Osaka Travel: Nanba, Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi, Umeda, Shinsekai, Tsutenkaku

Hello my beloved readers! As you I living 1 year 9 month in Osaka Japan and I will tell you how I really love this place.. Compare to Tokyo, I feel more living in Japanese culture when I living in Osaka than in Tokyo, Osaka people are also more friendly, and if you love eating Japanese food such as Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, I recommend you should go to Osaka.

Giant Dotonbori Billboards

Usually Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Osaka is:

1. Dotonbori , Namba, Shinsaibashi

Located around Namba Station, Minami (南, "South") is one of Osaka's two major city centers. It is the city's most famous entertainment district and offers abundant dining and shopping choices. The district is easily accessible as it is served by three train companies as well as three subway lines and a highway bus terminal. The other major city center is Kita (北, "North") which is located around Osaka and Umeda Stations. ( credits : japanguide )

Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade

Hours vary by store; typically from around 10:00-11:00 to around 18:30-21:00.

Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade and the surrounding Shinsaibashi area is Osaka's premiere shopping center. Approximately 600 m long, this area is unique as it combines chain retail stores and trendy boutiques with expensive department stores and top designer fashion labels.

How to Get There

Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori are easily accessible via train from all points in Osaka.

From Osaka/Umeda Station, take the Midosuji Line to Shinsaibashi Station. Look for the exit to the Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street shopping arcade. If you walk the length of the arcade you will emerge at Ebisubashi bridge in Dotonbori. Alternatively, to reach Dotonbori directly continue on the Midosuji Line train to Namba Station.

2. Umeda

Best Places to Stay in Osaka- Umeda – Although Namba is livelier, Umeda is the most well-connected major transportation hub in Osaka. If Namba will require you some train/subway transfers to get to most major sights in the Kansai region, Umeda provides direct train/subway access to major sites in Kansai from Kyoto, Nara, Kobe up to Himeji. Shin-Osaka Station, where the shinkansen bullet train stop is located, is just one station away from Umeda’s Osaka Station perfect for those with JR Pass.

Umeda Sky Building

Observatory Hours: daily 9:30 to 22:30

Observatory Admission: 1500 yen

Northwest of Osaka Station is Shin Umeda City, a building complex centering around the Umeda Sky Building, a spectacular 173 meter tall skyscraper opened in 1993 with an open-air observation deck on its roof. The skyscraper next to the Umeda Sky Building houses the Westin Osaka hotel.

Grand Front Osaka

Shops: typically 10:00 to 21:00

Restaurants: typically 11:00 to 23:00

Opened in 2013, Grand Front Osaka is a newly developed district north of Osaka Station. Consisting of multiple, connected high rise buildings, the complex offer a wide variety of shops and restaurants, as well as offices, residential space, small parks and the Intercontinental Hotel Osaka. It is the first part of the Umekita redevelopment plan that will eventually see the entire former rail yard north of Osaka Station change into a modern city district.

HEP (Hankyu Entertainment Park)

Shops: Daily 11:00 to 21:00

Ferris wheel and restaurants: until 23:00

HEP is a large shopping and entertainment complex consisting of the HEP FIVE and HEP Navio buildings, east of the Hankyu department store. HEP FIVE features a red Ferris wheel emerging from its roof, while the entire complex houses over 300 shops and restaurants.

3. Shinsekai Tsutenkaku

Shinsekai (新世界, lit. "New World") is a district in Osaka that was developed before the war and then neglected in the decades afterwards. At the district's center stands Tsutenkaku Tower, the nostalgia-evoking symbol of Shinsekai.

Paris was chosen as the model for Shinsekai's northern half, while the southern portion was built to imitate Coney Island in New York. Tsutenkaku Tower was constructed in 1912 after Paris' Eiffel Tower. Although it was scrapped during WWII, the tower was reconstructed soon afterwards in 1956. The current tower is 103 meters high, with the main observatory at a height of 91 meters. 

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Another noted attraction is kushikatsu, one of Osaka's best known specialties. It is a dish, composed of various skewered, battered and deep fried foods. Varieties on offer range from chicken and beef, to pumpkin and asparagus, to the banana and ice cream dessert varieties. Many of Shinsekai's kushikatsu restaurants are open 24 hours, but only truly come alive when the lights come on at night.

Access to Shinsekai Tsutenkaku

Shinsekai is a short walk from Shin-Imamiya Station on the JR Loop Line, Dobutsuen-mae Station on the Midosuji and Sakaisuji Subway Lines, and Ebisucho Station on the Sakaisuji Subway Line.

Credits : japan-guide

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