With a long history as Japan’s mercantile heart and major port of call, Osaka is dense and delightfully in your face. Now, as it gears up to host World Expo 2025 this month and welcome more travelers than ever before, the neon-lit metropolis has been reinventing itself. It has launched several ambitious urban renewal projects—like the Grand Green Osaka, a 22-acre mixed-use development that is transforming a freight terminal into verdant public spaces—to draw leisure seekers beyond the usual tourist haunts. The city has also lured some of hospitality’s most luxurious names: The Four Seasons arrived last August, and the Waldorf Astoria opens its first hotel in Japan this month. Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka’s calling card. Among Japan’s major cities, Osaka remains unique: unpretentious, energetic, and ready to show you a good time—as long as you know where to go.
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The lay of the land: Osaka’s neighborhoods
Annika Huett
As seen on this map, sprawling Osaka is made up of neighborhoods within districts within wards. For navigational ease, split the city in two: the north, with the modern and innovative Kita area, and the south, home to theatrical and brassy Minami. Spend a few days in each, then venture farther afield to iconic sites like Osaka Castle and Tsutenkaku Tower.
The north side of Osaka: Kita
Osaka’s newer city center is a sophisticated nexus where glass-and-steel ambition rubs up against historical charm. Anchored by the gleaming JR Osaka Station complex and the futuristic Umeda Sky Building, Kita is constantly evolving: New hotels are popping up along the expansive Grand Green Osaka, which is transforming the district’s northern edge into an urban oasis. For the arts-inclined, amble down the area’s museum mile, unmissable thanks to the striking black box that is the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. To explore Kita’s unvarnished side, check out vintage shops and funky cafés in the backstreets of Nakazakicho; hit up the shop and tea salon MeiZ for fashion by Japanese designers and a matcha. For a stiffer tipple, check out the Japanese whisky selection at Bar K in the Kitashinchi area, which comes alive after dark.
The south side of Osaka: Minami
For an unfettered celebration of Osaka’s pleasure-seeking appetite, head to Minami. It straddles the Dotonbori Canal and glows with neon signs pointing to street food stalls and shopping arcades. Grab selfies with the famous Glico “Running Man” sign and the giant crab climbing the restaurant Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten, then check out Minami’s entertainment hubs, like Den-Den Town, a haven for fans of anime and manga, and Amerikamura, where art and style meet Western-oriented youth culture. At the latter, try digging for rare records at Vinyl Chamber. For a spot of respite, stand still at Hōzen-ji, a temple near Namba Station, before reentering the fray.
A city for the future: Osaka’s urban reinvention
A series of ambitious infrastructure upgrades is rapidly transforming Osaka. From April to October, Osaka will host the World Expo under the theme Designing Future Society for Our Lives. It’s an apt choice for a city spending $62 billion to better serve growing numbers of tourists while serving as western Japan’s primary gateway. To improve access during the Expo, Osaka is extending metro lines and creating new rail links throughout the Kansai region, which includes the cultural hubs of Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara. The city is getting greener too: The multiphase opening of the Grand Green Osaka project, a “city within a park” built on the disused freight yards around JR Osaka Station, to be completed in 2027, will introduce new restaurants, shops, hotels (you’ll find the just-arrived Waldorf Astoria Osaka here), and public-use cultural spaces designed by the legendary architect and Osaka native Tadao Ando.
Street food is still king: the best food in Osaka right now
Known as Japan’s Kitchen, Osaka is a gastronomic powerhouse that has recently been drawing global culinary stars. French chefs including Yannick Alléno and Anne-Sophie Pic are attached to the new Four Seasons Osaka and Maison Dior’s first Japanese location, respectively, while Gucci has opened an outpost of its Gucci Giardino cocktail bar in the vibrant Umeda district. Still, the city’s culinary soul is in its street food, which dates back to its merchant roots. Though places like Dotonbori and Kuromon Ichiba Market are well known for it, better options can be found off the beaten track. In Namba, the Bib Gourmand–awarded Wakana specializes in takoyaki—those golden balls of minced octopus that are Osaka’s signature snack—with a crisp shell and molten center. Around the corner, Fukutaro masters okonomiyaki, savory meat-and-veg pancakes that sizzle on tabletop griddles. In working-class Shinsekai, locals love Yaekatsu for kushikatsu, a dish that can include everything from panko-crusted lotus root to plump shrimp skewered and fried to perfection. For an elevated take, seek out Daibon in Nishi-Tenma. Osaka udon, however, might be the city’s most emblematic dish: silky noodles in an umami-rich broth made from kombu kelp and bonito, a legacy of centuries-old maritime trade. Try it kitsune-style, topped with sweet-salty fried tofu, at Usamitei Matsubaya, an institution since 1893. Mingle with Osakans over small plates and craft drinks at standing bars throughout the city like Komemaru, one of many modern spots that put a fresh spin on tachinomi (tachi meaning “stand,” nomi being “drink”). There’s a reason Osaka’s motto is Kuidaore, which roughly translates to “Eat till you drop.”
But don’t miss this Michelin moment: the number-one dinner reservation in Osaka
Even after 15 years, Osaka’s hottest reservation is still La Cime, where chef Yusuke Takada uses French techniques to make Japanese ingredients shine. Still can’t score a table? You’re in luck: Last year Takada opened Quoi, a bakery that offers buttery curry loaves and jambon-beurre baguettes.
