Play All Out with Your Kids! 19 Best Osaka Tourist Spots for a Family Trip

An aquarium in Osaka that celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020.
Inside, you’ll find recreated natural environments surrounding the Pacific Ocean, home to a total of 620 species and 30,000 individual creatures.
After passing through the tunnel-shaped tank “Aqua Gate,” filled with tropical fish, you’ll ride an escalator up to the 8th floor and make your way down a sloped path while viewing a variety of sea life in the massive central tank.
From “Antarctica” with penguins to the “Tasman Sea” where Commerson’s dolphins greet you, every tank is worth your time.

Opened on January 1, 1915, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015.
On roughly 11 hectares, the zoo keeps around 180 species and 1,000 animals. Areas such as the reptile house “iFauna” and the “African Savanna Zone,” home to hippos, giraffes, and lions, incorporate “ecological displays” that recreate animals’ habitats as closely as possible.
The zoo also hosts various events, including feeding experiences in the petting area and seasonal limited-time events like the “Night ZOO.”

Universal Studios Japan, affectionately known as USJ, is a major theme park enjoyed by everyone from kids to adults.
The park is divided into distinct areas, bringing together world-class entertainment and letting you enjoy different worlds with different vibes.

Located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture—the birthplace of instant ramen—Cup Noodles Museum explores the appeal of instant noodles through 11 exhibits and attractions.
At “Chicken Ramen Factory,” where you can make “Chicken Ramen” by hand, you’ll experience the noodle-making process from kneading flour, and you can also enjoy watching it dry using the “instant oil-heat drying method.”

A nature-rich park created on the former site of Expo 1970 (Japan World Exposition), featuring forests and satoyama landscapes, and welcoming you with Taro Okamoto’s “Tower of the Sun.”
Within its vast grounds are areas like the “Natural and Cultural Gardens” and the “Japanese Garden,” where you can enjoy seasonal flowers and fall foliage. At the “Tunnel of Color,” you can also get a pseudo-experience of seeing like an insect through fluorescent orange screens.

LEGO® bricks, born in Denmark in 1932 with the concept of “learning and development through play,” are now loved by families around the world.
Where you can truly experience the appeal of this educational toy is LEGOLAND Discovery Center, an indoor LEGO® theme park. It operates in 24 countries, and one of them is here: LEGOLAND Discovery Center Osaka.

A new type of museum that fuses an aquarium, a zoo, and an art museum, produced by “Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.”
With the concept “touching the senses,” it blends changing lighting, music, and video to express themes throughout the space. Exhibits are divided into eight themed zones: “Colors,” “Abilities,” “Swimming,” “WONDER MOMENTS,” “Hiding,” “Waterside,” “Movement,” and “Connections.”

A historic amusement park said to be Japan’s oldest still in operation, loved by locals in Kansai and nicknamed “Hira-Par.”
In the park, you’ll find ride attractions like the centrally located wooden coaster “ELF,” the giant Ferris wheel “Sky Walker” rising 80 meters above the ground, and Hira-Par’s biggest roller coaster “Red Falcon,” plus 40 attractions for both adults and kids.

One of the world’s largest Ferris wheels, with a height of 112.5 m and a diameter of 100 m.
One full rotation takes Approx. 15 minutes. On a clear day, you can see as far as Mt. Ikoma in Nara to the east, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Hyogo to the west, Kansai International Airport to the south, and around the Rokko Mountains in Hyogo to the north.
While staying in Osaka, you’ll feel like you’ve taken a tour around the Kansai region. During the ride, an audio guide for the scenery plays inside the cabin in Japanese and English.

In 1912, a 75-meter iron tower resembling the Eiffel Tower was built atop a building modeled after the Arc de Triomphe. It’s said that early Meiji-era Confucian scholar Nangaku Fujisawa named it “Tsutenkaku,” meaning “a tall building that reaches the heavens.”
After it was dismantled due to a fire, the current second-generation Tsutenkaku Tower was rebuilt in 1956 at the strong request of citizens. The second tower stands 108 meters tall, 33 meters higher than the first.

Japan’s first full-scale “museum for children.”
A participatory, hands-on museum where kids can see, touch, and experience through play they love.
It’s packed with exhibits and workshops where kids can learn through play, such as the wonders of science and encounters with cultures and games from around the world, plus a variety of hands-on making experiences.

An experiential theme park built around the concept of “heartfelt interaction among people, nature, and animals.”
On a nature-rich site at the foot of Mt. Kongo, about 100 species and 1,000 animals and birds live here.
At the Kansai region’s largest-class “Petting Pasture,” spanning Approx. 5,000 m², you can freely interact with and feed a variety of animals, including sheep, goats, ponies, mini pigs, chickens, and African spurred tortoises.

A super-tall mixed-use skyscraper that opened in 2014, standing 300 m above ground.
From Basement Level 2 to the 14th floor are “Abeno Harukas Kintetsu Main Store (Kintetsu Department Store)” and “Abeno Harukas Dining.”
The 16th floor is “Abeno Harukas Art Museum,” which hosts diverse art exhibitions from Japan and abroad.
On the 19th and 20th floors, the 38th to 55th floors, and the 57th floor is the “Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel.” At the live kitchen “COOKA” on the 19th floor, you can enjoy seasonal vegetables, fresh seafood, and meat with spectacular views from 100 meters above ground through the windows.

Look for the big red octopus sign. This is a takoyaki-focused museum themed around “make, learn, and eat,” spotlighting “konamon” (flour-based Osaka foods) that Osaka is famous for.
On the B1 floor, at “Takoyaki Dojo Kukuru Takumi,” you can make your own original takoyaki. Choose your fillings from your favorite ingredients and grill them using professional tools. Staff will support you, so beginners can feel at ease. On the 3rd floor, at “Konamon Sample Workshop Maneki Tako,” you can try making realistic food replicas. You can take your creation home, so give it a try as a unique souvenir.

