- Yellow Productions presents...
10 things to know
before you visit the city of Osaka, in Japan.
I'm Chris, this is Topher, this is Yellow Productions.
We do travel guides that are fun, informative,
and entertaining.
This is part of our series on Osaka,
and our larger series of almost 100 videos on Japan.
You can find links in the description below to more of them,
but in this video we're gonna tell you
everything you need to know to visit this amazing city.
We're starting this video in front of Osaka Castle,
right behind us, and this is the major icon of Osaka.
Each one of the numbers in this travel guide
of the 10 things will be in front of a different attraction,
so you'll get to see a little bit of Osaka
while you get the information at the same time.
All right, so, here we go!
The first thing to know before coming to Osaka
is just some general things about the city.
One, it is Japan's third most populated city,
with about three million people living in the city limits,
though the metropolitan area has 19 million.
Osaka is often overlooked by visitors to Japan
for people who are going to Tokyo or Kyoto,
but I will tell you
Osaka is actually a really great destination,
particularly as a base to visit Kyoto, Nara, Kobe.
It's actually only 20 minutes by train to Kyoto,
and it's a great city in and of itself.
Osaka airport also often has cheaper flights to it
than Tokyo Narita does.
I think Osaka is worth about three days of your time
if you're just visiting the city.
If you're visiting some of the other things
like Kyoto and Nara,
which Nara's famous for the deer that roam the city,
then you could spend five days in Osaka,
never have to change hotels, and that's pretty nice.
So I'd highly encourage you to consider Osaka,
but you probably are, because you're watching this video.
The second thing to know before you come to Osaka
is about food.
Osaka is a foodie city.
It is often referred to as the nation's kitchen.
And no place is more foodie in Osaka
than Dotonbori Street.
How can you tell?
Well, they've got big things of their food in front.
There's a crab, there's one down there that has a big thing
of pot stickers, there's one that has a big fish, anyway.
If you come to Osaka, they do all Japanese food really good,
but they're particularly well known for takoyaki.
This street in particular has a number of takoyaki vendors,
they are these fried batter that has octopus in it,
that are often translated as octopus balls.
They got mayonnaise, they are pretty good, check 'em out.
My tip to you is not to wait in line
for the one that has the longest line.
Pretty much all the ones on this street
will all be pretty good.
Just as famous as takoyaki, maybe even more, is okonomiyaki.
It's like a seafood pancake, you'll find a ton
of okonomiyaki restaurants on Dotonbori, and all over Osaka.
Another popular thing in Osaka, what it's famous for,
is kushikatsu, which is essentially fried things on sticks.
I've got a whole video on kushikatsu
and the famous kushikatsu restaurant,
you can find the link to that in the description below.
You'll also find ramen
to be particularly delicious in Osaka.
Osaka is kind of a gritty, businessy city,
and so ramen is particularly fit for this city.
So eat the ramen restaurants.
One of my favorites, it's from Fukuoka, it's called Ichiran.
And they have a location here in Osaka, on Dotonbori.
Just like a block or two away from it.
Osaka is also home to over 200 plus
Michelin-starred restaurants,
so whether you wanna eat low-end or high-end,
it's all here for you.
One of the thing I love about restaurants in Japan,
if you can't tell what they sell by their name,
you can tell what they sell
based on the plastic food in the window.
Sushi.
And you can see the sets, how it looks in the window
is almost exactly how it looks once you get in the store.
Many of the restaurants on Dotonbori
in addition to having inside seating,
have some takeout food that's prepared fresh out front.
For example, the crab restaurant,
well you'd definitely get some high-end crab inside,
but if you want something cheap on the outside,
they've got charcoal grilled crab you can take to go
for a bit less money.
One of my favorites on Dotonbori is Osaka Ohsho.
You can find it because it has the huge pot stickers on top.
I got a review on that, link in the description below.
If you're coming to Dotonbori at peak eating hours,
expect to wait.
Here's a ramen restaurant, and then there's the line.
The third thing you need to know about coming to Osaka
is there are two major districts.
We'll talk about the first one here in number three.
It is the Kita district, the north district
often referred to as Umeda.
This is Osaka's financial and business heart,
and at the center of it is Osaka station,
which is basically just down there from where I'm standing.
There's a great observatory, there's the Umeda Sky Building.
It looks like two buildings
with a bridge that connects the two, or a spaceship.
This is, you pay 1000 yen,
you come up to this observatory, really great views.
It's been voted one of the top hundred sunsets,
not clear if that's in Japan or everywhere,
but they always post a sign with the sunset time.
This is a great place to get your bearings.
And definitely when you're here, check out Osaka Station.
It used to be a pretty run-down, crappy station,
but it's been rebuilt, the whole area's being rebuilt.
Grand Front Osaka, right next to the station,
is a amazing shopping center.
And so, check out this district,
particularly this building at sunset.
