Osaka Travel Guide
First Time in Osaka
The essentials for a first visit to Osaka: how the city is laid out, getting in from Kansai Airport, transport cards and passes, etiquette, money, the 2025 tax changes, safety and the experiences not to miss.
Osaka has a reputation in Japan as the country's friendliest, funniest and most food-obsessed city, and it lives up to it. People talk to strangers here, shopkeepers joke, and locals will happily argue about whose takoyaki is best. It is Japan's third-largest city and the commercial capital of the Kansai region, and for visitors it combines big-city energy with the easiest access to Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji. Here is what you need to know before your first visit.
How the city is laid out. Osaka has two downtowns. Kita, the north, centers on Umeda and Osaka Station, a giant rail hub surrounded by department stores, skyscrapers and underground shopping malls, with Shin-Osaka, the bullet-train station, one stop further north. Minami, the south, centers on Namba and Shinsaibashi and is the city of neon, Dotonbori, street food and nightlife. Between them lies Nakanoshima, the river island of museums and offices, and to the east Osaka Castle. Further south, Tennoji is home to Shitennoji, Abeno Harukas and the retro district of Shinsekai. To the west, on the bay, are Universal Studios Japan, Kaiyukan aquarium and the former Expo site of Yumeshima. The Midosuji subway line, under the great boulevard of the same name, runs north to south and connects most of what visitors want to see.
Getting in. Most international visitors arrive at Kansai International Airport, on an island in Osaka Bay. The Nankai line runs to Namba, about forty minutes on the Rapi:t express, and also stops at Shin-Imamiya for Shinsekai; the JR Haruka express runs to Tennoji and Shin-Osaka, continuing to Kyoto; and airport limousine buses serve major hotels and stations. From Tokyo, the Shinkansen reaches Shin-Osaka in around two and a half hours. Domestic flights also use Itami airport, north of the city.
Transport cards and passes. Buy or load an IC card such as ICOCA, or use a mobile version on your phone; it works on trains, subways and buses across Kansai and in convenience stores. The Osaka Amazing Pass offers unlimited rides on Osaka Metro and city buses with free entry to a list of attractions for one or two days, and can be very good value for a busy sightseeing day, but check which attractions are included and when. The Kintetsu Rail Pass covers trips to Nara and Kyoto on Kintetsu lines, and JR offers regional Kansai passes. The nationwide Japan Rail Pass is rarely worth buying for Osaka alone.
Etiquette. Osaka is relaxed, but the basics apply. On escalators, Osaka stands on the right and walks on the left, the opposite of Tokyo. Queue for trains in the marked lines on the platform, keep your voice down on public transport and do not talk on the phone. Eating on the move is more accepted here than in Kyoto, but it is polite to eat at or beside the stall, and in Kuromon Market please eat at the shop. In shared kushikatsu sauce, never double-dip. Osaka has banned smoking on its streets, so smokers must use designated smoking areas. Remove your shoes where you see a step up or slippers, and in public baths wash thoroughly before entering the water.
Money and costs. Japan is still largely cash-friendly, although cards and mobile payments are now widely accepted in hotels, department stores, chains and most restaurants. Carry some cash for small restaurants, market stalls, temples and shrines. Convenience-store ATMs accept foreign cards. Tipping is not customary and can cause confusion. Tax-free shopping is available for visitors in many stores with your passport. On costs, Osaka is generally cheaper than Tokyo for food and hotels, and some of its best meals, from takoyaki to kushikatsu, are among the cheapest in Japan.
Taxes and fees to know. Osaka Prefecture raised its accommodation tax on 1 September 2025: it is now charged per person per night at 200 yen for rooms costing 5,000 to under 15,000 yen per person, 400 yen from 15,000 to under 20,000 yen, and 500 yen at 20,000 yen and above, with stays under 5,000 yen exempt. Japan's departure tax, the international tourist tax added to your flight ticket, rose to 3,000 yen in July 2026. Himeji Castle now charges 2,500 yen to adults who are not residents of the city.
Safety. Osaka is a very safe city by international standards, even late at night. Take normal precautions with bags in the crowds of Dotonbori and on packed trains, be aware that a few nightlife streets have touts, and know that some neighborhoods around Shinsekai and Shin-Imamiya are less polished than the rest of the city, though generally safe. Summer typhoons can disrupt transport between August and October, so keep an eye on the forecast.
What not to miss. Dotonbori after dark, with a takoyaki in hand. Osaka Castle and its giant stone walls. A sunset from the open-air rooftop of the Umeda Sky Building, or the 300-meter view from Abeno Harukas. Kushikatsu in Shinsekai under the Tsutenkaku tower. A grazing breakfast in Kuromon Market. The whale sharks of Kaiyukan. A day at Universal Studios Japan, if theme parks are your thing. The ancient calm of Shitennoji and Sumiyoshi Taisha. And at least one day trip, to the deer of Nara, the castle of Himeji or the harbor of Kobe.
What has changed recently. Expo 2025 closed in October 2025, and its island site of Yumeshima is now largely a construction zone for an integrated resort scheduled to open around 2030, so it is not somewhere to visit. Universal Studios Japan is in its 25th-anniversary year, Donkey Kong Country is its newest land, and Super Nintendo World timed-entry tickets are app-only. Osaka Castle opened its Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum in 2025. The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living is closed for renovation until January 2027. And the Four Seasons, which opened in 2024, has added a new top-end hotel to the city.