10 things to do in Osaka

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No longer just the fly-in, fly-out hub for former imperial capital Kyoto, Osaka is fast becoming a destination in its own right (in fact, 9.4 million tourists landed on Osaka’s shores in 2016 – up almost a third on the previous year).

Japan’s second city has long been famed for its foodie and nightlife scenes, but with a burgeoning art crowd and the opening of Japan’s highest twin tower development, this liveable city is worth a visit on its own merit.

Osaka’s groomed crop of shiny skyscrapers is best seen from above. Creep up to the 14th floor of the North Tower of JR Station City, where there’s a hidden urban farm filled with cucumbers, tomatoes and blueberries. From this small garden there are views over western Osaka – spot the robot-esque Umeda Sky Building, two towers joined by a slender walkway.

Or head straight to the Conrad Hotel’s 40 Sky Bar & Lounge, purring with laidback jazz, for a sundowner. The Takoyaki in the Sky cocktail is the most authentically Osakan drink: a takoyaki ball, an octopus meatball that’s a local speciality, comes perched on top of a gin and blue curacao drink.

Instagrammable Dotombori is recognisable by its neon signs in boiled-sweet colours. It’s zingy at any time of day (and busy with boats charging up and down the Dotombori River) with a carnival atmosphere and tasty street food. At night is when it really gets going: street vendors open up, prodding takoyaki octopus balls and flipping okonomiyaki, a type of Osakan pancake, usually topped with pork or prawns. With so many stalls, the best advice is to look for the biggest queue and join it.

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Osaka’s version of Harajuku is Ota Road in Nipponbashi – the home of popular culture in the city. Find seven-storey department stores dedicated to anime, selling magazines, cards, movies and more and maid cafes, where everything is served to you by gussied-up cosplayers with pigtails.

During the Edo period in Japan (1601-1867), Osaka was “the nation’s kitchen”: goods arrived here to be shipped across the country. That heritage is alive and well at the covered Kuromon Market, a series of arcades selling fresher-than-fresh sushi and sashimi, T-shirts and trinkets and some bizarre homeware. There’s also a handful of casual restaurants around here to grab a bowl of ramen or a beer.

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Facing off across the Pacific Ocean, Japan and America have long shared trade links – and fashion, music and design tastes. See Japan’s translation of vintage America in the bizarre, playful Amerikamura district in Shinsaibashi.

Streets lined with stamp-sized vintage shops push up against over-lit, overstimulated Pachinko halls, and all of them pump out early 2000s hip-hop. It’s also a haven for vinyl record collectors – swing by Root Down Records or Vinyl Chamber. Make sure you see the mini Times Square, complete with mini Statue of Liberty, to complete the bizarre tour.

The city’s most famous landmark is Osaka Castle, built by the regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583. Although the castle you see today is a rebuilt version (from 1928), it crowns an elegant, 106-hectare park complex with a plum garden, a Grove of Remembrance and – weirdly – a tree stump that commemorates where a monk took off his habit. There are trees of all kinds in the park, including cherry that flower in spring.

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Although more visitors than ever are ditching touristy Kyoto for more laidback Osaka, if you’ve come all this way you’re probably going to want to see the temple-studded city too. It’s only 30 minutes away from Osaka Station, and an easy day trip: walk the steps flanked by thousands of orange tori gates of Fushimi Inari-taisha, cycle around the bamboo groves of Arashiyama and snack on omakase at Sushi Wakon, helmed by a Michelin-starred chef in traditional core Gion, for dinner.

Neighbouring Kyoto might beat Osaka on the number of temples, but Osaka’s are quiet and almost unvisited. The pocket-sized Hozen-ji Temple behind the Dotombori madness is strung with red lanterns and looks particularly pretty at night, while the vast red-green-gold Shitennoji Temple is one of Japan’s oldest, dating back to 593 AD. Open 8.30am-16.30pm; entry 300 yen (£2).

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The business district of Nakanoshima – home to Japan’s highest, and brand new, twin tower development – is fast becoming Osaka’s art hub. Next year marks the opening of Kosetsu Museum of Art in Festival Tower West, which promises a traditional Japanese tearoom with a thatched roof, among other exhibits.

Nearby Festival Tower East is the subterranean National Museum of Art, hidden beneath a twisty steel entrance and showcasing an interesting mix of rotating exhibitions and contemporary Japanese art pieces.

Osaka’s version of Shinjuku’s Golden Gai district is the Misono Building, which houses a handful of micro-bars. There’s a dive bar atmosphere (come late and stay later) among the many holes-in-the-walls. Warning: English isn’t widely spoken around here, although after too many thimbles of sake you might not even notice...