One day three ways: Osaka

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This was published 9 years ago

One day three ways: Osaka

By Stephen Phelan
The Shinsekai district by night.

The Shinsekai district by night.Credit: Alamy

PENNY-PINCH

Osaka usually follows just behind Tokyo in roundups of the world's most expensive urban centres. But it's cheap to eat, and the food is fantastic. Start early for breakfast at Endo Sushi, just outside the central fish market ($20 for 10 pieces, endo-sushi.com/english.html). It's "the city without trees" but the parklands of Osaka Castle make for a nice contrast with the skyscrapers, and the castle museum provides context ($6.50, osakacastle.net/english). From there see the "floating garden observatory" on the upper floors of the Umeda Sky Building ($7.50, skybldg.co.jp). For dinner try the takoyaki at Aizu-ya - fried, rounded chunks of batter and octopus ($10 for 12, Juso Honmachi 1 Chome 20-20, Yodogawa-ku). Hotel Kuramoto is a Japanese inn near the busy Dotonbori district (rooms from $60, kuramoto-hotel.co.jp/en).

TOTAL: $104

EASY DOES IT

Streamer Espresso is the city's first and only great coffee shop, and a good bet for breakfast ($20, streamercoffee.com/osaka). You won't find many bargains in the city centre, but it's worth a trip to Rinku Town, a cluster of outlet stores near Kansai Airport (expect to spend at least $100, premiumoutlets.co.jp/en/rinku). Then calm yourself with an afternoon at Osaka Kaiyukan - the world's biggest aquarium ($20, kaiyukan.com/language/eng) - followed by an evening soak in Spa World, an oddball multi-storey, multi-themed bathhouse ($25 for three hours, spaworld.co.jp/english/service). After an okonomiyaki dinner at Botejyu ($30, botejyu.com) and drinks at the Beer Belly brew-pub ($20, Tosabori 1-1-30, Osaka River Building 1F), retire to the Hotel Monterey Grasmere (from $85 with meals, kaneyosi.jp/english).

TOTAL: $300

SPLASH OUT

Hit the breakfast buffet at the New Otani Hotel's Azalea restaurant ($50, hotelnewotaniosaka.jp). Shop all morning in boutiques from the Shinsaibashi district to Namba Parks and Tachibana-Dori. The shop Rocks is good for young designers (items from $250, rocks-rocks2009.blogspot.com), or get the best knives in the world from Sennichimae Doguya-Suji (from $150, doguyasuji.or.jp). The National Bunraku Theatre is Japan's most venerated platform for this highly artistic puppet-show ($80, ntj.jac.go.jp/english), and get the best seats at Koshien Stadium if the Hanshin Tigers are playing baseball at home ($100, hanshin.co.jp/koshien). Then take your chances with fugu pufferfish at Zuboraya (set meal and sake $120, r.gnavi.co.jp/k557600/lang/en) before bed at the phenomenal St Regis Osaka (rooms from $250, stregisosaka.co.jp).

TOTAL: $1000

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