While Tokyo is often the star of the show, Osaka is the unfiltered, raw rebel that offers a completely unedited look at Japan spanning thousands of years.

To be honest, when I first arrived to the city, I had zero expectations, which made it that much more beautiful when I saw the way the neon lights bounced off the ancient temples.

From world-class street food and friendly locals to incredible culture and history, there’s so much to explore that it can feel overwhelming when you get there. That’s why I highly recommend getting your grounding with one of the 5 top Osaka city tours out there!

These tours are well worth your time and money, though each one offers something a bit different from the rest – let’s jump right in!

Best Tours of Osaka City

	PERFECT KYOTO 1-Day Bus Tour	Osaka 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide	Ultimate Osaka Walking Tour (Osaka Castle, Shinsekai, Dotonbori)
Location:	Tully’s Coffee - Kyoto Avanti, Japan, 〒601-8003 Kyoto	Hotel pickup and drop-off included	Hotel pickup and drop-off included for private tours
Start:	7:50 AM	Between 8:30 AM & 3:00 PM	9:00 AM, 4:00 PM
Duration:	8 to 9 hours	4 hours	5 to 7 hours
Includes:	Air-conditioned vehicle, wifi on board, multilingual audio guidance, professional English-speaking tour guide, admission for Kiyomizu Temple, Sanjusangendo Temple, Tenryuji Temple, and Kinkakuji Temple, buffet lunch	Licensed Local English Speaking Guide, Customizable Tour of your choice of 2-3 sites from 'What to expect' list , Meet up with guide on foot within designated area of Osaka	One non-alcoholic beverage and some delicious Osakan street food, walking tour but can use train or taxi on request (at own expense), private, personalized tour OR group tour with others, choose your hours: 5hrs, 6hrs, 7hrs
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Osaka City Tours For 2025

1. PERFECT KYOTO 1-Day Bus Tour
2. Osaka 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
3. Ultimate Osaka Walking Tour (Osaka Castle, Shinsekai, Dotonbori)
4. Osaka 6hr Private Walking Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
5. Private Osaka Tour with a Local, Highlights & Hidden Gems 100% Personalised

Osaka City Tour Reviews

1. PERFECT KYOTO 1-Day Bus Tour

If you’re short on time or are only going to be in Kyoto for a day or two, the Perfect Kyoto 1-Day Bus Tour is the best option you can select. It’s pretty much as close as one can get to having a key to the city (without actually having a key to the city, of course), with a full-day bus tour designed to curate an itinerary that showcases the city’s iconic sites.

This comprehensive experience streamlines your day so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of planning each detail on your own, which can cost you more time and money.

Lasting anywhere from 8 to 9 hours, your journey starts out by meeting your guide at Tully’s Coffee early in the morning so you make the most of your time and can avoid a lot of the crowds that develop later in the day.

The day kicks off at the majestic Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which is a gorgeous UNESCO site which sits up on a hillside, offering one of the best panoramic views in Kyoto! Don’t worry – there’s plenty of time for photo ops, and our guide even offered to take some photos of us!

Next, you’ll wander through the serene paths of the Fushimi Inari Shrine, known for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which create a hypnotizing tunnel up the mountain.

You’ll also visit various iconic temples, such as the Sanjusangendo Temple, which contains 1001 Senju Kannon statues – most notably, is the sitting one in the center of the hall! We then took a break for a delicious buffet lunch, where I got to try plenty of Japanese dishes for the first time while chatting about our experience so far.

After walking through the hustle and bustle of the city, I enjoyed our time strolling the Bamboo Forest Trail, breathing in the cool, fresh air on our way up to the Tenryu-ji Temple. Follow your included map, making your way to a couple of other temples with your guide, keeping an eye out for Nijo Castle!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

2. Osaka 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide

While group tours can be a ton of fun, if you really want to maximize your time in Osaka, a private tour is the way to go. With the Osaka 4-hour Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide experience, you have your own personal expert there to show you the ins and outs of this fascinating place.

There’s no need to visit the places you’re less interested in, when you could go on a fun-filled, customized excursion tailored to all of the sights you want to see most.

Even researching these places ahead of time and planning your own adventure wouldn’t amount to the kind of quality you get on this tour – after all, my guide knew all the best photo spots, tips for avoiding crowds, and offered invaluable insight into local culture and daily life.

As if that weren’t enough, she even shared some incredible recommendations for shops and restaurants that I made sure to use during the rest of my time there!

You can work with your guide on a pickup time that works best for you – there’s no need to deal with finding meetup points or booking separate transportation as they’ll come right to your hotel to pick you up.

Our first stop of the day was at the thriving Dotonbori street, which is filled to the max with food, shopping, neon signs, arcades, and more – it’s almost like Japan’s amusement park! Next up, you’ll see the “New World” known for the Osaka Eiffel Tower, Kushikatsu, and Spa World (highly recommend exploring this when you have some time and want to really relax!).