A cultural facility that began with a proposal by world-renowned Osaka-born architect Tadao Ando, with a collection of around 20,000 books.
Every wall on floors 1 through 3 is a gigantic bookshelf, and the sight of countless colorful covers is truly impressive. Books aren’t available for loan, but you can pick them up and read inside. Also, within Nakanoshima Park where the facility is located, you can take one book per person outside as well. Many visitors reportedly sit on benches by the river running through the park and enjoy a relaxed reading time.

Built at roughly twice the size of the “Santa Maria,” the ship Columbus used when discovering the Americas. It departs from the Kaiyukan West Pier at Tempozan Harbor Village, home to the world’s largest-class aquarium “Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan,” a Ferris wheel, and the large shopping complex “Tempozan Marketplace,” then leisurely cruises around the Osaka Bay Area over Approx. 45 minutes.
Benches are also available on the open-air 4th-floor observation deck, where you can enjoy the cruise while feeling the sea breeze.

A cruise tour along the Dotonbori River in the Minami downtown area, decorated with sparkling neon and unique 3D signs. Each run is a compact Approx. 20 minutes, but it’s packed with highlights and delights, and the view from the river—something you can’t usually experience—is full of surprises and excitement.
Take in this ever-bustling area from a different perspective than street level and get closer to Osaka’s charm as a city of water.

Kansai International Airport, the world’s first offshore airport built entirely on an artificial island. It’s also known by the nickname “KIX,” based on its airport code, and has a total site area of approximately 1,055 hectares.
Kansai Airport Observation Hall Sky View is located around 320 meters from the main Runway A and offers various content across floors 1 to 5. On the rooftop is the “Sky Deck,” where you can enjoy 360-degree panoramic views and watch planes take off and land up close.

Harvest Hill is a place where you can enjoy seasonal flowers and interacting with animals. There’s a full lineup of activities, from rides for all ages to thrilling aerial adventure activities.
It’s also appealing that you can enjoy beautiful flowers year-round, such as tulips in spring, sunflowers in summer, and cosmos in fall.
In summer, the water play area “Jabu-Jabu Plaza,” where even small children can play, is also opened.

A hotel located on the highest floors (33rd–40th) of Nakanoshima Festival Tower West, directly connected to the Osaka Metro. With easy access to both “Kita” (where Osaka Station is) and “Minami” (where Namba Station is), it’s a convenient location for both business and leisure.
True to its concept, “Your Address in the Sky - Through the Clouds -,” the panoramic views looking down over Osaka from 200 meters above ground are breathtaking. You can enjoy this scenery from anywhere in the hotel, including rooms, restaurants, the spa, and meeting rooms.
Another reason we recommend this hotel for families is that it offers experiential stay plans that parents and kids can enjoy together.
With a dedicated “Kids Check-in Counter,” an “Adventure Map” handed out as a hotel guide, and many other fun touches, kids will love it.
Extras like sweet treats, well-stocked kids’ amenities, and even a kids’ tent in the room are also great perks.

Located in Sakuranomiya, known as one of Kansai’s top cherry blossom spots.
With the Okawa River flowing gently nearby and an outstanding setting rich in flowers and greenery, you can enjoy a relaxing, restful time even though you’re in the city center.
Since opening in Tokyo’s Hibiya as Japan’s state guest house in 1890, the Imperial Hotel’s “spirit of hospitality” has been passed down for over 130 years, and the warm service throughout the hotel is truly soothing for both body and mind.
For families, the hotel emphasizes “kid-friendly” hospitality, with many thoughtful touches to help you stay comfortably.
With free rentals of children’s pajamas and amenities, plus well-equipped diaper-changing stations and nursing rooms, even families with small children can feel at ease.
Restaurants also provide kids’ menus, high chairs, coloring supplies, picture books, and more so families can enjoy a fun, worry-free time together.
There’s also a great selection of kid-favorite items, including pancakes.

Tons of accommodation perks that come with being an official Universal Studios Japan hotel.
You can buy Studio Passes at the hotel, and gifts of original collaboration goods with the park are also worth checking out.
All guest rooms feature separate bath and toilet areas, and the spacious layout lets you relax as if you were at home. You’ll also find a full lineup of uniquely designed room types that are truly one of a kind.
The biggest reason it’s recommended for families is its great location—an Approx. 4-minute walk to Universal Studios Japan.
There are also plenty of official-hotel perks, such as checking attraction wait times in the hotel lobby.
It helps minimize kids’ travel fatigue and time spent waiting, so you can play to the fullest.
From character collaboration rooms to the low-bed “Mokomoko Room,” which is great for relaxing safely with small children, the distinctive rooms make any stay fun.

First, here’s a model itinerary for sightseeing in Osaka’s Bay Area.
The Bay Area’s biggest draw is having major theme parks like Universal Studios Japan and LEGOLAND Discovery Center Osaka.
If you stay in the Bay Area, it’s a short trip to the theme parks, so you can play hard without getting worn out from traveling.

One of the great joys of an Osaka trip is strolling through lively streets filled with warmth and energy.
However, simply wandering around on foot might leave kids tired and a bit bored.
This model itinerary is designed to satisfy both adults who want to explore the city and kids who want to play hard.
Stroll around Shinsekai, packed with “Osaka vibes,” stop by a zoo that kids love, and finish at the playful attraction Tsutenkaku Tower—fun for both adults and children.
Please use this model itinerary as a reference for a route that’s enjoyable for all ages and lets you fully soak up Osaka’s unique charm.