One day in Osaka: Itinerary Guide (2025)
Osaka is a city full of authentic local culture, delicious food, and iconic landmarks, making it a perfect destination for travelers seeking to discover a different side of Japan. Having spent over four days exploring the ins and outs of this dynamic city, we’ve had the opportunity to uncover many of its hidden gems, must-see attractions, and culinary delights. However, If you only have one day in Osaka, you’ll need to plan wisely to make the most of your time and experience the best that the city has to offer.
With our expertise in hand, we’ve crafted this ultimate one-day itinerary for Osaka, combining hands-on immersive experiences, culture, food, and more, all within this short visit. Additionally, since we are so excited about all the amazing things to do in Osaka, we have included another section sharing extra recommendations for those with more time to explore or looking for even more local experiences. Let’s dive right in!
Quick summary: 1 Day in Osaka Itinerary
If you are short on time and want some quick suggestions, here are our most recommended activities for your one—or two-day itinerary in Osaka.
✅ Activities in Osaka:
– Renting a Kimono and exploring the Gardens around Osaka Castle
– Rooftop terrace view of Osaka Castle from Blue Birds Rooftop Terrace
– Evening at Dotonbori: 12 sake tasting with DIY Takoyaki making
– Universal Studios Osaka
– 🔪 **Exclusive**: Legendary Knife Crafting Workshop with Personalization
– Osaka 5 Must-see walking tour
– Dotonbori Ramen + Gyoza Cooking class
🎟️ Useful Pass for Osaka: Osaka Is Amazing Pass or Klook Kansai Pass
📲 Recommended E-Sim: Airalo
🚑 Travel insurance we used: Safety Wing
Why visit Osaka?
Osaka may sometimes be overshadowed by the ancient architecture of Kyoto, or the vibrant atmosphere of Tokyo, but it shines in its own right with a unique blend of rich history, incredible street food, and a welcoming, laid-back vibe that sets it apart as one of Japan’s most captivating cities. We started our travel through Japan in Osaka and it turned out to be an ideal base. It is affordable, less-crowded and less overwhelming than Tokyo or Kyoto, and is in the perfect location to do day trips to Nara, Kobe, and more!
However, if you are thinking of visiting Osaka as a day trip, here are some additional reasons why it is worth visiting
Osaka is actually often referred to as the “Kitchen of Japan” because of its world-renowned street food scene and delicious local dishes. You will still find the common specialties like sushi and ramen, but their local highlight foods include takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), and kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers). In Osaka, we recommend focusing on discovering the street food and castles rather than shrines since you will get to see more impressive shrines when visiting Kyoto.
However, the main highlight of visiting Osaka is seeing the famous Osaka Castle. Osaka Castle is one of Japan’s most iconic castles, known for its massive stone walls, large moat, and towering keep. It was originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583 and was a symbol of his power. Other than Himeji castle, located around an hour from Osaka, Osaka Castle is the most impressive castle in Japan and likely the only one you will see as you travel through Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo.
The itinerary we’ve designed below will guide you through all these unique experiences in a single day, at a relaxed and enjoyable pace. If you are early in your Japan planning phase, you can also check out our guide on the 28 unforgettable experiences you can have in Japan!
How much time do you need in Osaka?
Osaka can be done as a day trip, but ideally, we would recommend spending at least 3 days there to experience all Osaka has to offer. Osaka is also an ideal base for doing day trips to visit the nearby Nara, Kobe, Uji, and more! During our trip to Japan, we spent 4 days exploring Osaka and its surroundings and had more than enough activities to keep us fully entertained.
To better help you with your planning, in addition to the one-day itinerary below, we have also listed some additional activities you can try out, or swap in or out, in case you have more time in Osaka.
🗺️ Planning a trip to Japan? Check out our Complete Japan Itinerary Guide where we share our 10 days, 14 days, or longer Japan travel itinerary including what to do each day, where to stay, how to get around the country, and much more!
One day itinerary Osaka
In our ideal 1 day in Osaka itinerary, we have incorporated cultural experiences, exploring Osaka Castle, savouring the best local street foods, and doing some sightseeing in one of Osaka’s most famous quarters. As we believe the best way to experience a country is by participating hands-on rather than just sightseeing, our plan includes interactive activities that allow you to fully immerse yourself in Osaka’s rich traditions.
If ever there are activities you are less interested in, check the following section for alternative activities in Osaka that you can easily swap in.
