For our 7-day Kansai Trip of Golden Week, we explored Osaka in 2 days. This 2-day Osaka travel only cost us ￥5500. If you want to know more about this experience, just keep on reading. I will introduce to you this Osaka Amazing Pass that we used for 2-days in exploring Osaka, our sample itinerary, and a breakdown of how much we saved by using this pass.
You can purchase this pass in advance using different platforms online or it would be better if you buy it from their official website. We picked up our pass on the morning of our first day in Osaka, purchasing it at the Tourist Information Center in Osaka Station. This year (2024), it seems like Osaka amazing pass can only be purchase online.
How much does it cost?
Osaka Amazing Pass offers a 1 day pass for ¥3300 and ¥5500 for a 2-day pass. We bought the 2-day pass as our scheduled itinerary is to explore Osaka for our Day 1 and 2 in this 7-day trip.
To maximize the use of this pass it is best to plan your itinerary ahead. When planning your itinerary for this Amazing Pass, you can refer to the User Guide, map, and available spots for this pass, you will find it on their official website.
Exploring Osaka Day 1
From Osaka Station we took the Tanimachi Line to Osaka Castle, this should have cost us ¥180 if we did not use a pass. The entrance fee to Osaka Castle is ¥600 but you can just show your pass to be admitted. Note that the fee is only required to enter the Main Tower and Osaka Castle Museum but you can explore the park for free.
Osaka Castle
One of the famous landmarks in Japan is Osaka Castle, known as Osaka-jo in Japanese. The castle is beautiful and its surroundings (minus the crowd) are really relaxing. Osaka Castle is surrounded by a large open park where you can sit and relax underneath the trees. You can see from the outside how beautiful the Castle is, sitting in the well-built stone walls surrounded by water where you can go cruising in its inner moat.
As I entered the castle, I was welcomed by different artifacts displayed in the museum uncovering Osaka Castle’s rich history and different scenes from the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who commenced the construction of the Castle in 1583. The castle’s top floor is an observation deck offering a panoramic view around the Castle.
Osaka -jo Gozabune Boat
Osaka-jo Gozabune is a boat that is said to be a replica of Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s golden boat that cruises around Osaka Castle’s inner moat for 20 minutes while a story about the construction of the Castle and its stone walls is being told. It was such a great experience seeing Osaka Castle and learning its history from a different angle. This boat ride cost 1500yen but was also covered by our Amazing Pass.
Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Park
We took the Nagahori Tsurumi Line from a walking distance station near the castle to Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Station that should have cost ¥230, this train ride was also covered by the pass.
The park has vast lawns, tree-lined paths, different kinds of greenery and flowers and so many insta-worthy landscapes. In the northeast part of the park is where most of the tourists pose for Instagram photos with the windmill on the hill surrounded by a bed of beautiful seasonal flowers. You can explore the park for free.
Another must-see in this park which was supposed to be part of our itinerary, is the Sakuya Kono Hana Kan, a 2-story greenhouse pavilion. This is the largest glass-enclosed greenhouse in Japan. We were not able to see this as we were already heading to our next destination. The entrance fee of this Pavilion is ¥500 which is also one of the spots covered by the Amazing pass.
Minato area
From Tsurumi Park to Minato Area, a train ride costs ¥330 with one norikae (change train). Minato-ku(Minato Ward)’s famous landmarks include Kaiyukan(Osaka Aquarium), Port of Osaka, Tempozan Harbor Village, and many others.
Our original plan is to take the Santa Maria Cruise (we were able to cruise on our day 2) and explore Glion Museum (admission fee: ¥1000) before riding the Tempozan wheel. But because it was already late and windy, we weren’t able to take the cruise so we decided to ride the Tempozan wheel and just explore the Tempozan Village. All that was mentioned above are also part of Amazing Pass 40 Tourist Spots.
Tempozan Ferris Wheel
One of the largest Ferris wheels in the world offers a 15-minute ride up to the sky where you can see a stunning view of the Osaka bay, Osaka City and the view of MSC cruise ship which happens to be at the port by that time. This Ferris wheel ride is ¥800, quite steep for a 15-minute ride but no need to worry as long as you have your Amazing Pass.
Cosmo Tower
A 3-minute train for ¥180 brought us to our last destination of our first day- Cosmo Tower from Minato bay. Also known as Sakishima Cosmo Tower, this 55-storey building is the second tallest building in Osaka. A see-through elevator took us to the 52nd floor and an escalator ride to the observatory on the 55th floor. The observatory offers a 360-panoramic view. The observatory has a bar where you can chill while enjoying the breathtaking view. The observatory’s admission fee is ¥700.
We went back to Osaka Station (￥390) to get our luggage and took another ride (￥180) going to our Airbnb apartment which we will cover in a separate post. All expenses (except for the food, of course) on our first day were covered by our 2-day Amazing pass which cost us ￥3600. If you want to see our entire itinerary for this 2-day pass including the computation, comment below or send us a DM.
Day 2
Our second day in Osaka is to enjoy tourist spots covered by the pass but unfortunately the weather was not good so we needed to adjust and cancel some of our destinations. All expenses (except for the food) is still covered by the Amazing Pass.
Shinsekai
Shinsekai is a Japanese for “New World ”, is an old neighborhood where Tsutenkaku Tower is located. This area is just a short-walk from our apartment. If you would like to take great photos without a crowd it is nice to walk around the area when everyone is still dreaming as all the restaurants draw an enormous crowd as it opens. Variety of food choices will surely make you hungry as you walk around this retro downtown area of Osaka. One of the famous foods in Shinsekai is Kushikatsu, a Japanese dish of deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables.
Tsutenkaku Tower
Another observatory tower and is also one of the famous landmark of Osaka is Tsutenkaku Tower. The observatory also offers a panoramic view of the City. The admission fee for the Tower observatory can be bought at the basement, which cost ￥700 before, now at ￥800 since April 2020.
Glico Store
A Glico store where you can buy Glico products, can be found inside the Tsutenkaku. It also exhibits the history of Pocky and Tsutenkaku.
Tennoji - Zoo
Just a walking distance from Tsutenkaku is Tennoji-zoo which houses animals of different types. This was not originally in our itinerary but since it is just nearby and also included in the pass, so why not? The admission fee is ￥500 for adults and ￥200 for children.
Santa Maria Cruise
From Tennoji we headed back to Minato Ward to take what we missed yesterday on a cruise around Osaka Bay. This Santa Maria cruise is said to be a reproduction (double in size) sailed in by Columbus. This cruise arrives and departs in Tempozan Harbor Village which cruises around famous spots in the Osaka Bay area. The cruise is about 45-minutes and costs￥1600.
Umeda Sky Building
Another observation deck that we visited is Umeda Sky Building. The observation platform of this observatory connects the two towers. The observatory also offers a 360-breathtaking view of the City. The admission for adults is￥1500 and ￥700 for children.
Hep Five Ferris Wheel
We were supposed to end the evening with Tombori River Jazz Boat, a-minute sightseeing cruise with live jazz around the downtown area from Dotonbori river, the cruise was suspended due to rain. The cruise is￥1500 and is covered by the Amazing pass so you shouldn’t miss it.
Overall, this 2-day Osaka exploration was truly AMAZING, thanks to the 2-day Osaka Amazing Pass that only cost us￥3,600. We saved roughly around ￥8000, it should have been more if only the weather was good on the second day. What I really love the most during this trip is the Santa Maria Cruise. How about you? let me know in the comment section.
Since you are already in Osaka. You might also love to watch my Universal Studio Japan adventure. Up next… I will be sharing my Disneyland adventure itinerary.
