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Osaka is an amazing city, with what feels like a never-ending list of things to do. While staying longer might seem like it’ll blow your budget, that doesn’t have to be the case. Yes, it’s true. It’s possible to spend 3 days here and have the same dreaded feeling of opening your banking app like it’s the morning after a big night out, but this isn’t the only way to see Osaka.
We fell in love with Osaka instantly. Our original plan for a 1 week stay was extended to 2 weeks within 24 hours of arriving. But to make this happen within budget, we knew we would have to be frugal.
This 3-day itinerary will give you an action packed, sightseeing means of travelling around Osaka without breaking the bank. In fact our total money spent for a family of four over 3 days coming in at under ¥54,000 = £280.80 / $345.60.
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Day One
- Breakfast in a neon-lit Japanese discount supermarket like a local.
- Explore one of the world’s longest shopping streets.
- Visit an interactive science and play museum loved by kids.
- End the day with budget-friendly dipping noodles and a ¥100 yen ice cream from a vending machine
Breakfast in a neon-lit Japanese discount supermarket like a local.
So first stop you will need to go to is the nearest railway / metro station ( We chose to stay in Juso during our time in Osaka. It’s just one stop from the lively and well-known Umeda area on the Hankyu Line, but offered a noticeable drop in accommodation prices.) and purchase an ICOCA card. We bought two cards (children under 6 go free) for ¥2,000 each (total ¥4,000 / £20.80 / $25.60), and topped them up with an additional ¥2,500 each (£13.00 / $16.00). That single top-up comfortably covers all three days of travel.
Confused by messaging you are hearing online between ICOCA card versus the JR rail care? Click here to read our blog which breaks down the differences.
Once purchased make your way to Ogimachi Station on the Osaka Metro Sakaisuji Line. This is a 3 minute walk to Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street and head straight to Super Tamade. It’s a no frills – budget supermarket popular with locals, with its neon signage, it’s hard to miss. Inside you’ll find pre-made food items including sushi, rice balls (onigiri), bento boxes, and fried snacks. We opted for a sushi pack each, with a drink, and shared two packets of strawberries between the four of us for breakfast… which came in at an unbelievable ¥2080 yen (£10.82 / $13.31). Feeding a family of four at these prices, …all while soaking up the sights and sounds of Japan.
Explore one of the world’s longest shopping streets.
Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street is Japan’s longest shopping street spanning 2.6km in length. It’s the perfect slow paced morning start activity. With numerous quirky shops it’s a great introduction into all the little oddities Japan has to offer.
TRAVEL GAME IDEA
Get the kids to spot as many different manhole cover designs as they can along Tenjinbashisuji Street. Osaka is full of unique patterns – it’s a free, fun way to keep little legs moving!
Alongside the shopping, there are loads of budget-friendly eateries. By the time you’ve walked the length of the street, you’ll be more than ready for lunch. The choice is endless and all reasonably priced we ate at a popular Gunjo (famous for dipping noodles) and feeding a family of four came in at ¥5300 (£27.56 / $33.91).
Visit an interactive science and play museum loved by kids.
Back to the Ogimachi Station end of Tenjinbashisuji Street brings you to Kids Plaza. During weekdays after 2pm there is discounted tickets available on the door. A family of four entry after 2pm comes to ¥3000 (£15.60 / $19.20).
Note: Kids Plaza closes at 5pm, so aim to arrive by 2pm to make the most of your visit. Even at full price, it’s a bargain. We paid £23.58 for a family of four, if your budget can stretch an extra £8, it’s worth avoiding the queue and saving the hassle by booking ahead here.
Kids Plaza is part science museum, part soft play, and part pretend play. It’s a kid’s dream. It probably won’t hold the attention of a moody teenager, but for ages 2 to 12, it’s fantastic. At one point, our eldest turned to us and said, “This is the best day of my life.” What more can you ask for?
