Maybe China has suddenly appeared on the tourist routes and everyone is marveling at the metropolises of Hong Kong or Shanghai, myself included, but I think Japan remains a classic in the region. In addition, it has something that no other country has: security.
As tourists we feel safe and one quickly gets used to not being cheated by anyone, being given the right change, being listened to, being helped and always having a smile. This is Japan and today it is the turn of Osaka, the third most populous city in the country.
Osaka
Here experi 2.5 million people And if it seems to you that in Tokyo everyone is in a hurry, it seems that in Osaka people fly. Said by the Japanese themselves. Huge, modern, colorful and very attractive, that's how Osaka is, but at the same time I think not enough to stay more than three days.
The shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose the city to build his castle, whose reproduction we can visit today, so it had everything to be the capital of Japan. But as the important military lord had no descendants, the center of power moved to Edo, present-day Tokyo, at the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
It is the heart of the Kansai region and although it is not Tokyo nor does it have the centenary or religious charm of Kyoto you have to visit it. Like I said, three days is enough although you can stay four if you like to go out to bars. Osaka is very popular for its nightlife!
How to get to Osaka
The shinkansen is the usual way that tourists use. If you come with the idea of touring the country, you already have in your hands the famous Japan Rail Pass (seven, fourteen or twenty-one days), but there are other regional passes that enable you.
The shinkansen links Tokyo and Shinagawa stations with Shin-Osaka. The trip is three hours on board the Hikari shinkansen and one more hour on the Kodama. From Shin-Osaka, you must take another train to Osaka Station, but it is a few-minute, connecting trip.
Without the JRP, it estimates the one-way price to be $ 142 for the reserved-seat Hikari and only slightly cheaper if you don't book. If you buy the seven-day JRP you spend the same as a round trip and you can move a lot more, that's why… buy the pass.
Another option, if you are not going to visit Japan is to buy the E-Voucher (only for tourists). For $ 220 you travel back and forth between Tokyo and Osaka and you can also use the subways and buses in that city for a whole day. You must return within seven days.
There are more options: if you are not in a hurry you can take the Kodama shikansen, it stops at many stations, thanks to the Puratto Kodama Economy Plan. They are reserved seats and can be purchased at JR agencies for $ 103. And finally there is the Tokyo-Osaka Hokuriku Arch Pass, a Tokyo - Osaka rail pass via Kanazawa.
You use the Hokuriku shinkansen, it is not fast at all but you can visit infrequent places. It costs $ 240 and is seven days. It costs cheaper than the JRP of the same time period. Finally, I forgot, there are buses but the trip takes eight hours. By car it's six hours by highway.
These are the best options for the tourist so you have plenty to choose from.
Where to stay in Osaka
I've always stayed in Umeda, around Osaka Station. With backpack or suitcases I hate to move around a lot, but next time I will definitely move to Namba. There is the party.
The surroundings of Osaka Station are very pleasant, with shopping malls, tree-lined avenues on one side, narrow streets and shopping passages on the other. At night it has its own night life but it seems to me that if your thing is to go out a lot of bars you have to go to Namba.
You go by subway to Namba, from Osaka Station. Or walking, although it is an hour or a little less. During the day the walk is pleasant because you cross bridges and you get to know the most financial center of the city, but it is a bit long. You can walk and return on the subway.
In Namba is the famous Glico man sign, countless shops, countless restaurants that sell seafood and food of all kinds and there is a beautiful canal to walk across many bridges. At night it is great. Hotels, hostels and apartments for tourist rental are all over the city so accommodation will not be a problem.
What to visit in Osaka
namba, obvious. It is also known as Minami, since it is the south of the city. The Dotondori street It is one of the busiest and is the center of entertainment par excellence. The photo with Glico Running Man and Kani doraku, the crab that moves, are two classics.
The pedestrian and roofed street, shinsaibashi, 600 meters long is the place to go shopping. For the electronic the local Akiharabara is Den Den Town, and for the bizarre the local version of Harajuku is amerikamura or Amemura.
On the north side, Umeda, there are more shopping malls to visit in addition to the growing station itself. The Ferris wheel at HEP, Hankyu Amusement Park, worth it. It is on the top floor of two buildings and is well visible because it is red. It runs from 11 am to 9 pm and provides great views. I recommend it. You have breakfast on the same floor, or snacks, and then to contemplate the city from above everything.
Over here is also the Umeda Sky Building, two towers joined with an observation deck, in case you want more views. In terms of museums, temples and sanctuaries you can visit the Sumiyoshi taisha, Museum of History, Science and Art and Shitennoji Temple, one of the oldest in the country.
And finally, there is the osaka castle. Take a train and travel from Osaka Station to Osakajokoen on the JR Loop Line. It's just 10 minutes (the JRP covers it). The path takes you alone and everyone walks to the same place.
Osaka Castle open from 9 am to 7 pm and costs 600 yen, about six dollars. The views from the top of everything are very good although as it is a reconstruction it does not offer an old structure to see. Of course, the museum recounts the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi through holes in the walls that have assembled models inside that serve as the stage for different projections of actors recreating ancient and famous scenes. Fun.
Around it there is a park, a moat where you can take a boat ride and food stalls, at least from spring. This castle is not a big deal but you can't miss it. The Osaka Aquarium and Universal Studios They are other options, but not mine. Finally, on the last day of your stay in Osaka, or one that has good weather, my advice is to visit Nara.
Excursions from Osaka
Nara is close to both Osaka and Kyoto, but since Kyoto is so beautiful and there is so much to see and do it is almost a sin to leave it to go to Nara. So, I always leave Nara to visit her from Osaka. It's less than an hour and it was the first capital of the country. You have many temples and shrines beautiful and I think it is ideal to spend a sunny day.
With more days available, that is, outside the three or four-day scheme, you can approach Himejic, Mount Koya or to the city of Kobe. If you are a Buddhist Mount Koya is the center of the Shingon sect and you can live a Buddhist experience sleeping in a temple, pray and eat with the monks.
If this interests you, you can contact the tourism association and the price is between 9 and 15 thousand yen (90 and 150 dollars per person per night, with dinner and breakfast). On the other hand, in Himeji is the Himeji Castle, World Heritage. On the bullet train you arrive in less than an hour from Osaka.
These are my tips for visiting Osaka. I hope they serve you!