Solo Travel in Osaka

Osaka's youth-culture district of vintage shops, street art and record stores — the city's creative pulse.

An intimate live-music club for jazz, soul and pop acts in Grand Front Osaka — a classy night out.

A luxury sky-hotel high above the city with floor-to-ceiling skyline views and an excellent spa.

Osaka's neon canal-side heart — the Glico running man, giant crab signs and an endless parade of street food.

The birthplace of takoyaki — octopus balls and okonomiyaki from legendary stalls along the canal.

A sleek riverside design hotel near Osaka Station with calm, contemporary rooms — a polished mid-range base.

'Osaka's Kitchen' — a covered market of fresh seafood, grilled scallops, wagyu skewers and fruit to eat on the spot.

A vibrant Amerikamura coffee bar with a big menu of single origins and a buzzy young crowd.

A tiny, serious specialty roaster near Shinsaibashi pulling some of Osaka's best espresso.

A striking terraced rooftop garden park rising above a mall — a green canyon of plants in the city centre.

A small shrine dominated by a giant, dramatic lion-head stage said to swallow evil spirits — a quirky photo stop.

Osaka's landmark — a golden-trimmed reconstructed keep on massive stone ramparts amid a moated park, superb in cherry season.

A retro, gloriously kitsch district around the Tsūtenkaku tower — kushikatsu skewers and old-Osaka atmosphere.

Japan's oldest officially-administered Buddhist temple, founded in 593, with a five-storey pagoda and serene garden.

A vast multi-floor hot-spring and sauna complex in Shinsekai with European- and Asian-themed bath zones.

A strikingly ancient Shinto shrine with a famous steep arched bridge and unique pre-Buddhist architecture.

An art-filled design hostel with a café-bar and a creative community feel, a tram ride from the centre.

Twin towers joined by a 'floating garden' rooftop observatory — Osaka's best 360° sunset panorama.