We had guests from Singapore! They had been to Japan several times but they hadn’t had a chance to explore Osaka before. It was an honor to show them around our city!

Although June is supposed to be the rainy season here, the weather was pretty good on that day. Actually.. it was too good and it was even a bit hot! But with our Jambo taxi, we were able to have smooth transport.

Our first destination was the Umeda Sky building. It has 40 floors and an observation deck at 173m where you can see a panoramic view of Osaka. We were even able to see Osaka castle from there! You can also walk around the outside deck and feel the wind.

After having a cool beer and an ice cream (It was definitely ice cream weather!), We headed to Osaka castle. It was originally built by samurai leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1585. The castle was attacked by the next samurai leader, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and completely destroyed. The Tokugawa family built a new Osaka castle with a new design on the site of the original castle in 1626.

The moat and watch towers we can see today are from the 17th century, but the main tower was rebuilt in 1931. It has a museum inside, where you can learn about the history of the castle. When you go up to the top floor, you will see the view that samurai leaders of the past must have seen.

The Ninja shop is also a must-see!

Next, we visited Kuromon market, a local food market where you can try many different things. This time, we tried rich tuna sushi and fancy Yubari-brand melon! Yummy 🙂

The last destination was the Dotonbori area, where you can see the famous Gliko neon board. One of the biggest shopping arcades in Japan is nearby. Don’t forget to buy your omiyage (souvenirs) 🙂

Thank you for reading about our day out! I hope you can come and join us for our next tour 🙂