Nobody told us Osaka would be this good.
We knew about Dotonbori. We knew about the castle. We had watched enough travel videos to build a rough mental map of the city. But what videos never quite capture is the energy of the place: loose, loud, confident, and somehow always feeling like it is in the middle of a celebration.
We arrived on March 30th, exhausted after a 12-hour flight followed by another 4-hour one. We had flown from London to Shenzhen, spent the night there, then continued on to Osaka — tired, slightly disoriented, and not entirely sure what time zone our bodies thought we were in.
We arrived at Kansai airport where we went trought customs/border control pretty fast as we have previously prepared the QR code for entry through the Visit Japan website that I’m sharing here for your convenience:
Visit Japan Web | Digital Agency Services
Expert-hint: We avoided the automatic immigration gates because we wanted our passports stamped on entry. In Japan, having the entry seal makes tax-free shopping much easier later on, especially when stores need to verify your visitor status.
🏨 Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Grids Premium Hotel Osaka Namba, right in the middle of Namba. It was not especially luxurious, but it was clean, modern, and exactly where you want to be if you are visiting Osaka for the first time.
The room was had just enough space for our family for sleep comfortably. The hard part was to find it as navigating Japanese streets with Google Maps was not the easiest experience!
(these vending machines, you will find them everywhere across major cities!)
Within minutes of leaving the hotel, we were in the middle of neon lights, crowded side streets, late-night restaurants, and the constant noise of the city.
🏰 What We Did
Osaka Castle — cherry blossoms on our first morning made it one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. Budget two hours, go in the morning.
Dotonbori at night is non-negotiable. The neon reflections, the Glico running man sign, the chaotic energy — it still manages to surprise you.
Kuromon Ichiba Market — Osaka’s kitchen. Go before lunch, go hungry, eat your way through it.
🚆 Getting Around
Osaka’s metro system is excellent, and we had done our homework beforehand. Initially, we planned to get a SUICA card, but ended up skipping it altogether and just tapping in with Apple Pay using our Visa cards.
All four of us added our Revolut cards to our iPhones, and it worked seamlessly—tap in, tap out, no queues, no machines. At least in Osaka, it was frictionless and honestly the simplest setup we could have chosen.
Next up in the series: Nara — the easiest and most underrated day trip of the whole journey.
📱 Booking Tickets in Osaka: Use Klook
One thing that caught us off guard in Japan: official websites for attractions are often only in Japanese, and the translation is unreliable at best. We tried booking Osaka Castle tickets and a food tour directly through Japanese sites — the booking flows kept breaking. Klook was the fix. English-native app, instant mobile tickets, everything worked first time.
🔗 Book Osaka attractions and experiences on Klook (affiliate link — we only recommend things we’ve used ourselves)
⚠️ Gluten-Free Disclaimer
The food and restaurant recommendations on this blog reflect our personal experiences at the time of our visit. Menus, ingredients, and kitchen practices change — we cannot guarantee that any establishment remains safe for coeliacs or people with gluten intolerance. Always verify allergen information directly with the restaurant before ordering. For full details, please read our Gluten-Free Content Disclaimer.
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