Osaka Sights

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Umeda Sky Building in Shin-Umeda City, Kita.

• Osaka Castle (大阪城 Osaka-jō) www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/enjoy_osaka/attractions/osakacas/index.html. Osaka's best known sight, although it's a concrete reconstruction that pales in comparison with, say, Himeji. Think of it as a museum built in the shape of a castle, rather than as an actual historical castle. Still, it's pretty enough from the outside, especially in the cherry blossom season when Osakans flock to the castle park to picnic and make merry. 9AM-5PM daily, adult admission ¥600 (Children up to middle school free). Closed at the end and beginning of the year. The park can be accessed on a number of lines, but the castle is closest to Osaka-jō Koen station on the JR Osaka Loop Line. Naniwa Palace Site Park or Naniwanomiya can also be found south to Osaka Castle Park (although it's one of Japan's oldest habitats and palace sites, today it's little more than an empty grass field where the outlines of Naniwa's palace foundations from around 643 AD have been partly recreated in concrete). Admission fee is only required to enter the actual castle, and entry to the castle park and surrounds is free.

• Osaka Museum of History www.mus-his.city.osaka.jp/english_iso-8859-1/index.html 1-32 Otemae 4-Chome Chuo-ku M-Th 9:30AM-5PM (F 9:30AM-8PM) (Closed Tu but on W instead if Tu is a holiday) (5min walk from subway Tanimachi 4-chome Station but also accessible via Osaka Castle or from JR Osaka-jō Station) An ideal place to learn all-abouts of Osaka's history. Enjoyable view over Osaka Castle and the OBP skyscrapers. Admission: ¥600

• Osaka Science Museum (大阪市立科学館) www.sci-museum.kita.osaka.jp/~ishizaka/Guide/e-guide.html. (walk from subway Higobashi Station or Yodoya-bashi Station, 500 m and 900 m to the west respectively) Closed M and days after holidays if not weekend. Big interactive activity center on several floors. Great for kids. Planetarium and cinema (with science films) downstairs. ¥600/300.

• Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル) www.skybldg.co.jp. 1-1-20 Oyodonaka, Kita-ku (10 min on foot from JR Osaka or Hankyu Umeda), Built in an attempt to upgrade Osaka's somewhat downbeat Kita district, the project wasn't quite the hoped-for commercial success but this bizarrely shaped 40-story, 173-meter building is still a city landmark. Take the escalator through midair to the rooftop observatory for an open-air view of Osaka, which is particularly impressive on a clear night. Observatory admission ¥700, 10AM-10:30PM daily (entry until 10PM, varies by season). The basement features a recreation of a Meiji-era street, with a few small restaurants and bars in appropriate style.

• Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉大社) is one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, with a history stretching back 1800 years. Its traditional architecture is unusual amongst Japan's shrines, and its park-like surroundings with the sacred bridge arching over a tranquil pond make it a restful break from the busy environment of Osaka. Free. Access is from the Nankai line station of the same name; local trains run from Namba station in central Osaka.

• Shitennōji Temple (四天王寺), 1-1-18 Shitennōji Tennōji-ku (5 min walk from Shitennōji-mae-Yuhiga-oka Station on subway, or 15 min by walk to north from Tennōji Station), originally built by Emperor Suiko in 593 AD. Although the current buildings are mostly post WWII reconstructions, the temple is a rare sample which conveys the continental style (notably the positioning of the individual buildings inside the complex) of 6th - 7th century to present.

• Japan Mint (造幣局) 1-1-79, Temma Kita-ku (15 min by walk from subway Temmabashi Station), www.mint.go.jp/eng. It's not widely known even by people from elsewhere in the country that Japan Mint is actually headquartered in Osaka. For Osakans, Sakura-no-tōrinuke (桜の通り抜け, cherry blossom tunnel road) is a synonym for this facility, attracting a large number of visitors (close to 1 million in just 7 days) during a limited, planned week of mid-Apr. A must-see if you are fond of nature and happen to drop into Osaka in season. Admission free. Check for official announcement beforehand.

Tsūtenkaku

• Tsūtenkaku (通天閣). While the original tower was built early 20th century, the current "newer" version is designed by the same Prof. Naitō, who also designed Tokyo Tower. This landmark built in the middle of Shinsekai (新世界) area is a symbol of reconstruction of the City of Osaka post WWII.

• Open Air Museum of Old Farmhouses, Ryokuchi-koen, Ryokuchi station on the Midosuji subway line. Ryokuchi park itself is lovely, but one area is a museum of a dozen old Edo period farmhouses, moved across country and lovingly reconstructed. Also on display are tools, furniture, and the like. You can go to Himeji-jo or the old palace in Kyoto and see how the rulers lived; but come down here to see how the people lived. Thanks to the efforts of a volunteer from Australia, they have a great new English-language brochure to guide you. Admission ¥500.

• Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum (インスタントラーメン発明記念館 Instant Ramen Hatsumei Kinenkan), 8-25 Masumi-cho, Ikeda-shi (20 min on Hankyu Takarazuka Line from Umeda to Ikeda Stn, then 5 min on foot), ☎ +81-72-752-3484, www.nissin-noodles.com. Wed-Mon 9:30AM–4 PM. A museum dedicated to the man who invented the daily staple of college students everywhere. The exhibits are of limited interest if you don't read Japanese, but they offer two interesting hands-on experiences. The "Chicken Ramen Workshop" (¥500, 90 min, reservations required) lets you make your own instant noodles from scratch, starting from kneading the dough and finishing by decorating the package. "My Cup Noodle Factory" (¥300, no reservations) lets you select your own Cup Noodle flavor, which is then manufactured for you, complete with your own hand-drawn cup design. Free.
• Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum, ☎ 066-211-0393, www.kamigata.jp/english/index.html. 11AM-6PM. Closed M. A rather small museum in Nanba dedicated to ukiyoe, Japanese woodblock prints. The interior of the museum looks a bit like an adobe house. It may be most interesting to someone already familiar with the art, as the information inside mostly Japanese only. Entrance fee: ¥500.
• Peace Osaka, ☎ 066-947-7208, www.peace-osaka.or.jp. 9:30AM-5PM. Closed M. A museum dedicated to the promotion of peace through displays of war. Because it is an Osaka museum, it features the affects of the bombings on Osaka in WWII. While this is of some interest, the exhibitions depicting the atrocities committed by Japan against China, Korea, and Southeast Asia are what make this museum truly worthwhile. There is also an exhibit with displays relating to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Exhibits have English explanations.

• Osaka castle, 2 km (2 miles)

• Osaka Nohgaku Kaikan, 3 km (2 miles)