Osaka, Japan
Japan's kitchen, and its loudest, funniest, least pretentious city
Osaka is the second city of Japan in everything but population, where it has slipped to third behind Yokohama, and the capital of the Kansai region that also holds Kyoto and Kobe. It is the country's merchant city, and it eats, drinks and talks like one.
Naniwa, on the delta of the Yodo river, was briefly Japan's capital in the 7th century and remained its port for a thousand years; the city as it stands descends from 1583, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi began building Osaka Castle as the seat of his newly unified Japan. The Tokugawa took it after the siege of 1615 and ran it as the 'nation's kitchen': the rice and goods of the domains passed through its merchants, who grew rich, invented futures trading at the Dojima rice exchange, and developed a commercial culture that Edo's samurai affected to despise. Osaka became a modern city in 1889, was Japan's largest in the 1920s as a textile and industrial centre, and was largely burned in 1945. Expo '70 marked the postwar rebuild; the long stagnation after 1990 hit it harder than Tokyo, and the 2025 Expo on Yumeshima was the city's bid to show it had recovered.
Osaka is organised north to south along the Midosuji, the boulevard that connects its two centres. Kita, the north, is Umeda around Osaka and Umeda stations — the department stores, the corporate towers, the underground malls and the Grand Front development. Minami, the south, is Namba and Shinsaibashi: Dotonbori's canal and its Glico sign, the covered shopping arcades, Amerikamura's street fashion, and Nipponbashi, which is the electronics and anime district. Between them are Honmachi's offices and Nakanoshima, the river island of museums and the city hall. The castle sits to the east; Tennoji and Shinsekai, under the Tsutenkaku tower, are the older, rougher south, next to Nishinari, the day-labourer quarter. Osaka Bay to the west holds the port, Universal Studios and the aquarium. The city's 24 wards make up a municipality of around 2.7 million, and the Keihanshin region, with Kyoto and Kobe, holds roughly 19 million.
The city's motto is kuidaore — eat until you drop — and it means it: takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu in Shinsekai, kitsune udon, and a fierce loyalty to cheap and good over refined. Osaka is also the home of Japanese comedy, of manzai double acts and the Yoshimoto agency, and its population regards itself as funnier and more direct than Tokyo's, and is. Bunraku puppet theatre was born here and still plays at the National Bunraku Theatre. Sport is the Hanshin Tigers, whose fans jump into the Dotonbori canal when the team wins anything, which is rare; their ground, Koshien, is actually in Nishinomiya and hosts the national high-school baseball tournament every August. Cerezo and Gamba split the football. People talk to strangers, haggle in shops and cross on red, none of which happens in Tokyo.
The hard parts: summer is as hot and humid as anywhere in Japan, and the city is dense, concrete and short of green space, with the castle park and Nakanoshima the exceptions. The economy has been losing head offices to Tokyo for decades, wages are lower, and parts of the south around Nishinari are among the poorest urban districts in the country. The tourist surge of the past decade has overwhelmed Dotonbori, and a casino resort is being built on Yumeshima that many residents never wanted. Typhoons and the prospect of a Nankai Trough earthquake are the background hazards. What it offers is a cheaper, warmer, more human-scale alternative to Tokyo, with Kyoto and Nara half an hour away and Kobe twenty minutes, the best street food in Japan, and a population that will actually talk to you.
Where People Live
Umeda & Kita
The northern centre around Osaka and Umeda stations: the Hankyu and Daimaru department stores, the Umeda Sky Building, the Grand Front towers and a labyrinth of underground shopping. Where the office workers are.
Namba & Dotonbori
The southern centre and the tourist heart — the canal, the Glico runner, the crab and the giant fugu signs, Hozenji's moss-covered statue in a lane behind, and the Namba Grand Kagetsu comedy theatre.
Shinsaibashi & Amerikamura
The long covered arcade of shops north of Dotonbori, with Amerikamura's vintage and street-fashion stores and the Orange Street boutiques of Horie to the west. Where young Osaka shops.
