Japan's largest covered shopping arcade, which began as a wet market during the Edo period (1604–1868), stretches 2.6km over six blocks. The majority of shops here (which number around 600) remain small enterprises – tiny game parlours, independent coffee shops, bakeries, repair shops and the like. Look up to see torii (Shintō shrine gates) suspended from the ceiling and traditional dolls affixed to arching entrance ways – both a nod to nearby Osaka Tenman-gū, also known as Tenjin-san.
Tenjinbashi-suji Shōtengai
Osaka
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Nishiki Market
25.37 MILES
The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
23.55 MILES
The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…
Tōdai-ji
18.74 MILES
Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…
Hōryū-ji
14.16 MILES
Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…
Kiyomizu-dera
25.51 MILES
A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…
Fushimi Inari-Taisha
23.57 MILES
With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…
Chion-in
26.1 MILES
A collection of soaring buildings, spacious courtyards and gardens, Chion-in serves as the headquarters of the Jōdo sect, the largest school of Buddhism…
Osaka-jō
1.29 MILES
After unifying Japan in the late 16th century, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi built this castle (1583) as a display of power, using, it's said, the labour of…
Nearby Osaka attractions
1. Osaka Tenman-gū
0.37 MILES
Founded in the 10th century, this shrine is where Osaka students come to pray for success: it's dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, also known as Tenjin-san,…
2. Osaka Museum of Housing & Living
0.56 MILES
Two subway stops from Umeda, this museum contains a life-sized reproduction of an 1830s Osaka neighbourhood with shophouses, drug stores, an old-style…
3. O-hatsu Ten-jin
0.6 MILES
Hiding in plain sight amid the skyscrapers of Umeda, this 1300-year-old shrine owes its fame to one of Japan's best-known tragic plays (based on true…
4. Museum of Oriental Ceramics
0.64 MILES
This museum has one of the world's finest collections of Chinese and Korean ceramics, with smaller galleries of Japanese ceramics and Chinese snuff…
5. Osaka Central Public Hall
0.68 MILES
Built in 1911, this dramatic, red-brick neo-Renaissance building is an important cultural property.
6. Naka-no-shima-kōen
0.68 MILES
Osaka's first public park, created in 1891 at the eastern end of Naka-no-shima, is a good place for an afternoon stroll or picnic lunch.
7. Osaka City Hall
0.74 MILES
A mid-1980s building incorporating some elements from the 1921 City Hall.
8. Umeda Sky Building
1.22 MILES
Osaka's landmark Sky Building (1993) resembles a 40-storey, space-age Arc de Triomphe. Twin towers are connected at the top by a 'floating garden' (really…