After leaving, we returned to Tenjinbashisuji Street for dinner, which came to ¥5,000 (£26.00 / $32.00)bill and our top tip here is utilised one of the many vending machines along the street to grab everyone an ice cream dessert for ¥100 × 4 = ¥400 (£2.08 / $2.56).
Day One Total: ¥24,780 – around £128.86 / $158.59 for a full day of travel, food, entertainment and memories for a family of four. Not bad for one of the biggest cities in Japan. £128.86 / $158.59
Day Two
- Breakfast in 7/11.
- Explore Osaka Castle & gardens.
- Dine in world famous Dotonburi Street
- Find the famous Glico man running sign
Breakfast in 7/11
No trip to Japan, or anywhere in Asia really, is complete without a visit to 7-Eleven. Known for its high-quality, affordable food, 7-Eleven is everything from a place to grab a freshly brewed morning coffee (¥100 yen), to somewhere you can pick up travel essentials. They are open 24 / 7 and with thousands of them across the city you are never more than a 10 minute walk from one making it the perfect morning stop for a breakfast.
Now it’s not as cheap as yesterday’s discount Super Tamade but the price difference in negligible and as I mentioned about they’re everywhere. For our family of four to grab a morning breakfast. Adults with sandwiches and coffees, kids with hot counter chicken and soft drinks and all with a pack of slices apple came to ¥2,500 (£13.40 / $16.20).
Explore Osaka Castle & gardens
We also used this opportunity to grab our lunch now as well. Whilst there is places within the Osaka Castle grounds to eat. They are what you would expect for a popular tourist destination over prices and underwhelming options. (Top tip here would be don’t bother buying your drinks here. There is a ton of refrigerated vending machines around the castle). Our pre-packed lunch, with snacks and cold drinks from the vending machines around the castle, came to ¥2,800 (£14.56 / $17.92).
Pro tip:
We booked our Osaka Castle tickets in advance to skip the ticket queue and head straight in. It was quick, easy, and saved us the usual faff at the gate.
Click here to book tickets
From here we made our way to Tanimachi 4-chome Station still using the credit from the ICOCA cards yesterday. This was easiest route shown to us on google maps and I believe is the closest station to walk from however Osaka’s train / metro network is amazingly convenient and there is 4 stations all within walking distance of the castle gates. Once you’re nearby, you’ll likely spot the distinctive green patina roof of Osaka Castle. But if you ever feel unsure, Google Maps now includes a helpful augmented reality mode – just lift your phone and it overlays arrows to guide you in real time. Google maps now has a really helpful augmented reality walking directions. Where by in real time you can hold up your phone and see directional arrows pointing you towards your intended destination.
The castle and surrounding gardens are simply amazing. The castle is also rich with history with the flagship floor of the castle documenting the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Only the adults pay for entry to the castle so a family of four came to a total of ¥1,200 (£6.24 / $7.68).
A word of advice though, we made the mistake of going at the weekend (Avoid weekends!). It was busy, too busy. Certainly too busy if you have young kids. The castle has a lot of interesting artifacts and things to learn but It’s very much a traditional museum, with lots of artifacts and not much in the way of hands-on exhibits.
Not enough to keep the attention of young children especially when at some points it feels like you are cattle being herded around from field to field. So my advice would be head straight to the observation deck to get some beautiful pictures of the city and then head straight to the castle grounds for a picnic lunch.
Still, the views from the observation deck are worth it and the castle grounds themselves are stunning and once the legs are sufficiently tired enough (which will not take long), its time to head back on the metro to the apartment for a nap. You will need your energy for Dotonbori street and its best served as a night time walk.
Dine in world famous Dotonburi Street
The nearest Station to Dotonbori is Namba station. Once you arrive at the station, just follow the crowd and you’ll find your way to the street easily. It’s not an exaggeration to say that you cant miss it.