Morning: Kimono Rental
One of the most memorable experiences in Japan is renting a kimono and stepping into the past. To make it even more special, you can wear this elegant traditional garment while exploring Osaka Castle, enhancing the cultural immersion and adding a unique touch to your visit. We rented kimonos at two different locations in Japan, and each experience felt just as magical as the first!
We rented these kimonos in Kurashiki, but you can do the same in Osaka!
Head over to Ouka Kimono at around 10 am to Rent your Kimono. We recommend this place due to its high reviews, elegant style of kimonos, and the convenience of being able to return it easily when you head back to Dotonbori in the late afternoon.
It is advisable to book in advance and try to pick the earliest time, which is 10 am. Rentals are per day and you will need to return it before 5 pm, so might as well maximize the duration of your experience!
It is also important to account for around 45-80 minutes for the dressing process and picking your kimono. It took us around 20 minutes to pick our combination of garments, then waited around 15 minutes before the staff was ready to help us put it on, then around another 15 minutes to put it on. Then for the ladies, it took another 20 minutes or so for putting on accessories and choosing purses etc… In total the rental process took around 70 minutes.
Once ready, make sure to snap some photos of yourselves as you’ll undoubtedly look spectacular! Alternatively, the Kimono Rental place also offers photoshoot packages!
Noon: Ramen lunch and then Osaka Castle
You will likely be pretty hungry after the whole process of putting on your kimonos, so we recommend going to grab a quick bite of Ramen. We went to Mankai Temmabashi located right near Osaka Castle and their ramen was delicious! We also loved the wooden decor that we felt was quite unique for a ramen restaurant! Make sure to bring cash as you need to order your ramen from the machine.
Osaka Castle is one of Japan’s most iconic castles, and was a one of Japan’s largest and most formidable fortresses. The moment you take a step into the Castle complex, you’ll immediately understand why. The castle is surrounded by a moat to keep the enemies away, then layered with multiple fortress walls and towers made with massive stone. Osaka Castle is also one of Japan’s largest castles, and its striking combination of white walls, gold accents, and green tile roofs creates a stunning visual contrast against the surrounding cherry blossoms gardens in spring.
With your kimonos on, you can easily spend 1-2 hours walking around the beautiful Nishinomaru Gardens surrounding Osaka Castle. The great thing is, access to the outdoor castle complex is completely free—only the museum inside the castle requires an entry fee.
In our experience, the museum wasn’t a must-see, so we spent most of our time exploring the gardens. Every angle offers a fresh view of the castle, and we discovered a beautiful spot where the garden’s lake, layered trees, and the full castle backdrop came together for a perfect scene. In our opinion, these gardens are probably the best spot in all of Osaka to do a photoshoot with your kimonos/yukatas. We recommend accounting around 2 hours experience it at a comfortable pace.
If you are interested in seeing the Museum inside Osaka Castle, make sure to get your ticket online to avoid the lineup
Mid-afternoon: Rooftop terrace view of Osaka Castle
Before leaving, make sure to stop by Blue Birds Rooftop Terrace for a stunning rooftop panoramic view of Osaka Castle and its entire complex. You can grab a drink there, or a quick bite, and rest your feet while enjoying the amazing view.
They have traditional sake drinks, premium Japanese whiskeys, as well as innovative cocktails. We grabbed a Cassis tonic and a plum liqueur and felt the pricing was quite reasonable, at around 700-800 yen per drink. This is also the ideal spot to snap a few more photos!
Late-Afternoon: Visiting Dotonbori and shopping at Shinsaibashi
Dotonbori is like the “Times Square” of Osaka. Filled with vibrant lights, lively bars, and restaurants, it pulses with energy, offering endless entertainment, delicious street food, and a colorful atmosphere that comes alive especially at night.
You can easily spend 1-2 hours walking around the area and just browsing at all the delicious-looking street food. If you’re interested in shopping, then head over to the nearby Shinsaibashi shopping mall filled with cute stores!
We also saw that they have a “Make Your Own Ring” workshop at RingRam that looked really fun but we didn’t have enough time to do it. If you’re interested and have sufficient time, the experience takes around 2 hours and is perfect for couples!
Evening: Food tour at Shinsekai, 12 sake tasting with DIY Takoyaki making, or self-explore the street food scene
For the food highlight part of the trip, you will have the choice of spending your evening doing a food tour of Shinsekai, do a sake tasting while making your own Takoyaki octopus balls, or you can just self-explore the area in Dotonbori and try out all the delicious street foods!