We continued on to markets, high-rise buildings, ancient temples, and art museums while our guide regaled us with intriguing, educational commentary about each location. It was interesting to see the contrast between old and new, and the quaint and opulent!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

3. Ultimate Osaka Walking Tour (Osaka Castle, Shinsekai, Dotonbori)

Next up is one of the most versatile, flexible tours out there: the Ultimate Osaka Walking Tour (Osaka Castle, Shinsekai, Dotonbori)! Here, you get to choose if you want a completely private tour or a small-group tour, as well as select if you’d like a purely walking tour or would like to make use of trains or taxis during your excursion.

I personally recommend the private tour as it’s just a bit more, and they’ll come right to your hotel lobby to pick you up! I chose the private tour as I really wanted to get the most out of the experience – my guide was so friendly and right upon picking me up was already sharing interesting stories and asked about my interests regarding Osaka so he could help tailor the tour around them.

I appreciate just how well he contrasted the old with the new, highlighting local culture’s importance on what “came before” and tradition – something I think everyone could benefit from! You’ll undoubtedly see the more authentic side of Osaka with plenty of areas the are almost exclusively frequented by locals only.

Aside from the exciting sightseeing, I have to say this was one of the most educational tours I’ve ever been on. You’ll learn far more than you ever could from a history book or YouTube video – actually getting information right from a local who’s incredibly passionate about the matter, AND was born and raised in Osaka.

However, you’ll not only learn about the city, but about plenty of general Japanese history, culture, and even a bit of humor tossed in! I personally loved exploring “Amerika-mura” which is a collection of narrow streets known for its youth culture that caters to streetwear, arts, and top-notch bars and restaurants.

If you’re not a streetwear fan, not to worry – you’ll also see the most important covered shopping street in the city that’s been in operation for centuries, with quite literally hundreds of shops that are sure to have whatever you’re looking for. Another gem for me was visiting the hidden alleyway with traditional lanterns – Hozenji Yokocho – which was virtually impossible for me to find on my own!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Osaka 6hr Private Walking Tour with Government-Licensed Guide

Listen, I know that a 6-hour walking tour may sound like a lot, but trust me when I saw that this tour is going to fly by. The Osaka 6-hour Private Walking Tour with Government-Licensed Guide is an impeccably organized experience catered to your interests while taking you beyond the typical sightseeing loop.

Whether you want to explore the historic grandeur of Osaka’s past or the modern frenzy of Dotonbori, this time is yours to take advantage of a local guide who knows it all like the back of their hand!

Your start time depends on what works best for your schedule, with your guide coming right to your hotel to pick you up so no time or money is wasted on getting to meetup points.

They’ll provide you with a list of “what to expect” sites, where you’ll get to choose 3 to 4 that really stand out to you – the rest of the itinerary is based on those points of interest to make the most of your time. It was great having a guide who didn’t just rattle off facts but rather shared personal anecdotes, rich historical accounts, insider tips, and even took the time to take photos of us!

This time, I decided to go to Minami (Namba) which is known for its massive array of entertainment options, including top-notch dining and shopping (great for picking up a few souvenirs!). I wanted to learn a bit more about Buddhism, so we headed to one of Japan’s oldest shrines, which is called the Sumiyoshi Taisha.

Founded all the way back in the 3rd century before Buddhism was even introduced, the architecture style is incredibly unique, lending to its rich maritime history (pro tip: don’t forget to take a photo at the red bridge!).

If you’re into history or architecture, I highly suggest visiting the Shitennoji Temple as well, which was founded back in the 500s and was the first one ever constructed by the state. To switch things up a bit, we ended up heading to the breathtaking observation deck at the massive Umeda Sky Building to take more photos!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Private Osaka Tour with a Local, Highlights & Hidden Gems 100% Personalised

If you’re on a tight budget but still want to explore Osaka in-depth, this is hands-down the most affordable private tour of its kind. The Private Osaka Tour with a Local, Highlights & Hidden Gems 100% Personalized experience takes you where the city calls you most – no matter if it’s to the backstreets of Namba or into the glowing Osaka Castle.

On this tour I went with some extended family who brought their kids along, so I can attest to the fact that it’s also great for keeping younger ones entertained and safe!

When we booked, we were sent a pre-tour questionnaire where we got to list off what exactly we were interested in, whether that be broader interests like “architecture” or “food” or specific sites. As there were kids with us, we wanted to focus not only on some of the major sites but plenty of more serene areas to ensure no one was feeling overwhelmed.

Our guide came back to us with a well-planned itinerary involving parks, viewpoints overlooking the city, and more quaint, traditional locations that aren’t all that easy to encounter without a local helping you.

One of the coolest spots for me was Hozenji Yokocho which I’d already been to on another tour, but wanted to explore the dozens of Japanese eateries (hello, tofu tiramisu!) a bit more to fuel up before we continued along.

The teenagers we were with loved Dotombori, of course, and we took some time playing in the arcades, which we frankly could’ve done all day long! Everyone loved seeing the ancient shrines and temples, and what really made the experience so rich was our guide taking us to plenty of places that were out of the way – “hidden gems”, if you will.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience