Mid-range · 6-hour walk · Osaka
Shitennō-ji and Shinsekai in six hours
Japan's oldest temple, the retro tower district, the deep-south shrine and the view from the tallest building in the country.
The three-hour route does the castle and Dōtonbori. This is south Osaka, which visitors skip and Osakans do not: a temple founded in 593, a district built in 1912 to look like Paris and Coney Island at once and barely touched since, and one of the oldest and strangest shrines in Japan. It finishes 300 metres up Abeno Harukas, which is the best view in the city and never has a queue.
The route, stop by stop
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Shitennō-ji
Founded in 593 and the oldest officially administered temple in Japan. Rebuilt many times; the garden and the treasure house are the ticketed parts.
55 min here Walk here → -
Shinsekai
Built in 1912 with a Parisian half and an American half, then left alone for a century. Kushikatsu restaurants end to end and a rule about not double-dipping the sauce.
50 min here Walk here → -
Tsūtenkaku
The 1956 tower at the centre of Shinsekai, with the Billiken god of things-as-they-ought-to-be on the observation deck. Rub his feet.
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Sumiyoshi Taisha
Arrive by train from the previous stop
One of the oldest shrines in Japan, predating Chinese architectural influence entirely, with a steeply arched bridge over the pond at the entrance.
60 min here Walk here → -
Abeno Harukas
Arrive by train from the previous stop
Three hundred metres and the tallest building in Japan when it opened. The top-floor deck is open to the sky in the middle.
60 min here Walk here →
More in Osaka
Every walking route in Osaka, or the full Osaka guide for where to stay and what a day costs.