5 Must-Visit Museums in Osaka, Japan
If you want to get to know more about a city, there’s no better way to immerse yourself in its beauty and charm than a place like museums.
In Osaka, museums abound — each with its unique collections of objects and art pieces that helped shape and define the city’s historical, artistic, scientific, and cultural riches.
From the world’s largest domed screen to striking modern structures, they’re all here. Here are five must-visit museums in Osaka:
1. Osaka Museum of History
First opened in 2003, the Osaka Museum of History houses a variety of visually appealing exhibits that chronicle the city’s time — from the beginning when Osaka was considered as Japan’s first capital up to what the early Showa Period (1926-1989). The exhibits are found on the upper floors, giving you a good of the Osaka Castle Park. Restaurants and shops occupy the lower floors.
The Osaka Museum of History is located near the Osaka Castle Park and just 5 minutes’ walk away from Tanimachi Yonchome Station on the Tanimachi and Chuo subway lines. Admission starts at ¥600 (~US$6).
2. Osaka Science Museum
The Osaka Science Museum houses four floors of interactive exhibits and displays, designed to take children through a creative and more fun learning on anything that’s science. It also has a planetarium — world’s largest domed screen — that holds hourly shows for a fee. The Osaka Science Museum is accessible 10 minutes’ walk away from Higobashi Station on the Yotsubashi Subway Line and 5 minutes from Nakanoshima Station on the Keihan Nakanoshima Line. Admission starts at ¥400 (~US$4).
3. The National Art Museum, Osaka
Located on Nakanoshima Island, right next to the Osaka Science Museum, the National Art Museum in Osaka is home to some most important Japanese and foreign contemporary art. The National Art Museum itself is a work of art on its own, with silver entrance gates designed to represent a bamboo plant and its growth and shape. Admission starts at ¥400 (~US$4).
4. Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum
The Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum is dedicated to ukiyoe or woodblock prints — one of its kind in the whole world. It’s home to a collection of popular Kabuki actor prints from the Bunka and Bunsei eras. Woodblock prints are created and sold in Kamigata — the name of the Osaka-Kyoto region commonly used during the Edo Period (1603-1868). Kamigata woodblock prints back then were much more realistic than it is today. Currently, the Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum has about 50 works permanently exhibited.
The Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum is 5 minutes’ walk away from Namba Station on the Kintetsu Railway and Subway Yotsubashi, Midosuji, and Sennichimae lines. Admission starts at ¥300 (~US$3).
5. Cup Noodles Museum
The Cup Noodles Museum in Ikeda, Osaka is one bizarre place dedicated to — you guessed it — cup noodles and instant noodles. It was first opened in 1999 by Nissin Foods to pay tribute to its founder, Momofuku Ando.
Ando has been a champion of food creativity, inventing the world’s first instant noodles in 1958 called “Chicken Ramen” right in his backyard in Ikeda. After the massive success of instant noodles, Ando brought cup noodles to life, paving the way for the global food phenomenon.
The Cup Noodles Museum is 5 minutes’ walk away from Ikeda Station on the Hankyu-Takarazuka Line. Admission is free.
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