Osaka Travel Safety Guide — Japan

Safety Score: 9.2/10 · Value: 7.5/10 · Beauty: 8.2/10

Osaka is Japan's third-largest city and its most extroverted, loud, friendly, and obsessed with food and fun. Where Kyoto is refined and Tokyo is polished, Osaka is unpretentious and quick to joke, the historic merchant city whose unofficial motto is kuidaore, to eat yourself bankrupt. It's the perfect base for the Kansai region. The sensory heart is Dotonbori, a canal-side strip drowning in neon, the famous Glico running man sign, and stalls slinging takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Climb the reconstructed Osaka Castle and its surrounding park, shop the endless Shinsaibashi arcade, and ride the Tempozan Ferris wheel by the bay near the excellent Kaiyukan Aquarium. Universal Studios Japan and day trips to Nara's deer or Kyoto's temples are all within easy reach. Food is the headline act. Osaka invented or perfected takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (savory pancakes), kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers, never double-dip the sauce), and serves superb sushi and kaiseki too. Graze the Kuromon Ichiba market by day and bar-hop the lantern alleys of Shinsekai by night. Tip: get an ICOCA card for trains, the city is very walkable, and locals are warm and chatty by Japanese standards.

Tripvey Score — estimated from travel advisories and publicly available data. Not official safety advice.