Nakanoshima & Honmachi
The island in the Yodo with the city hall, the central library, the Nakanoshima Museum of Art and the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, beside the business district of Honmachi and Doshomachi's pharmaceutical firms.
Osaka Castle & Tenma
The reconstructed keep in its park, cherry blossom along the Okawa at Kema Sakuranomiya, and Tenjinbashisuji, which claims to be the longest shopping street in Japan, with the Tenma bars beneath it.
Shinsekai & Tennoji
The Tsutenkaku tower and kushikatsu restaurants of Shinsekai's faded 1912 pleasure district, the Abeno Harukas tower, Tennoji park and zoo, and Shitennoji, one of the oldest temples in Japan.
Nipponbashi
Den Den Town, the electronics and otaku district south of Namba: anime and figure shops, retro games, maid cafés, and the National Bunraku Theatre beside it.
Osaka Bay
Universal Studios Japan on the north shore, the Kaiyukan aquarium and the Tempozan ferris wheel opposite, and the reclaimed islands where the 2025 Expo was held.
Restaurants & places to go
Airports
Kansai International Airport (KIX) 39 km to the centre
Osaka, 27, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 51 airlines (All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Domestic, Peach Aviation, Air China…) · direct flights to 57 destinations incl. Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Busan… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 51 airlines, 57 direct destinations
- All Nippon Airways NH (737, 767-300, A321, A330-200, 737-800, 777-200…) · 29 routes: Agana*, Bangkok*, Beijing, Dalian, Denpasar, Doha*, Frankfurt*, Fukuoka, Fuzhou*, Hakodate, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Ishigaki, Istanbul*, Jakarta, Jinan*, Macau*, Okinawa, Qingdao, San Francisco*, Sapporo, Seoul*, Seoul*, Shanghai, Singapore*, Taipei, Tokyo, Tokyo*, Wuxi*
- Japan Airlines Domestic JL (737-800, A330-200, A320, A330-300, 767, 777-300…) · 24 routes: Bangkok, Busan*, Cairns*, Cheju*, Coolangatta*, Doha, Dubai*, Guangzhou*, Hanoi*, Helsinki*, Ho Chi Minh City*, Hong Kong*, Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur*, Nanjing*, Qingdao*, Sapporo, Seoul, Seoul*, Shanghai, Shenyang*, Taipei, Tokyo, Yantai*
- Peach Aviation MM (A320) · 14 routes: Busan, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Kaohsiung, Matsuyama, Nagasaki, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo
- Air China CA (737-800, A320, A321, 330, 737, 767-300) · 6 routes: Beijing, Dalian, Hangzhou*, Jinan*, Qingdao*, Shanghai
- Korean Air KE (737-900, 777-200, 737-800, A330-200, A330-300, 777-300ER) · 5 routes: Agana, Busan, Cheju, Seoul, Seoul
- Asiana Airlines OZ (A321, 767-300, 777-200, 777-200LR, 74E) · 4 routes: Busan*, Saipan, Seoul, Seoul
- China Airlines CI (737-800, 747-400, A330-300, A340-300) · 4 routes: Kaohsiung, New York, Taichung, Taipei
- China Eastern Airlines MU (A320, A321, 737-800) · 4 routes: Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Yantai
- China Southern Airlines CZ (A319, A320, A321) · 4 routes: Dalian, Guangzhou, Harbin, Shenyang
- Genesis GK (A320) · 4 routes: Fukuoka, Okinawa, Sapporo, Tokyo
- Cathay Pacific CX (A330-300, 777-300, 777-300ER, A340-300, 747-400, 777-200) · 2 routes: Hong Kong, Taipei
- Delta Air Lines DL (A330-300, 757-200) · 2 routes: Agana, Honolulu
- Garuda Indonesia GA (A330-200, A330-300) · 2 routes: Denpasar, Jakarta
- Japan Transocean Air NU (734) · 2 routes: Ishigaki, Okinawa
- Jeju Air 7C (737) · 2 routes: Seoul, Seoul
- Jetstar Airways JQ (A330-200) · 2 routes: Cairns, Coolangatta
- Jetstar Asia Airways 3K (A320) · 2 routes: Manila, Taipei
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (747-400) · 2 routes: Frankfurt, Tokyo
- Qantas QF (A330-200) · 2 routes: Cairns*, Coolangatta*
