The Castle, Oldest Temple, Markets, Old New World
The highlights Osaka tour gives you an overall feel for Osaka, getting you acquainted with the city and what it has to offer you. This tour is perfect for your first day in Osaka, to help you make the most of your stay in this fun and vibrant city.
* No payment required at this time. Osaka Day Tours will soon contact you and confirm tour date availability. If your chosen date is available, you will be able to lock in your tour at that time.
Tour Time: 9:00-17:00 (8-hour tour) or 8:30-18:30 (10-hour option)
Tour Guide: Kevin Riley
Included: All transportation, entry fees, lunch, and pickup & dropoff at your accommodation or cruise ship.
Standard Osaka Highlights Tour
- Visit Osaka Castle and hear the interesting story of the ambitious peasant who became a warlord and built this impressive castle.
- Enter a Meiji-era Shinto shrine that commemorates the builder of the castle and come face-to-face with the fierce warlord.
- Visit Japan’s oldest Buddhist temple, witness a prayer service, peruse the beautiful artwork, and watch a simple ceremony at the turtle well.
- Ride up in Osaka’s tallest building for an overview of this expansive city, giving you a good orientation of Osaka.
- Check out Japanese sweets and watch an interesting demonstration.
- Enjoy a traditional Osaka lunch at my favourite local eatery, served by the friendly Uno family, and wash it all down with a local beer or other beverage of choice.
- Visit “the New World” which was actually new about 120 years ago and will dazzle you with its colourful and retro atmosphere.
- Walk through an alley where you can try your luck at cork guns or retro arcade games.
- Visit the old commercial fish market, which now houses an interesting variety of shops and places where you can grab local snacks.
- Meet the fugu (poison blowfish) and the fishmongers who expertly remove all of the poison (maybe).
- Walk through the kitchen tool street, where you could easily outfit an entire restaurant.
* No payment required at this time. Osaka Day Tours will soon contact you and confirm tour date availability. If your chosen date is available, you will be able to lock in your tour at that time.
Other Options
Since your tour is your own private tour, you can easily substitute/add other interesting visits to your itinerary. These include, but are not limited to:
- The lion’s head stage, where you can stand in front of its mouth and let it suck away any evil spirits around you.
- Sumiyoshi Taisha, which is over 1800 years old and a spiritual power spot.
- A beautiful Japanese garden that winds along both sides of a babbling brook.
- The Umeda Sky Building, which is famous for its circular sky garden, set on two towers.
- The largest imperial burial mound (kofun) in all of Japan and the nearby informative visitor center.
- The Cup Noodle museum, where you can design your own cup, choose the ingredients, and take home your own custom Cup Noodle.
- The open-air museum of old Japanese farmhouses, where you can get a good impression of what it was like to live in Japan in the olden days.
- Hozenji Temple, with its moss-covered statue and interesting history.
- An oft overlooked alley that will transport you back to Osaka in the previous century.
- A sprawling temple in the mountains where there are thousands upon thousands of Daruma figures.
- The Minoh waterfall – a refreshing getaway from the city and crowds.
Please note any desired options in the Special Request section of the tour request form.
* No payment required at this time. Osaka Day Tours will soon contact you and confirm tour date availability. If your chosen date is available, you will be able to lock in your tour at that time.