Unfortunately my experience has been that there is not a “downtime” for Dotonbori street. It seems to be just a popular with locals as it is for tourists meaning that whatever day of the week we have been, it has been essentially shoulder to shoulder. Almost every building is trying to outdo the last whether is a giant octopus / giant grab or giant Kuidaore Taro (Dotonbori’s drum playing clown mascot).
There is a plethora of different food vendors along the street, the truth is because of the streets popularity you are going to slightly over pay here for food items. There are definitely cheaper places to eat in Osaka, but this is part of the experience and one thing you must try and what is the streets most famous and popular dishes is Takoyaki balls. These are boiled octopus mixed with onions and ginger in batter and the covered with Takoyaki sauce and fish flakes. I know it sounds like a Bushtucker Trial from I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! if you’re used to a Western palate. Now I tried them and personally it wasn’t for me but no trip to Dotonbori would be complete without at least trying them. 6 balls will set you back about ¥800 (GBP: £4.16 / USD: $5.12)
A reasonable budget of ¥2,500 per person (£13.00 / $16.00) should be enough to enjoy a main street food dish and a dessert
This brought the whole nights experience for our family of four to ¥10800 (GBP: £56.16 / USD: $69.12)
Before leaving, make sure to get your photo with the famous Glico Running Man sign. It’s been a part of Dotonbori since 1935. We turned it into a game with the kids to see who could spot him first — it worked brilliantly for getting them to pay attention to the wild signs along the way. Once you have your Instagram worthy picture time to head back home.
Day two total: ¥18,100 (£94.12 / $115.84)
Day Three
- Breakfast in Vie de France.
- Spend the day with the free roaming deer of Nara.
- Receive your fortune at the Himuro Shrine.
- Dine in one of Umeda many eateries.
- Ride the HEP five Ferris wheel.
- Finish with Rikuro’s Cheesecake
Breakfast in Vie de France
So you’ll need to make your way to Kintetsu-Nara Station to feed the deer at Nara Park, obviously it will depend on your starting position but its likely that a changeover at Umeda station will be within your route and if not head there first for breakfast. Again just to clarify all these destinations can be achieved using the ICOCA card. There is no need to grab the more expensive option of the JR card anymore for more detail.
Now, if you’re not on as tight a budget as us, and Nara feels a bit of a trek, a taxi is a decent option. They are fairly priced and a bit of a treat. Just don’t use Uber in Japan we learned that the hard way
Once at Umeda station, you will be spoilt for choice for breakfast eateries. My recommendation is Vie de France. I know, I know you don’t come all the way to Japan to eat French food but if your kids are anything like mine. There is only so much new foods they will take and they will be yearning for a nice more westernised treat to start the day. With over 200 branches across Japan, it’s a well established and affordable breakfast options shared by the Japanese and its easy to see why. They offer a range of tasty French-inspired baguettes and pastries, many with a Japanese twist – like matcha fillings. A morning set of bread item / side and a drink will come in at under ¥500 meaning a family of four morning breakfast for ¥2000 (£10.40 / $12.80).
Pro Tip
Some places in Osaka don’t accept contactless debit cards, even if they’re international. Weirdly, they’ll often accept payment via your IC card (like ICOCA), even for things like café bills or shopping. Top up your card and keep it handy – it’ll save you a lot of hassle.
Spend the with the free roaming deer of Nara
Once eaten and arrived at Kintetsu-Nara Station it’s a short walk to the park where you’ll find over 1000 free roaming deer. You may even find some walking along the road on your way there like we did. The park is absolutely huge, there are deer absolutely everywhere. There’s numerous shops / stalls within the park where you can buy a packet of special crackers to feed the deer for ¥200 giving everyone a packet each setting you back ¥800 for the family. A word of warning — once the deer spot the crackers, they tend to huddle around the stalls and can ambush you pretty quickly. Hilarious to watch happen to someone else. Less fun when it’s your five-year-old holding the snacks. So take your packet and quickly head to a quieter spot where you can allow the deer to show you their bow. Which is a request for a cracker. Let the little ones bow back and feed them a cracker.
