Osaka 5 Days Itinerary (Day Trips to Nara & Kobe)

Our virgin family trip to the land of the rising sun - Japan! Definitely a country that has been on our travel list for a very long time and we finally had the opportunity to visit! We planned to stay for 2 weeks and decided on spending 5 days in Osaka.

There are so much to see and planning an itinerary is definitely not an easy task. We went along with the preference suiting both our teenagers and adults. :)

Here it goes! Do check out the individual vlogs that was put up together and subscribe to our Youtube channel for more updates! 

Day 1

【Eslead Hotel Namba South II + Shinsekai】

Check-in to Eslead Hotel Namba South II

From Kansai Airport, we took the train to Shin-Imamiya Station, and took a 10 minutes walk to the hotel. We picked Eslead because of its strategic location close to train stations, walking distance to Shinsekai and Mega Don Quijote. Price is also attractive which is about SGD131 per night for the spacious room that comes with a small kitchenette and washing machine plus dryer function in the shower room. Check out the above video for more details

Shinsekei (新世界) + Tsitenkaku Tower

Dinner at Shinsekei & tour around the area

Food we tried: Rokusen (六鲜) > Kura Sushi > Yokozuna Tsutenkaku Shop

Day 2 - Part 1

【Tearoom Tamy + Osaka Castle + Tenjinbashisuji】

Breakfast was a sweet surprise as we managed to take shelter at Tea Room Tamy (just beside our hotel) and have breakfast. Run by an elderly couple, we were charmed by the old-school shop. Granny made our coffee with the siphon coffee maker, and it was a warm feeling on a rainy morning.

After breakfast. we braved through the rain to visit Osaka Castle - an iconic landmark in Japan and definitely not to be missed.

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 2 - Part 1

We then took the train again to Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street - Japan's longest sheltered covered arcade spanning across about 2.6km with hundreds of shops within! We kept on walking for very long and the shopping street continues to brim with food, homeware, beauty products, clothing, souvenirs and more.

Food we tried: Tearoom Tamy > Happy Camper Bagel > Nakamuraya Croquette & Beef Cutlet

Day 2 - Part 2

【Mejijken Restaurant + Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street + Dotonbori + Glico Man Signboard + Ebisu Bashi-Suji Shopping Street + Sarunosuke Ramen】

We took the train to explore Dotonbori district in the later part of the day - where the famous Glico Man signboard is. Spent the rest of the day eating and shopping around Shinsaibashi-Suji, Dotonbori and Ebisu Bashi-Suji before walking back to Namba district which is about 35 - 40mins walk away.

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 2 - Part 2

Food we tried: Meijiken Restaurant > Pablo > Takoyaki Juhachiban > Sarunosuke Ramen > Naruto Taiyaki Hompo > Yoshinoya Ebisucho

Day 3 - Part 1

【Nara > Nara Deer Park + Todaiji Temple】

Day 3 is dedicated to Nara where we will meet the deers! From Osaka, we boarded the train at 7:50am and arrived at Nara at 8:30am. Just an hour ride away makes it a wonderful day trip!

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 3 - Part 1

Food we tried: Mitamoto Munashi

Day 3 - Part 2

【Nara > Osaka: Isuien Garden + Genkinshin + Gyu Kaku】

Spending most of our time strolling around and visiting Isuien Garden - a gorgeous Japanese garden with scenic gardens and tea houses scattered within.

We headed to downtown for lunch at 元喜神 and it's our first time trying tsukemen dipping noodles. Ramen tasted awesome too with rich flavourful broth. 

Nakatanidou (中谷堂) is a well-known store featuring freshly made traditional mochi rice cakes. If you are lucky, you may even witness the lightning fast mochi pounding process. 

Spared some time at the arcade and we played games and got chiikawa toys. Dinner was back at Dotonbori Gyukaku - where we treated ourselves with a 90 mins Gyu-kaku (¥3938)

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 3 - Part 2

Food we tried: Genkishin > Nakatanidou (Mochi) > Gyu-Kaku

Day 4

【Kuromon Market + Umeda + Okonomiyaki Yukari Sonezaki】

After a long day out on Day 3, we decided to take a slower pace for Day 4 - visiting Kuromon Market & the Umeda district. We indulged ourselves in multiple food tasting and shopping mall to the anime zone throughout the day.

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 4

Food we tried: Tsurumaru Udon Nippombashi > Food @ Kuromon Market > Doutor >  KFC > Okonomiyaki Yukari Sonezaki

Day 5

【Kobe: Kobe Beef Ramen Yazawa + Sannomiya Center Gai Shopping Street + Kobe Chinatown Nankin-Machi + Kobe Motomachi Shopping Street + Kobe Harborland】

Final day in Osaka and we decided on another day trip to Kobe.

Checked off our to-do list which includes 

1. Kobe beef. We managed to find a nice cosy restaurant serving Kobe Beef at an affordable price.

2. Visit Kobe's Chinatown. One of the five Chinatown in Japan 

3. Kobe Harborland and admiring Kobe Port Tower & the waterfront 

4. Visit shopping streets

VIDEO >> Osaka Travel Day 5

Food we tried: Kobe Beef Ramen Yazawa > Kobe Croquette > Holly's Cafe Kobe Motomachi > Hontakasagoya > Diiper Dan > Beard Papa > Matsunoya Nansandori