Honshu Island’s warm and welcoming port city, Osaka, is steeped in fascinating history. It may be known as Japan’s street food capital – satisfying your cravings for takoyaki and okonomiyaki – and where East Asia’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, but it is also the most ideal place to learn about Japanese history.
Osaka’s rise as a merchant city, the legacy of the Osaka Castle, and its state after World War II are three of the most eventful parts of its history. Did you know you can revisit these moments? Delve into the city’s vibrant history, science, food, and more by going museum-hopping.
Buckle up as we reveal 12 of the best and must-visit museums here!
1. Osaka Museum of History
Housed in a building shaped like a cylindrical speaker, the Osaka Museum of History is for every history geek. Each floor captures a distinct moment from the city’s centuries-old history.
Find life-size reconstructions, images, and even films. Don’t miss the dioramas that are part of the museum experience.
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2. Osaka Museum of Natural History
Visiting this Osaka museum is like seeing the movie-famous American Museum of Natural History in New York City, except that everything here is Japan style.
Learn and experience the origins, birth, and evolution of known organisms. You will also get to know how environments come about and how humans interact with them.
3. teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka
Don’t you dare skip this outdoor museum on your itinerary or you’ll regret it. Situated inside Nagai Park, which opened in 1944 (around World War II time), teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka is an orchestra of visuals, arts, lights, and music. Mesmerize yourself with starry lights projected on solid structures, giant egg-like status illuminated, and lamps floating on the water.
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4. Osaka Science Museum
Located in Nakanoshima Island at the city’s northern outskirts is the Osaka Science Museum. The collection is kept inside a stunning oval-shaped building.
As you move across its four floors, it’s like turning the pages of a science book. Each floor is dedicated to a certain theme, featuring interactive exhibits of the university, electricity, energy, and chemistry. Don’t forget to visit the showstopper, Osaka Science Museum’s jaw-dropping planetarium that will unleash your inner science nerd.
5. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka
Ceramics hold a special place in the hearts of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. The best of Oriental ceramics can be found at this museum in Kita Ward.
Focusing on Korean and Chinese ceramics, it showcases about 7,000 collected items from the past, including some natural treasures. Discover the pieces that laid the foundation of today’s kitchenware.
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6. The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living
It seems that no other museum in the world has presented its country’s townscape better than the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living. It’s not about history, science, or nature, but lots of culture.
Visitors can visualize and experience the evolution of housing, townscape, and urban planning in Osaka from the Edo era (1603 – 1868), to the Meiji (1868 – 1912), Taisho (1912 – 1926), and Showa (1926 – 1989) eras, as if you lived during those times. Head to the 10th floor for a top-down view of Osaka through those centuries.
7. Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum
Located inside the famous Umeda Sky Building, the Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum is the culmination of the thoughts of Koji Kinutani, the maestro behind this masterpiece of a museum.
Journey through fresco paintings, sculptures, and 3D visuals in a take unique from conventional art museums. Whether you hold an art degree or not, this is a visual feast.
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8. Osaka Castle Museum
When you find yourself in the social media trendy Osaka Castle, grab the opportunity to drop by its museum, too. It contains around a whopping 10,000 artifacts from the Sengoku era, which was from 1467 to 1615. You’ll also see items that have been traced to the era’s famous samurai, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A trip to the symbolic castle of Osaka won’t be complete without stopping by this museum.
9. Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum
Meanwhile, this cozy museum showcases traditional Ukiyo-e artworks that depict Kabuki performers. Ukiyo-e is a school of thought in Japanese art that features subjects from daily life from the 17th to 18th centuries. Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese drama.
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10. Dotonbori Museum Namikiza
Dotonbori is a district in Osaka that has become synonymous to mouth-watering Japanese food. But did you know that Dotonbori is also a former theater city that gave birth to kabuki and the bunraku puppet theater? This museum replicates a 200-year-old theater and features a small revolving stage that started during the time of the kabuki shows.
11. Osaka Tennoji Zoo
It may be a zoo, but this place features ecological exhibitions that reproduce the natural habitat of animals in the most accurate way possible, So, it’s your chance to understand various fauna without hopping from one biome to the next.
12. Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda
Osaka is a food lover’s paradise and there’s a museum dedicated to an iconic Japanese staple, cup noodles! In this museum located in Ikeda, there’s a ramen tasting room where you can try different kinds and flavors of the noodles. You can even learn how to make your own instant ramen here.
Its creator and founder, Ando Momofuku, who also created the chicken noodle instant ramen, is said to have thought of building this museum while experimenting with noodles in his shed.
Treat this guide as your checklist when you need ideas on the must-visit museums in Osaka. If you’re staying here for a couple of weeks or for a month, consider including them on your itinerary.
Want to discover more of Osaka with a local? Join our Osaka Free Walking Tour and experience Osaka’s rich food, culture, and history.
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