To give you a better idea of what to look for, here are some of the local specialties:
- Taiyaki = fish-shaped cake filled with sweets
- Takoyaki = Octopus balls
- Okonomiyaki = Savoury Pancake
- Kushikatsu = Fried skewers
- Kitsune Udon = bowl of soup noodles
- Horumon = Grilled offal (not for everyone)
- Ikayaki = grilled squid
- Dorayaki = sweet pancake filled with red bean paste or custard
If you prefer a more guided experience, where you also get to learn more about the culture and history of the food and country, we would highly recommend these two tours:
Shinsekai Food Tour
(Starts at 5:30pm) You will get to enjoy some of Osaka’s most famous foods including Karaage, Yakitori, Takoyaki, Udon, Oden, Kushikatsu, Tebaski, Dessert plus drinks. This tour brings you through Shinsekai to discover this vibrant and nostalgic retro district in Osaka, also famous for its culinary scene.
Sake Tasting + DIY Takoyaki
(Starts at 6:30pm) You will be led by an English-speaking sommelier to introduce you to Japan’s national drink: Sake. During this tour, you will get to sample 12 different sakes and also get to try your hand at making your own Takoyaki octopus balls!
Late Night: If you still have an appetite
As a bonus suggestion in your itinerary, we have saved for last our favourite dessert place in all of Osaka and Kyoto. It is called Nana’s green tea! They have a location in Namba closeby Dotonbori, and another location just beside Shinsekai.
What we loved about Nana’s green tea is their delicious matcha parfait desserts as well as Match coffees. We loved it so much that we went back 3-4 times during our trip to Japan! It was not only delicious, but also affordable. We tried out many many matcha dessert places during our trip in Japan and this was our favourite!
This post is part of our series about Japan. If you want to learn more about Japan, planning your trip, and some of the best experiences there, check out the guides below:
Additional Things to do in Osaka
Osaka is filled with countless fun activities that you can easily fill 3-4 days effortlessly! For this reason, we have provided some additional experiences that you can include in your itinerary in case your interests are different. This list will also be helpful if you have more time available and need to fill 2 days in Osaka.
**Exclusive**: Legendary Knife Crafting Workshop
Japanese knives are renowned as some of the finest in the world, and this exclusive private experience at Wada Shouten offers you the chance to craft your very own authentic Japanese knife. You’ll not only learn the art of knife-making but also create a personalized masterpiece, complete with your name engraved on it. Choose from three iconic knife styles: Deba, Sashimi, or Santoku, and take home a true work of craftsmanship.
Universal Studios Osaka
If you love theme parks, Universal Studios Osaka is a must-visit! Here you will get to explore the Super Mario World, Harry Potter World, Jurassic World, and more! USJ is also filled with both thematic and thrilling rides to satisfy everyone in the family.
Teamlab Botanical Gardens
If you love theme parks, Universal Studios Osaka is a must-visit! Here you will get to explore the Super Mario World, Harry Potter World, Jurassic World, and more! USJ is also filled with both thematic and thrilling rides to satisfy everyone in the family.
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
The Osaka Aquarium is one of the largest and most impressive aquariums in the world. They house over 15,000 marine animals spanning 8 floors, and even have some of the most unique animals like the whale shark and manta rays!
Osaka Guided Tour
For those of us who prefer a guided experience, without needing to worry about where to go and how to get there, these two tours are highly recommended! They each focus on different aspects of Osaka so make sure to click on their details to see which one is better for you.
Sushi Making Class in Dotonbori
We didn’t include this in our main itinerary since there are sushi classes also available in Kyoto and Tokyo. However, if you really want to learn to make sushi while in Osaka, this class is conveniently located in Dotonbori.
Solaniwa Onsen
If you want to make a day trip to Osaka focused on relaxing, then head over to the Solaniwa Onsen. Onsens are natural geothermal mineral baths where people can soak in the waters. It is like a spa. If you will be visiting Solaniwa onsen, you can also go to the aquarium as they are close-by to each other.
Ramen + Gyoza Cooking Class
If you want to make a day trip to Osaka focused on relaxing, then head over to the Solaniwa Onsen. Onsens are natural geothermal mineral baths where people can soak in the waters. It is like a spa. If you will be visiting Solaniwa onsen, you can also go to the aquarium as they are close-by to each other.
Essential Passes for Visiting Osaka
If you don’t want to worry about getting the transportation passes, buying tickets for the sites you want to visit, then you can buy the all-inclusive Osaka is Amazing Pass. It gives you unlimited free rides on the Osaka metro and bus lines, free entrance into up to 40 of Osaka’s top attractions including Umeda Sky and Osaka Castle, and additional discounts and benefits. It is possible to purchase it for one day or two days.
