experiences and delicious street food. This was our last stop during our tour of Japan and is a city I recommend if you’re looking for a balance of thriving city life and humble cultural experiences. 3 days here was a the perfect amount of time for us, although there is a lot to see!
Day 1 | Travel Day
Our first day in Osaka was a travel day, we took the JRail from Kyoto to Osaka in the evening. We didn’t arrive in Osaka until around 8PM. At this point we were tired, hungry and ready for bed!
We checked into our hotel, Hotel Hankyu Respire Osaka. I took a chance and booked this hotel before it was even finished being built. The hotel was offering amazing rates and was right outside of the train station which made it accessible to all parts of Osaka. This hotel was $115.79 USD + tax & fees per night, but we were able to use our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card points to cover our hotel costs. In total we saved $407.22 USD that we could use on experiences during our trip.
Hotel Hankyu Respire Osaka ended up being an incredible place to stay, one that I recommend. The rooms are a reasonable size and come with great amenities. The hotel has access to many shops and restaurants if you need a quick bite to eat, and like I said before, it’s steps from the train station. They even have a morning breakfast buffet if you’re looking for convenience, although it is quite expensive at $19 USD per person.
After we checked into our hotel room, we went downstairs to a food court area in the same building of our hotel. Admittedly we were kind of “Japanese fooded out” at this point and opted for some Italian food. We stopped by Capricciosa, spent about $15 USD for our meal. Ultimately, nothing to write home about, but it worked for what we needed this night. For dessert I found a place called Sweets Box. It was a small stand in Lucua mall area near our hotel that sold cheesecake bars made from Japanese potatoes. So it seemed like a “healthier” for you option, but tasted absolutely delicious. I spent about $5 USD here. After a carb heavy dinner, we called it a night!
Day 2 | Nara Day Trip & Shinsaibashi
Morning & Afternoon: One our first full day in Osaka we took a day trip to Nara. Check out my blog post, Nara, Japan for a Day, for more details on what to do in Nara!
Evening: By the time we got back from Nara, it was about dinner time. And something that I had been wanting to try the whole time I was in Japan was Omurice. Omurice is a popular egg dish consisting of an omelette laid on fried rice, normally topped with ketchup. I know this sounds like an odd mixture, but that was the exact reason I knew I had to try it myself.
I looked up reviews for Omurice in Osaka and Hokkyokusei kept popping up. There are a few locations in Osaka, but the one in Shinsaibashi is where Omurice was born (this restaurant was established in 1922), so we went there!
Hokkyokusei is a modest restaurant, one that boasts traditional tatami mats. When we entered there was a place to leave our shoes at the doorway, and the hostess was able to immediately seat us. I ordered the Chicken Omurice, that seemed like the traditional way to order the dish. Chicken Omurice + calamari as an appetizer cost about $10 USD per person. I wouldn’t say that Omurice is the most flavorful dish, but it’s a dish that feels like home. If you know that feeling, then you would understand why I basically licked the plate clean. I recommend trying this place out for yourself.
In the same area as Hokkyokusei there are many bars that you can stop in for a night cap! I opted for another night of dessert as my night cap. We walked to Pablo Cheese Tart Shinsaibashi for their coveted cheese tart. I got their signature + a few mini cheese tarts to try our their flavors (strawberry & chocolate). I also got a box of their little cakes to take home back to the States. In total I spent about $20 USD here… I have no self control.
Day 3 | Shinsekai & Dotonbori
Morning: On our last day in Osaka, after having breakfast at our hotel, we decided to switch it up and take a cooking class! We were referred Eat Osaka by a friend and it was such a fun activity to do as a couple. There are 2 options of cooking classes that you can choose from on Eat Osaka’s website – Osaka Street Food or Home Cooking. We went with Home Cooking and decided to choose 11am as our cooking class time. Their website experience is really easy and we booked our cooking class one or two days before the actual day of (although, remember we went during winter so it was probably slower). Their cooking classes cost about $70 USD per person and best yet, it was BYOB! So I brought a bottle of white wine that I bought from the grocery store for about $10 USD.
Eat Osaka was in the Shinsekai area of Osaka. We were directed to meet at Tower Knives Osaka. This is not the actual location of the cooking experience, but it’s just a short walk away. Don’t be alarmed when the cooking instructor walks you down an ally way to get to the real location for the cooking class! It’s actually a really quaint and nice space to be working in. Once you arrive there is a dinning room sized table that has a station for each person with all of the ingredients and cook tops laid out. Our instructor was Yasuko (she was AWESOME) and we were joined by a father son duo who were great company. 5 stars for this cooking experience!