Receive your fortune at the Himuro Shrine
Once you’ve had your fill of deer interaction head to the Himuro Shrine where for a ¥200 each (¥800 for the family)donation you can received your fortune. You shake the tombola to receive a number for your fortune. Take your numbered fortune across to a block of ice located in the doorway and rubbing your fortune on the ice will as if by magic reveal your fortune (in Japanese of course, so time to bring our the google lens translate feature on your phone). The practice of using ice in rituals at Himuro Shrine dates back centuries. The shrine’s name itself means “ice house,” reflecting its historical role in ice storage. Although this is something we had to learn independently there is no English explanation at the site.
Dine in one of Umeda many eateries
Once completed head back to Umeda for a late lunch / dinner. There is hundreds, if not thousands of small eateries available within walking distance of Umdeda station so you are spoilt for choice. Our personal favourite was Ramen Arauma-do, a small and affordable ramen restaurant that became our regular – we ended up visiting it several times during our stay. If your kids are picky there is also a fried chicken and rice dish available. We had a ramen dish for each parent, fried chicken a rice for the kids and a couple of bottles of some well needed sake and all came under ¥2500.
Ride the HEP five Ferris wheel
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Now suitable well fed and re-energised (and potentially a little bit tipsy, depending on whether you decided or not to stop at one bottle of sake each – we didn’t) you are a stones throw away from the HEP five shopping mall (A.K.A Hankyu entertainment park) and its 106 metre tall Ferris wheel. Tickets for all 4 of your on the Ferris wheel will set you back ¥3,200 (£16.64 / $20.48) and it offers amazing views across the city, a perfect landscape for catching at sunset.
Finish with Rikuro’s Cheesecake
The only way to finish this amazing three day adventure is of course with cake. Rikuro’s famous cheesecake, of course. Their jiggly, fluffy baked cheesecakes are made fresh on-site. Expect a queue outside – complete with a dedicated staff member managing it to make sure only one person from each group joins. The cheesecakes are to die for, they have been pumping them out since 1956 and a bell is rung everytime a new batch is ready with Rikuro’s friendly face stamped on every cake. Costing ¥1065 a single cake will easily feed four of your and is a fantastic way to finish off the 3 days.
Day three total: ¥10,365 (£53.90 / $66.34)That’s how we did three full days in Osaka for under ¥54,000 – with full bellies, tired feet, and memories our kids are still talking about. Whether you follow this plan exactly or just pick and choose what fits your family, I hope this gives you a solid starting point for exploring one of Japan’s most exciting cities without breaking the bank.
Enjoyed this Itinerary but have more than just Osaka planned for your Japan trip? Follow through here to our family activity packed itinerary for Okinawa.
Where to Stay in Osaka (Family Budget and Upgrade Options)
Family Budget Option
As budget-conscious family travellers exploring Japan, we found that hotel rooms often meant tight spaces, shared beds, or bunks. But we struck gold with a brilliant little apartment “Early Arc” it has four double beds yes, really and it cost the same as other listings where we’d have been crammed into two.
Not only did it have a washing machine, compact balconies for drying clothes, and a surprisingly spacious bathroom, Wi-Fi but the location was ideal: under 15 minutes to Umeda Station, or just a 2-minute walk to a vibrant local shopping street packed with restaurants, 7-Elevens, and cheap eats.
Check availability and prices here
Upgrade Option
After something a bit more luxurious or maybe it’s juts a a shorter stay and you just want more space and hotel-style facilities and a private balcony. Well I still recommend staying near Juso Station in Juso AFP Apartment Hotel. This hotel is exact same location as Early Arc (Less than a 2 minutes walk) It’s just outside the city’s pricing “ring,” meaning better value, but you’re still a stone’s throw from Umeda Station, Osaka’s main transport hub. It is 12 minutes on the train.
Check availability and prices here.
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