After leaving Kyoto in the early afternoon, it didn’t take long before we found ourselves in the middle of Osaka. Although we only had 24 Hours in Osaka – we made the most of it.
After dropping our bags off at the front desk, we realized that we were starving. We grabbed some takoyaki and headed off to find the glorious Kuromon Ichiba Market. Upon arrival, we sampled some Kobe beef, medium fatty tuna, and tempura fish-the food was absolutely stunning! The market is an excellent place to sample some of Japan’s popular foods without having to order full dishes at a time.
Once we had our fill, headed off to Osaka Castle. We chose to take a taxi to the Castle as we were all starting to drag-ass. It was absolutely gorgeous! We didn’t pay to go in, but got a few snacks (some more takoyaki), relaxed in the sun, and enjoyed the scenery.
After visiting the castle the castle, we checked in to the hotel and headed to Dotonbori to visit Don Quijote before dinner. We met up with Nancy’s (and now my) friend Joseph and went to eat some Okonomiyake. It was really really good! Nancy and I decided to share some food and we ordered the beef and acorn jelly (I thought it was the best of the three).
We popped back in to Don Quijote afterwards (we needed to walk some of that food off) and headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, we headed to Osaka Airport bright and early and did some shopping before catching our flight home.
Looking back on our trip, I’d definitely go back to Japan on a long weekend, but do only one city, two was just way too much and 24 Hours in Osaka was not nearly enough time. Many of my friends said that I would fall in love with Japan and they were right–I can’t wait to go back!
24 hours is a short time to really take a city in but I’m glad you were still able to see a good amount.
My friend goes to Osaka quite often and is always trying to convince me to go. She is huge into the nightlife and says it’s the best in Asia. Did you have a chance to visit any memorable bars, lounges and/or cafes?
Hi Nadine! I didn’t get the chance to do any of the above (due to time + exhaustion) but a friend of mine went to one of the Owl Cafes and absolutely loved it! It’s at the top of my list on my next trip ^^
Ahh I’m so jealous, we were going to try to plan a last minute trip to Japan for Seollal next weekend, but our plans fell through. We can’t wait to see Osaka and Kyoto! We will have to wait until our contracts are up in the summer 🙂 The sushi photos made my mouth water! I’ve never heard of Okonomiyake, we will have to check it out when we go! What’s the acorn jelly like? One of our favorite random dishes we tried while in Japan was Matsunabe. Thanks for sharing and getting us more excited about our future Japan trip!
Hiya ^^
Thanks for reading my post! I was actually trying to do a last minute trip to Fukuoka, but our plans fell through as well!! I’m not super big in to acorn jelly, but my friends definitely liked it. Totally recommend Okonomiyake… great experience and very yummy! Hope you have a wonderful trip, I’ll have to try Matsunabe on my next visit ^^
It’s a food-ful trip for you. It had been years since I visited Japan. But only Tokyo. Reading blogs about Japan makes me want to go back… especially it’s close to Korea. Now, I’m googling all those food you mentioned above.
Yeah, food is one of my favorite things about traveling! Sometimes there isn’t enough time to try everything I want to ^^
I did a similar trip to Osaka over the course of 48 hours in 2014. While I never made it back to Japan, I hope to go again in the future! Thanks for sharing this!
When I visited Osaka a couple years ago, my itinerary was similar to yours. Eating in Japan is definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Glad you enjoyed your trip, thanks for sharing!
Seeing your post about Osaka gave me such nostalgia! It’s my favorite place in Japan! Did you guys get to try kushikatsu while you were there? It’s battered vegetables and meat you get to fry yourself!
Ohhh, didn’t get to try kushikatsu….. Totally hitting that up next time ^^
This looks like an awesome itinerary! How long have you been in Osaka and Kyoto in total? How did you get there? I want to go so bad!
Hi Linda, we only spent Chuseok in Osaka/Kyoto! We flew out of Incheon (as it was the cheapest when we finally made up our minds to go)!
Every time I read any blog about Japan, I am filled with envy as to why I haven’t been there yet. I think its about time I started planning. Seemed a packed trip within short time, you did enjoy it with all the food. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Lindsay!
I’m planning on stopping in Kyoto on the way back to the states in July. Your itinerary is exactly what I’m looking for! You said you really liked your Air B&B. Would you mind sharing the location? It’s always nice to stay where someone else has been and liked.
Hi Marci – thanks so very much for reading and commenting!! This is a link to their Air Bnb – https://goo.gl/tpSc1q they are wonderful wonderful! The location is in the northwest of the Shimogo Ward – with only a 10min walk to Gion. It is in a residential area and near the Shijo subway station. If you need any other help, please let me know – have a fantastic trip!!