After our Eat Osaka experience, we walked down the street that leads up to Tstutenkaku Tower. This street is so vibrant and a great place to stop for more foodie treats or to take a fun photo! I recommend coming to this area of Osaka even if you don’t do the Eat Osaka cooking experience. It’s a great place to stop around lunch time.
Tip: If you plan accordingly, you can spend some time at Spa World which is a massive public onsen right in this area.
Afternoon: After a fun morning and lunch with Eat Osaka, we did some shopping on Orange Street . Orange Street is a hip shopping district for fashion, furniture and cute eateries. My husband really wanted to shop at BAPE since it’s a street wear clothing brand that is hard to find in the states.
After some shopping we walked toward Dotonbori with a very clear objective, we wanted to get a massage. After 9 days of traveling we were really in need of a break. We found a place called Bodysh Relaxation Spa which offered a 70 minute massage for about $50 USD. That’s right, you heard me, 70 minutes for $50. We truly found a miracle.
Evening: After our massage we walked around Dotonbori. Dotonbori is like Osaka’s Times Square, light and bright. It’s the big bright heart of Osaka. While on Dotonbori here are a few things you can check out – Don Quijote, Glico-ya Sign, Dotonbori River Cruise, and Kururu For Takyoki (or other stands for street food).
I had a very specific reason why I wanted to check out Don Quijote, I was looking for some crazy flavored Kit Kats. When I finally saw Don Quijote, I saw that it had this insane looking ferris wheel that went around its building. I think this Don Quixote is about 9 or 10 floors high, it’s huge. Of course when I saw this ferris wheel, I wanted to ride it. It cost about $6 USD to ride. Not going to lie, it’s terrifying, but it was really fun at the same time. The terrifying part is that it isn’t a normal ferris wheel, and it felt like we were going to pop off of the ride and plummet into the river. It also went way higher than I anticipated. Should you ride it? I leave that up to you.
After the ferris wheel, we shopped for those Kit Kats and walked around Dotonbori some more to check out the Glico sign. It was just about dinner time, and since it was our last night in Japan, we wanted to find some really good quality beef. We found Yakiniku Douraku Kobe Beef BBQ. I’m sure there’s some other quality wagyu beef restaurants in Osaka to try, but this one was set up like Korean BBQ where you could cook your own meat. I love those kinds of restaurants!
We opted to share the “Today’s Kobe Beef,” 5 kinds 2 pieces for about $40 USD. This place was really tasty. I was also nervous that we’d smell like bbq, but their ventilation system was really great and the smell didn’t stick to us when we left!
The last and final thing that we did on our last night in Japan, was find bubble tea! I could not believe that this whole time, I didn’t get a bubble tea. I made a point to find a place to get one before we left Osaka. There was a bubble tea joint right by our hotel, it’s was boba tea chain, Gong Cha. I got their brown sugar bubble tea for about $5 USD. You can find some locations in the USA (and across the world), so it’s not totally authentic, but hey, I got bubble tea.
We rested for the rest of the evening to prepare for our bullet train back to Tokyo area so we could make it to Narita airport for our journey back to LA.
Tip: You need a reserved set to get on the Narita Express train, or you can take the rapid express train, but it takes a while longer.
A place we did not get to see was Marinomiya Osaka Castle. We’re heard great things about this castle, and it takes about 2 hours to explore.
3 Days in Osaka Itinerary
| Day 1 | Travel Day | |
| Evening: | |
| » JR Rail from Kyoto to Osaka | ‘Free’ with JRail Pass |
| » Check in to Hotel Hankyu Respire Osaka | Saved $407.22 USD |
| » Dinner at Capricciosa (for Italian) | $15 USD |
| » Dessert from Sweets Box | $5 USD |
| Day 2 | Nara Day Trip & Shinsaibashi | |
| Morning/Afternoon: | |
| » Nara, Japan for a Day | |
| Evening: | |
| » Try Omurice at Hokkyokusei | $10 USD |
| » Grab Pablo Cheese Tart Shinsaibashi for dessert | $20 USD |
| Day 3 | Shinsekai & Dotonbori | |
| Morning: | |
| » Breakfast at the Hotel Buffet | $19 USD |
| » Cooking Experience with Eat Osaka | $70 USD |
| » Walk down the street leading up to Tstutenkaku Tower | |
| Afternoon: | |
| » Go shopping on Orange Street | |
| » Get a 70 min. massage at Bodysh Relaxation Spa | $50 USD |
| Evening: | |
| » Take a stroll down Dotonbori | |
| » Ride the ferris wheel at Don Quixote | $6 USD |
| » Cook your own dinner at Yakiniku Douraku Kobe Beef BBQ | $40 USD |
| » Night cap with a Bubble Tea from Gong Cha | $5 USD |
All train/bus costs were covered by our JRail pass.
Total Cost for Food, Transport & Experiences (1 person) – $240 USD