- Shandong Airlines SC (737-800, 767-300) · 2 routes: Jinan, Qingdao*
- Shenzhen Airlines ZH (A320, 737-800) · 2 routes: Fuzhou, Wuxi
- United Airlines UA (737-800, 777, 787-8, 737-700) · 2 routes: Agana, San Francisco
- Vietnam Airlines VN (A321, A330-200) · 2 routes: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
- Air Busan BX (A321) · 1 route: Busan
- Air Caledonie International SB (A330-200) · 1 route: Noumea
- Air France AF (777-200, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Paris
- Air India Limited AI (787-8) · 1 route: Hong Kong
- Air Macau NX (A319) · 1 route: Macau
- AirAsia X D7 (330) · 1 route: Kuala Lumpur
- Alitalia AZ (330) · 1 route: Rome
- American Airlines AA (777) · 1 route: Honolulu
- Bangkok Airways PG (767) · 1 route: Bangkok
- Cebu Pacific 5J (A320) · 1 route: Manila
- China SSS 9C (A320) · 1 route: Shanghai
- Eastar Jet ZE (737-800) · 1 route: Seoul
- Emirates EK (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- EVA Air BR (A321, A330-200) · 1 route: Taipei
- Finnair AY (A330-300) · 1 route: Helsinki
- Hawaiian Airlines HA (A330-200) · 1 route: Honolulu
- Hong Kong Express Airways UO (A320) · 1 route: Hong Kong
- Juneyao Airlines HO (A320) · 1 route: Shanghai
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (777) · 1 route: Amsterdam
- Malaysia Airlines MH (A330-300) · 1 route: Kuala Lumpur
- Philippine Airlines PR (330, A340-300) · 1 route: Manila
- Qatar Airways QR (A330-200) · 1 route: Doha
- Shanghai Airlines FM (A321, 737-800) · 1 route: Shanghai
- Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (A330-300) · 1 route: Singapore
- Star Flyer 7G (A320) · 1 route: Tokyo
- Thai Airways International TG (380, 777-300) · 1 route: Bangkok
- TransAsia Airways GE (A321, 330) · 1 route: Taipei
- Turkish Airlines TK (330) · 1 route: Istanbul
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM) 9.6 km to the centre
Osaka, 27, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 4 airlines (Japan Airlines Domestic, All Nippon Airways, Ibex Airlines, American Airlines) · direct flights to 22 destinations incl. Fukuoka, Oita, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 4 airlines, 22 direct destinations
- Japan Airlines Domestic JL (Embraer 170, CRJ, 737-800, 777-300, 767, 777) · 20 routes: Akita*, Amami*, Aomori*, Fukuoka, Hakodate*, Hanamaki*, Kagoshima*, Kumamoto*, Matsuyama*, Misawa*, Miyazaki*, Nagasaki*, Niigata*, Oita*, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai*, Tokyo, Tokyo, Yamagata*
- All Nippon Airways NH (A320, 735, 767, DH8, 737, 737-800…) · 16 routes: Akita*, Fukuoka, Fukushima*, Kagoshima, Kochi*, Kumamoto, Matsuyama*, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata, Oita*, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Tokyo
- Ibex Airlines FW (CRJ) · 5 routes: Fukuoka, Fukushima, Oita, Sapporo, Sendai
- American Airlines AA (737, 777-300) · 1 route: Tokyo
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Kobe Airport (UKB) 27 km to the centre
Kobe, 28, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 3 airlines (Skymark Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Hokkaido International Airlines) · direct flights to 8 destinations incl. Sapporo, Okinawa, Tokyo, Ibaraki, Kagoshima… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 3 airlines, 8 direct destinations
- Skymark Airlines BC (737) · 8 routes: Ibaraki, Kagoshima, Miho, Nagasaki, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo
- All Nippon Airways NH (737, 767) · 3 routes: Okinawa*, Sapporo, Tokyo
- Hokkaido International Airlines HD (735) · 1 route: Sapporo
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Regional airports
Further out, but often the cheapest way in — the airports the low-cost carriers use. Each links to its own town's guide for getting from there into the city.
Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO) 120 km to the centre
Tokoname, 23, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 27 airlines (All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Domestic, Delta Air Lines, China Eastern Airlines…) · direct flights to 42 destinations incl. Seoul, Shanghai, Sapporo, Agana, Bangkok… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Feeder airport · 120 km from Osaka · All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Domestic, Delta Air Lines · Getting around Nagoya →
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 27 airlines, 42 direct destinations
- All Nippon Airways NH (737, A320, 735, 737-800, DH8, 767…) · 25 routes: Agana*, Akita*, Asahikawa, Bangkok*, Beijing*, Frankfurt*, Fukuoka, Hakodate, Hong Kong, Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Matsuyama*, Memanbetsu, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata*, Oita*, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Seoul*, Shanghai, Singapore*, Tokyo
- Japan Airlines Domestic JL (737-800, A330-300, A321, 777-300, A330-200, A340-300…) · 14 routes: Bangkok*, Busan*, Hanoi*, Helsinki*, Hong Kong*, Honolulu, Qingdao*, Sapporo*, Seoul*, Shanghai, Taipei, Tianjin, Tokyo, Tokyo
- Delta Air Lines DL (747-400, 757-200, 76W) · 4 routes: Agana, Detroit, Honolulu, Manila
- China Eastern Airlines MU (A320, A321, 737-800) · 3 routes: Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin*
- China Southern Airlines CZ (A319, A320) · 3 routes: Dalian, Shanghai, Shenyang
- Genesis GK (A320) · 3 routes: Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Sapporo
- Ibex Airlines FW (CRJ) · 3 routes: Fukuoka, Oita, Sendai
- Korean Air KE (737-800, A330-200, A330-300, 737-900, 777-200) · 3 routes: Busan, Cheju, Seoul
- Skymark Airlines BC (737) · 3 routes: Ibaraki, Okinawa, Sapporo
- Air China CA (A319, 737-800) · 2 routes: Beijing, Shanghai
- American Airlines AA (777, 787) · 2 routes: Honolulu, Tokyo
- Cathay Pacific CX (A330-300, A340-300) · 2 routes: Hong Kong, Taipei
- Jeju Air 7C (737) · 2 routes: Seoul, Seoul
- Vietnam Airlines VN (A321) · 2 routes: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
- AirAsia X D7 (330) · 1 route: Kuala Lumpur
- Asiana Airlines OZ (A321, 767-300) · 1 route: Seoul
- Cebu Pacific 5J (A320) · 1 route: Manila
- China Airlines CI (A330-300, 737-800, 747-400) · 1 route: Taipei
- Etihad Airways EY (A330-200) · 1 route: Beijing
- Finnair AY (A330-300) · 1 route: Helsinki
- Japan Transocean Air NU (734) · 1 route: Okinawa
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A340-300) · 1 route: Frankfurt
- Philippine Airlines PR (A340-300) · 1 route: Manila
- Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (A330-300) · 1 route: Singapore
- Thai Airways International TG (777-300, 777) · 1 route: Bangkok
- Turkish Airlines TK (A321) · 1 route: Seoul*
- United Airlines UA (737-800, 737-700) · 1 route: Agana
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
十三船着場
Ferry terminal · 1.5 km from the centre · 近畿地方整備局淀川河川事務所
堂島浜船着場
Ferry terminal · 1.8 km from the centre
淀屋橋港
Ferry terminal · 2.1 km from the centre · 大阪水上バス株式会社
OAP Pier
Ferry terminal · 2.1 km from the centre
中之島ローズポート
Ferry terminal · 2.2 km from the centre
Fukushima Wharf (Hotarumachi Wharf)
Ferry terminal · 2.3 km from the centre
甚兵衛渡船場
Ferry route
落合上渡船場
Ferry route
Ochiaisimo Tosen
Ferry route
千歳渡船場
Ferry route · 大阪市
千本松渡船場
Ferry route
Tenpozan Ferry
Ferry route
Captain Line
Ferry route · 株式会社キャプテンライン
Funamachi Tosen
Ferry route · 大阪市
Local transit
Osaka Metro
Metro, bus · Osaka's subway lines and city buses. · Fares: ICOCA IC card · Airport: Nankai Rapi:t or JR Haruka from Kansai airport
Trains & rail
Hankyu Corporation
Rail operator
Hanshin Electric Railway
Rail operator
Haruka
Rail operator
Keihan Electric Railway
Rail operator
Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd.