If you will be fully following our one-day itinerary, it may not be worth getting the Osaka Is Amazing Pass. However, if you will do the itinerary but also add on the Osaka-Jo Gozabune boat ride at the Osaka Castle, and/or the Tombori River cruise in Dotonbori, then it is definitely worth it! Depends how many activities you want to include in your itinerary! Check out here for a full list of all the included activities in the Osaka Pass.
If you will be spending several days in Osaka and will also be visiting Kyoto, then we would recommend getting the Klook Kansai Pass. You can purchase from 3-8 attraction passes including visiting TeamLab Botanical Gardens, taking the JR Haruka train to bring your from Osaka Airport to Osaka, Osaka Castle, Solinawa onsen, as well as multiple attractions in Kyoto. This is the pass that we bought when visiting Osaka and Kyoto and it was really worth it!
If you have 2 days in Osaka
With two days in Osaka, you will be able to see a lot more of what Osaka has to offer.
The first day, as per our itinerary, will allow you to experience walking around Osaka Castle dressed in the traditional Kimono, see the bustling district of Dotonbori, and sample some of Osaka’s best street foods or Sakes.
For the second day, here are a couple of suggestions based on your interests:
- If you are a family or gamer: Go to Universal studios and spend the whole day there or go to the Osaka Aquarium
- If you love art: Go to Umeda Sky during the day and then TeamLab Botanical Gardens at night
- If you love nature: Do a day trip to Nara, see the bowing deers, and have one of the best uni tuna toro bowls of all of Japan.
How to get around Osaka
The public transportation in Osaka is a lot simpler and less overwhelming than in Tokyo. With a combination of a few metro lines and bus lines, you will be able to reach everywhere on this itinerary. We highly recommend getting the rechargeable ICOCA card the moment you arrive in Japan which will allow you very easily pay for all the transportations without needing to fish for loose change.
If you bought the Osaka is Amazing pass, then you will already have access to all the means of transportation, in addition to the entrance tickets for over 40 different attractions.
If you are not interested in activity passes, then you can also get a 1-2 days pass to access the Osaka public transportation.
Finally, to get around Osaka, we highly recommend downloading the app NaviTime, which is like GoogleMaps but provides even more details. We found it very helpful since it will tell you even which platform to stand on to wait for the train, which is very handy!
Where else to explore in Japan?
Japan is filled with so many amazing experiences! If you need help getting an overall idea of how to travel through the country, check out our 10 days Japan travel Itinerary Guide! There we delve into some of the highlight spots of Japan including the hidden gems of Tokyo, best experiences in Kyoto, day trip to Nara, going off-the-beaten path road tripping through the Izu Peninsula and seeing some of the most amazing coastal views and having Ryokan experiences, and much more in-between!
Also, don’t forget to check out our essential travel tips in Japan so you can make sure your trip goes as smoothly as possible!
Using WISE card in Japan
When taking cash out of an ATM while abroad, you will most likely be charged both a foreign exchange fee and a foreign transaction fee by that country’s ATM. With my Canadian card, this can easily be 3-4$ + 2.75% + a markup on the exchange rate charged by my bank, and then another 3-5$ charged by the foreign ATM.
This can be really costly. For this reason, we recommend using WISE card which has only minimal fees and just about no foreign currency exchange markup. This helps me save at least 5-7$ every time I take out money from an ATM. If you want to see our full review of the card showing exactly how WISE can help you save, check out our WISE Travel card Review post.
Recap: One day in Osaka
Osaka is a perfect spot for a day trip or can also serve as an ideal base to spend a couple of days in. From its vibrant culinary scene to its relaxed local ambiance, we are certain that you will love your stay there!
Click ⬇️ to Pin this post on your Pinterest – so you always have it handy!
Looking for more travel inspiration?
Incredible volcanoes and ancient Mayan civilizations: Tikal and Antigua in Guatemala.
Hiking in the Andes and discovering Machu Picchu: Travel itinerary in Peru, hiking to Machu Picchu
Exploring ancient cave dwellings and riding hot air balloons in Cappadocia
Exploring and sailing on the Turkish Coast
Hiking in one of the US’s best national parks and road tripping through Utah
Discover Vietnam and the exciting northern Ha Giang Loop, as well as the Unesco city of Hoi An.
