Audio tour · Japan
Osaka
A self guided audio tour of Osaka.
Downloadon the App Store
The app is on the App Store
A self guided audio tour of Osaka.
Osaka is the friendliest city in Japan to arrive in hungry and with no plan. The streets around Dōtonbori pull you in with noise and light, but walk a little further and the city softens into canal side calm and ancient shrine grounds that feel completely removed from the commercial din. It is a place that rewards wandering, where the gap between a busy covered arcade and a quiet temple courtyard is often just a single turn.
In the app, 37 stops in Osaka are narrated aloud, about 1h 3m of listening across 5 walking routes, in 13 languages, offline once downloaded. Choose a route or build your own, then walk while a calm voice tells you the story of each stop. The app also maps 100 Instagram photo spots, social media photo locations with directions to where you stand for the shot.
The opening lines of a few narrations, straight from the tour.
"When you look at these towers, you are seeing the result of a massive shift in plans."
"When you stand here, you're standing at the site of a massive national effort."
"You are standing before a structure that was built specifically for the 1970 World Expo."
"You are standing in a place that seems almost impossible, a structure defined by what it lacks."
"You are standing in front of a building that is genuinely unique."
"Take a look at this massive building."
Curated orders through the city. Or build your own and press Play All.
From the floating garden of the Sky Building to the riverside shrines and theaters of north Osaka, this walk traces the dramatic vertical and horizontal contrasts that define the Umeda district.
Ancient temple grounds and a world class art museum lead you through Tennoji to the soaring heights of Abeno Harukas, Japan's tallest skyscraper, and back into the old merchant streets below.
A breezy loop around Osaka Bay takes in the Grand Ring monument, the government tower rising from reclaimed land, and Mount Tenpo, the most gently humbling summit in Japan.
The ancient grand shrine of Sumiyoshi leads through tucked away precincts and wooden gates to a pair of serene Buddhist temples in the peaceful southern reaches of the city.
Starting from a grand concert hall, this walk winds through the lantern lit alley of Hozen ji, past Bunraku puppet theater, and deep into the shrine courtyards and museum gardens where Naniwa's ancient palace once stood.
Every stop is narrated. Walk them in any order, or follow a route. Open a category to see what is inside.