A couple other great spots in the Umeda District,
and this is a perfect spot for me to stand
'cause I can get both in one shot.
One is Yodobashi Umeda.
Yodobashi Camera,
it is Japan's biggest electronics and camera store,
and they've got a huge location right there.
It's like Best Buy on steroids, it's like eight floors,
six floors of electronics, tons of electronics.
And then just this way is the Hep Five Ferris Wheel.
500 yen, you can ride that ferris wheel,
Japanese love their ferris wheels
and this one's really close to this train station.
Something else to know about the Umeda district
is they've got a lot of these rooftop gardens
on the new building.
Right now I'm on top of Osaka Station.
There's a rooftop garden up here, it's free,
you can admire great views from here.
That's the Grand Front Osaka,
they've got an outdoor garden as well.
You can pick up some takeout food from a cheap restaurant,
come up to one of these gardens, and enjoy.
And then from here, well, maybe from a little bit
down this way, you can actually see the Umeda Sky Building.
That's the one that I paid 1000 yen to go up on.
While the view was a little bit better,
there, you're just viewing,
here, you'll be relaxing.
And, on top of this Osaka Station, there's a,
they call it a light hiking course
up to this farm that's on the building.
So I'm heading over to check that out.
And up two more floors, where I'm standing,
there's this farm, a farm on the roof of the train station.
And as you see this can be quite a peaceful place to relax,
plenty of benches, great way to get away
from the crowds that are just eight floors down below me.
The fourth thing to know before you go to Osaka
is about Minami, the southern district,
often known as Namba.
This is Osaka's
neon, big signs, crazy,
it's sort of like the equivalent
of New York City's Time Square, in Osaka.
One of the most famous parts of it in kind of the center
is where I'm standing right now,
it's in front of the Glico Running Man sign.
There's a canal that runs right behind me
that you can see.
And there's boats that run along that canal.
And then just parallel to the canal is Dotonbori Street.
Dotonbori Street, if there is one place to come
that you have to come in Osaka, it is Dotonbori Street.
That's where you saw me on number two, talking about food.
It is the Mecca for food, it is amazing, it is crazy,
but it's really super neat.
And the other big attraction right around here to check out
is Shinsaibashisuji,
which is a big covered shopping street.
Osaka is famous for its covered shopping streets,
which makes it a great place to be in the rain.
There's a ton of shops down there,
but it also feels like a sea of people.
I mean take a look at all those people,
they feel like they're kind of running kind of like a river.
The fifth thing to know before you go to Osaka
is about Den Den Town.
Right here, it's about 10 minutes from Namba Station,
it's on this street, Nipponbashi Street.
And there's a lot of electronic shops here,
there's a lot of pop culture, manga, books, DVDs,
cosplay, if you're looking for Japan's famous maid cafes,
you'll find a number of those here too.
Big signs plastered up on buildings directing you to them.
So if you wanna see weird wacky interesting Japan,
or electronics, check out Den Den Town.
Just be slightly careful of what you walk into,
some of these shops can be a little on the risque side.
The sixth thing to know before you go to Osaka
is about the language.
And Chris, what do you mean the language,
don't they speak Japanese in Japan?
Well they do, but Osaka has its own unique dialect.
Yes, they end the sentences differently
and they have a different intonation here in Osaka.
So if you learned textbook Japanese and you're confused
when you hear the locals speaking, well now you know why.
And now let's also talk about the other language
you might be using when you're here if you watch my videos,
which is English.
So English in Osaka, I'll say they are pretty good
at English signage, English menus.
If you go into a restaurant,
I generally say hello when I come in,
that way they know that English is my first language.
I'll often be presented with an English menu,
sometimes I have to ask for one, failing that
you can always use the point and order technique.
And one of the English phrases in restaurants
that they always know is "this one."
So if you want to order something,
just point at the picture and say "this one."
They're typically also very good with numbers.
If you find yourself in the train station,
you're stuck, you don't understand what's going on
because maybe the signage isn't clear,
they will often have English information desks
in the train stations, with a little sign
that says they speak English.
So I think if English is your only language you speak
and you don't speak any Japanese,
I think you actually can get around Osaka.
They've tried to make it pretty friendly for Westerners.
The seventh thing to know before you go to Osaka
is about riding escalators.
And in most parts of Japan, you stand on the left,
and you walk on the right.
But not in Osaka.
It's the other way around, you stand on the right,
and walk on the left.
I will say though, that the Japanese government
is trying to have people just stand on both sides,
to hold the handrail, but I think it's really ingrained
to stand and then walk on both sides
to have more capacity going through.
Just watch what other people do, and do the same.
The eighth thing you need to know before you come to Osaka
is about getting to Osaka.
And I'm in the train station,
so I'll talk about trains first.
The way I got into Osaka, and the way a lot of people do,
is via Shinkansen, the bullet train.
If you're coming from other parts of Japan,
the thing you need to know about that
is the bullet train does not bring you into Osaka Station,
it brings you into Shin-Osaka Station.
