5 not-to-be missed places in Osaka
Osaka is the 3rd big city of Japan, and the capital of Kansai area. This city is well known by its foods and appreciated by all Japanese especially for the nice character of the people who live there. Please find 5 selected places where you should go when you have a chance to go to Osaka.
1) Dotonbori Street
The street called Dotonbori is derived from the eponym canal along the street. It is the most popular touristic place in Osaka. In the night-time, you can find the signboards twinkling there including the famous Glico Man, a huge pannel of publicity of the sweets of the Glico brand. He is a runner with raised arms which is the sign of victory. It is a meeting spot very crowded and you should take a selfie in front of this pannel!
The street Dotonbori and the neighborhood are the commercial and entertainment district with so many bars and restaurants.
2) Osaka castle, Osaka-Jo
It is one of the most reknowned castles in Japan. It had been constructed for the first time in 1583 and it had been the biggest castle of the country. However, it was destroyed, and since that, it was reconstructed many times.
The castle is surrounded by enormous water moats and has a famous parc Nihonmaru, loved by people especially in springtime for its 600 cherry blossoms.
3) Universal Studio Japan
It is an amusement park of 39 hectares and it is so popular with many attractions and restaurants which are based on the films as Jurassic Parc, Harry Potter and so on. The park has 8 different divisions and you can enjoy a great variety of attractions from the ones for the whole family and even to the roller coaster.
There is a huge shopping centre in the outside of the parc called Universal Citywalk Osaka. There are the restaurants hotels and shops derived from Universal Studio and there is a Takoyaki museum. Takoyaki is a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter with minced or diced octopus (tako) and cooked in a special molded pan, which is one of the specialties of Osaka.
4) Minoo Park
It is a large forest park located in 15km of north of the city. It is visited by every season, but particulary in automne with lovery colorings in the leaves. The big attraction of this park is the cascade of Mino (Mino-taki), which is 33m high and it is also the plaefor meditation since time immemorial.
The local specialty is the fried maple leaf, and it is a snack loved since more than 1300 years ago in this region.
5) Shinsekai district
Literally in Japanese, it is a district of "new world". Before the world war I, it was conceived for the futuristic entertainment. This district has been already famous with Tsutenkaku Tower that we can go to the top of the building and enjoy the panorama of the city.
THere are many restaurants not-too-expensive. The local specialty is kushi-katsu, deep-fried skewered meat or vegetables. We can also find the restaurants of the famous fugu, the dangerous blowfish. In Shinsekai, there are many unique shops, and you will be in a retro atmosphere.
The city of Osaka is often forgot by toursts, but it is filled with many wonders. If you have a chance to go to Osaka, you should go around this fantastic city!
Click here to see our day trip "Discovery of Osaka and experience of making Japanese kitchen knives."
Click here to see our excursions from Kyoto.