My Favorite Places in Osaka

In Japan, there is a week from the ending of April to early May known as “Golden Week.” This week contains many national holidays from April 29 to May 5th and most Japanese workers, students and families get the week off. Many people travel during this time, going to nearby or far prefectures for vacation or just enjoy their time off of work as many Japanese workers don’t get time off, even on important holidays. My host family decided to go to Nagano, specifically to Yatsugatake, while I decided to go to Osaka. Even though I’ve already been there multiple times in my life and even once during this semester, Osaka just has a place in my heart that makes me want to visit often. Since coming back from my trip, I thought it would be a fun idea to share my top 3/favorite places to go to in Osaka!

1. Osaka Aquarium/ Kaiyukan

If you could see my photos app, you’d quickly realize how much I love this place. I already love going to aquariums but this one is arguably my favorite. I fell in love with it the first time I went in 2018 and have been waiting to go back since then. It is such a unique aquarium with its main theme being the many ecosystems found on the “ring of fire,” and having exhibits that represent places like the Aleutian Islands, Monterey Bay, Antarctica, and even the Japanese forest that has the cutest Asian small clawed otters. They even have a seasonal exhibit, this time around being a squid and coral exhibit, but my favorite exhibit of all is the Pacific Ocean exhibit. This tank is huge, having so many species of sharks, fish, sting rays, manta rays and of course, the star of the show, two giant whale sharks. I think I stood there for half an hour taking pictures and just watching the animals swim by. The aquarium also had a section that talked about their conservation and research efforts which was really interesting to read and even had a section showing how they’re trying to grow coral to try and help with coral conservation (all coral, once grown to a specific size, will be sent off to different areas to be planted) They also have a newer jellyfish exhibit that was very cool to see and of course a cute museum/official aquarium shop that had THE CUTEST seal plush that I unfortunately didn’t get. Along with this, there's a large shopping area right outside of the aquarium and since the location is right in Osaka’s Port, you can easily get tickets to take a boat tour!

2. Kuromon Market

Where do I even start? Kuromon Market is one of the more popular fish markets in Osaka, being known for their many food stalls that sell street food, shellfish, fresh produce and souvenirs. Whenever I go to Osaka, I always make sure to stop at this market for food. If you love seafood, trust me you’ll love this place. Nearly every single stall sells fresh seafood and if asked, the vendors will tell you where exactly their seafood comes from. This last time we went, we got scallops and sea urchin, or uni in Japanese, which were imported fresh from Hokkaido! We also got strawberry daifuku and I always have to get freshly made fruit juice. Strawberry is my favorite but this time I tried a mandarin orange and mango juice which was soooo good. Depending on the season, you can get different kinds of fish due to how fresh and good they will be. This market is most famous for conger pike and pufferfish (yes, pufferfish). So, if you’re ever in the Nipponbashi area, you should definitely check it out!

3. Osaka Castle

Maybe this is a basic choice but come on! The castle and the grounds are so beautiful and it’s free (although it does cost a small fee to actually get into the castle). It’s also very interesting to learn about the castle itself so luckily there is a small museum/shopping area outside of the castle where you can learn about the history. There is also a shrine right outside the main castle grounds where you can get omamori (Japanese amulets/luck charms), ema (wooden wish plaques) and goshuin (handwritten, stamped seals). I started my goshuin collection at this shrine so my goshuin book is the castle theme. Depending on the time you go, the nature on palace grounds will be different. I’ve only gone during spring and summer time so I’ve got to see the castle during sakura seasons and rainy season (shout out to my boyfriend for bringing the umbrella) I hear that if you go during fall, many of the trees on the grounds will turn vibrant reds, oranges and yellows so hopefully the next time I go it’ll be during that time. If you’re also a collector of eki stamps, there's a stamp you can collect inside the castle! There’s also a park nearby that’s great for picnics or just relaxing after exploring the big palace grounds!

If you’re ever visiting Osaka, you should 100% try and go to these places even if it’s just once. Let me know if you want more recommendations for other places like Kyoto, Tokyo and of course, Nagoya! Until next time!!