4 days in Osaka

Hi, I have never been to Osaka before, is 4 days is enough for Osaka ? We have 2 teenagers so they really want to go to Universal Studio for 1 day, and we have 3 more days left kindly let us know which place we should go. We have been to Kyoto. Is it far from Osaka to Takayama ? We need cooler climate.

Thank you

Eva

I am in Osaka regularly for business and have yet to find really interesting things to do there. So 3 days in Osaka would be more than enough for me to see everything that is even only mildly interesting (e.g. Dotonbori, Osaka castle, some shrines, Aquarium, some museums). None of these places I personally find specially interesting.

Takayama isn't close to Osaka, you can find out through Google Maps how long it takes and if that is still "close" in your definition.

Also what are you interested in? Depending on that we can advise where good destination might be. Also advise how much travel time from Osaka is fine.

If you are after "cooler" places, maybe look into the mountains in Wakayama? I went last year for a weekend to Dorogawa onsen in August. While in Osaka it was incredibly hot, we could enjoy some much cooler weather in Dorogawa onsen.

Enjoy planning your trip to Japan!

Wait, aren't you the person who only has 9 days and hates big cities who was posting earlier?

I have no idea why you want to spend any days in Osaka outside of visiting USJ for your kids if you don't like cities.

It's nearly 3 hours one way from Nagoya to Takayama let alone getting to Nagoya from where ever you are in Osaka.

Have you thought about Koya-san? It should be cooler and is not a very difficult trip from Osaka. I've only been in November and it was very cold while I was there.

Good luck!

Koyasan is a good suggestion. It is bound to be cooler there than in Osaka, no matter what. And it is one of the "must see" places in the Kansai area. It could make for a very pleasant day trip. (Note that not everyone agrees with the common perception that you have to spend the night there to make it worth a trip! Spending the night in a shukubo is not for everyone, and there are plenty of other opportunities to have rich cultural experiences in Japan. Your kids are probably going to have more fun at the rich cultural experience offered by Universal Studios.)

Unfortunately, you're probably not going to find many helpful suggestions for things to do in Osaka on this forum (or others like it). Most people seem to have the fairly strong opinion that aside from "B-kyu gourmet" opportunities there is very little of interest to do there. There are in fact a lot of things to do in Osaka, but whether they are of interest to you (as opposed to other people), is something that only you can figure out. I would suggest that you keep an open mind, but if you don't have a lot of time to be doing your own research, maybe you should just write Osaka off except as a home base for Universal Studios and day trips to other places.

If I had limited time in Kansai, I would normally tend to spend at least half of it in Kyoto (for some people it is worth repeated visits), but since you have already been there, if you are really interested in "going to" Osaka (so you never have to go back?) you might want to take a look at the Osaka Amazing Pass and see if the line-up of free attractions is of any interest to you. (Warning: not surprisingly, the people who don't like Osaka also tend to not like this pass! But based on some blogs that you can easily discover online, there are actually people who give it a two-day whirl and really have a ball. For some reason, they seem to mainly come from Asian countries.)
https://www.osp.osaka-info.jp/en/

One downside of the Osaka Amazing Pass is that it doesn't cover two of Osaka's most popular venues, namely the aquarium and the Abeno Harukas observation deck. Those are both quite pricey, so if you are on a budget, you are probably not going to want to do them and also the Amazing Pass. On the other hand, with four days, you could conceivably do all that along with Universal Studios, and never have to Osaka again for the rest of your lives.

Tempozan Harbor Village
The ―Kaiyukan [photo]‖ is one of the largest aquariums in Japan. The most popular animals are the ringed seals and the
whale sharks. From the large ―Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel‖, you can see the ―Akashi Kaikyo Bridge‖ and panoramic view
of the Osaka Bay area. And there are many unique modern shops at the ―Tempozan market place.

More Osaka Tourist detail information: docsbay.net/osaka-port-tourist-information

Osaka-Castle
This huge castle was built as a symbol of the authority of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It was burned down during the summer campaign of
the Siege of Osaka. The keep, which was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu, later burned down again after being struck by lightning. The
current keep was rebuilt in 1931 atop a stone wall from the Edo-era and was financed with citizen donations. The inside is a
museum where important cultural properties and other precious historic documents are placed on display.

Matsuri Festival
Many traditional festivals from Osaka, Kyoto and Nara continue to this day. The ―Tenjin Matsuri Festival [photo] ‖ is one of the
three largest festivals in Japan, and the "funatogyo" (boat procession) on the Okawa River—with more than 100 boats at the
climax—is a sight to see. The ―Gion Festival‖ in Kyoto is another of the three largest festivals. The ―KishiwadaDanjiri
Festival” is also very popular festival in southern Osaka.

I don't get why people don't think osaka is worth it. I prefer Osaka to Tokyo especially when it comes to people. in Osaka so many people on restaurants started talking to me and were honestly interested (also they talked in japanese) in Tokyo the only people who started talking to me were foreigners or nampa attempts who tried it in english...
also I'm a foodie so ^^'

I think it depends if you would like to have a packed schedule for your time there or just bask in the atmosphere. I sometimes just like sitting in the castle park or in the city and watch people or read. also just walking is fascinating and suprisingly easy even for long distances.
and if you have to make plans Osaka is also a great base for day trips to Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Kobe, Himeji etc.

Here is the thing about Osaka, unlike @LikeBike (possibly because I am not that into biking) I imagine Osaka is a great place to live. In fact I know many foreigners, who have been living for years in Osaka and love it. It's friendly, cheaper than Tokyo, has any shopping you want and is easy to get to other places from. However, as a tourist... it's just sort of a big city. It's like Irvine, CA. I like Irvine, CA and I've gone multiple times to visit family. It has awesome food and better shopping than where I live. But if you asked me for things to do outside of driving to Disneyland and shopping and eating, that's tough.

Yes, Osaka has an aquarium.. it's nice.. for a few hours... sort of expensive.. but yeah..
It has rebuilt Osaka Castle. It has some interesting scrolls, you can dress up for free.. but it's not that far to Himeji or Hikone which are both original and have way nicer gardens.
It has some nice museums to kill a few hours, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way for them...
It has shopping and eating.. which is... shopping and eating.
I'll even give you Spa World because it's cheezy and fun in a kitschy way

But... Osaka is sort of like one of the many cities that are great to live in and visit family in but you wouldn't really pick to go there just to go there. I like active touring or shopping with limited cafe breaks or snack breaks because I travel with a child.

I also personally find that Osaka has a plethora of cheap accommodations and has great prices for luxury accommodations (their Four Seasons is cheaper than Tokyo and Kyoto plus is higher rated, their Hyatt is also better priced outside of the G20 Summit) but for mid range, I find Osaka either lacking or priced higher than equivalent rooms in Kyoto. Just take a chain like Mitsui. Sure their Osaka branch is a "Premier" but it's not as convenient and costs more than their Kyoto branches and some of the Kyoto branches have a free sento for guests. Kyoto also has a lot more Apartels for families, like a lot a lot more. If you're looking to spend $75 USD to $175 USD a night for 2, it's just going to go further and get you in a nicer location, a better room, and a bigger room than the same money would in Osaka. If you're spending under $50 USD or more than $250 Osaka is probably better.

Good luck OP!