And Osaka's about three hours from Tokyo,
or if you're coming from Fukuoka in the south,
it's about two and a half hours.
Also, if you're going to Kyoto, it's just like 20 minutes,
that's pretty convenient.
The other way you'd probably be coming into Osaka
is by plane.
And if you're coming into Osaka by plane,
there's two things you need to know.
And that's that there are two airports.
There's Kansai International Airport, KIX,
and that's where you'll primarily be coming in
if you're coming in internationally.
And if you're flying domestically
from some other part of Japan, then chances are
you'll be coming into what they call Itami, I-T-A-M-I,
Itami International Airport.
It's got the name International because they used that
before they built Kansai International Airport.
If you're coming in to Kansai,
it's about 45 minutes into the city by train,
and if you're coming into Itami,
then it's about 30 minutes by bus.
Those are gonna be your best options.
Again, taxis are pretty expensive,
and if you're coming from Kansai
there's a few different train services you can take.
The ninth thing to know before you come to Osaka
is about getting around Osaka.
And I'm doing this video in Osaka Station,
the major train station here.
And so what you should know about getting around
is that you should take trains, and the subway, and walk.
That's primarily how you should get around,
that's the best way to get around.
Buy an IC card, your Suica card from Tokyo
will work just fine.
Their variant here is called ICOCA,
but pretty much any IC card from Japan,
they're pretty much interchangeable now.
Busses I would say,
avoid them if you're a first time visitor.
While they're good,
they can sometimes be a little bit confusing.
Taxis are very nice, but they can be expensive.
Also, if you have a JR pass,
save the JR pass until you leave Osaka.
There's very few JR lines in the city.
You'll be spending most of your time
on the private company lines going through here.
And if you're thinking about driving, well,
don't really drive in Osaka.
Parking's expensive, traffic can be bad,
the streets can be kind of confusing.
So don't really try to drive in the city.
I mean renting a car in Japan's okay,
and I do it to go to the outskirts,
but I find driving in the cities
to be a little bit of a maddening experience.
And if you wanna know more about taking the trains,
or things like that in Osaka,
watch my video on how to ride the train, subway,
and Shinkansen, in Osaka.
The link's in the description below.
And the 10th and final thing to know
before you go to Osaka is just about
some of the other major attractions that I didn't show you.
This is gonna be kind of a rapid fire list,
just so you get a taste of some of the other cool things
to do here.
The first one I'm gonna start with
is the Abeno Harukas Observatory.
This building, it's the tallest in Osaka,
and there's an observatory on the top floor of it,
it has one of Japan's best night views.
Great time to come: at night,
best time to come: probably at sunset.
If you like fish, visit the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
It's located in the Osaka Bay Area.
It's a little bit outside of the city,
so this is probably a good attraction
you wanna visit if you have three or more days in Osaka.
It is one of the world's largest aquariums,
it is truly amazing.
The route through is about one kilometer in length.
They've actually got little things on the floor
that tell you how far you have left to go.
The tank in the middle, it is a huge tank with amazing fish.
Everything was really very clean,
because they've got people inside that clean it.
When you come, if you want to,
try to get here when it's not too busy.
Either come early in the morning when they first open,
or late in the night before they close,
because this place can get really busy,
because it is just that cool.
And so I'll say even if you don't love fish,
it is worthwhile checking this place out.
I am not a huge aquarium lover,
but this is one amazing aquarium.
Allocate at least a couple hours
to check out the Osaka Aquarium.
Kaiyukan is how it's called in Japanese.
Also, when you're in this part of Osaka,
you'll realize that Osaka is really a port city.
From the aquarium you can see views of the working harbor
with the cargo ships.
And a couple other things to do when you're out here
in the Osaka Bay Area, there's a big ferris wheel back there
that you could ride, it's in the shopping center
next to the aquarium.
Also there's Universal Studios,
which is a big American style theme park,
which they do quite well here in Japan.
Another really neat shopping street in the Namba district
is the Kitchenware Street, Doguyasuji.
And what I think is really cool about this street
is you can pick up everything you've ever needed
for the kitchen, including some things you don't need.
And it's also home to many shops
that sell Japan's famous replica food.
Yes, that plastic food that you see in all the store windows
that I showed you earlier,
you can buy it and take it home here.
And actually a couple of these stores,
they have classes that you can make the fake food yourself.
To take the coolest Instagram picture ever,
visit the Namba Yasaka Shrine, to take a picture
in front of the shrine, with a lion head stage.
And one bonus thing to know before you go to Osaka
is that it's not Osaka, it's ohhh-saka.
It's a long O.
And you can even tell
by the way they announce it on the trains here...
(woman speaking in Japanese)
- [Announcer] The next station is ohhh-saka.
- That it is in fact ohhh-saka.
So make sure you say it right.
Well thanks for watching.
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