Rail operator
Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway
Rail operator
Nose Electric Railway
Rail operator
Osaka Monorail
Rail operator
Coaches & shuttles
Willer Express
Intercity coach
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Phenix Jet
Charter, management · Gulfstream, Global · Tokyo and Hong Kong business-jet operator.
Air Charter Service
Broker · Any aircraft via operators worldwide · Global charter broker with 30+ offices; private jets, group charters and cargo.
ExecuJet
FBO, charter, management · Managed fleet · FBO network and management across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Flexjet
Fractional, jet card · Embraer Praetor, Bombardier Challenger & Global, Gulfstream · Fractional ownership and jet cards in North America and Europe.
Global Jet
Charter, management · Large-cabin & VIP airliners · Geneva-based operator known for large-cabin and VIP airliner charters.
Tours & experiences
Japan Tour Adventure
Adventure
Living Here
Getting about
- Osaka Metro's nine lines, with the Midosuji the spine, and the JR Osaka Loop line cover the city; the private railways — Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Kintetsu and Nankai — fan out to Kyoto, Kobe, Nara and the airport. An ICOCA card, or a Suica or Pasmo from Tokyo, works on all of them and in convenience stores.
- Kansai International airport is about 40 minutes to Namba on the Nankai Rapi:t or 50 minutes to Osaka station on the JR Haruka; Itami, closer in, handles domestic flights. From Shin-Osaka the Shinkansen reaches Kyoto in 15 minutes and Tokyo in about two and a half hours.
- The city is flat and cycling is easy and common; walking the Midosuji from Umeda to Namba takes about 40 minutes. Last trains are around midnight and taxis after that are dear.
- Osakans stand on the right on escalators, the opposite of Tokyo, and will tell you so.
Health
- Dial 119 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. Osaka University Hospital in Suita, Osaka City General Hospital and the Osaka Red Cross Hospital are the major centres; the AMDA International Medical Information Center helps find clinics by language.
- Residents join national or employer health insurance and pay 30% at the counter; visitors should carry travel insurance, as hospitals bill in full and some expect payment before treatment.
- Drugstores are everywhere, but some common foreign medicines are restricted or banned in Japan; check the rules before packing them.
Work & study
- Osaka University, with campuses in Suita and Toyonaka, is one of the country's top research universities; Osaka Metropolitan University, Kansai University and Kindai add a large student population, and Kyoto's universities are within commuting range.
- Panasonic, Daikin, Suntory, Sharp and Kubota grew up here; pharmaceuticals cluster on Doshomachi, and the Hanshin belt between Osaka and Kobe is still one of Japan's main industrial districts. Trading houses, retail and, lately, tourism round it out.
- A residence card and a My Number are the first errands; working Japanese is expected almost everywhere, and Osaka-ben, the local dialect, will take some adjusting to even for Japanese speakers. Salaries and rents are both below Tokyo's.
Money & manners
- Yen. Cards and IC cards are widely accepted but cash is still normal, and some small restaurants and bars take nothing else. No tipping. Consumption tax is 10%, or 8% on groceries and takeaway.
- Osaka is looser than Tokyo: shopkeepers banter, strangers offer directions, and a little bargaining in the Nipponbashi and Tenma shops is traditional. Quiet on trains still applies, and shoes come off where the floor steps up.
- Cherry blossom is late March to early April along the Okawa; June is the rainy season; July brings the Tenjin Matsuri and a summer that runs hot and humid into September with typhoons. Winter is mild and dry, and autumn is the best season.