Thinking Allowed: Amazing Osaka

We just spent a packed 48 hours exploring Osaka with the Amazing Osaka pass. This is a one or two day pass that includes transportation on trains and buses within Osaka and free entry to about 30 different attractions. While the price of the pass becomes less amazing when you multiply it by 5 -especially as there is no child price - all in all it is an incredible opportunity. I read reviews of others exploring Osaka using the pass, but did not find many accounts of families and not a single entry of a single parent with four children. I decided that I was up for the challenge of discovering how amazing the amazing pass would be with a four to one child adult ratio. I pored over the pass booklet trying to come up with an itinerary that would suit our needs and somehow make the pass worth our while while still being enjoyable for the children. And I am happy to report it was an amazing experience, and if anyone comes to Osaka they should definitely go for the card regardless of how many children they have in tow. So here is our amazing Osaka experience:

We had an early start to our day and headed for Tennoji temple where we were granted access to the inner sanctum of the temple complex. The children seemed interested in the buddhas and paintings but were much more keen on the cemeteries, the rock gardens, the hand washing stations and the wells. Tova insisted the graveyards in the temple complex were actually a maze and no matter how much I tried to convince her she clung to the cemetery-is-a-maze concept throughout our Tennoji wanderings. It required a lot of effort to get the kids quiet and prevent them from climbing up the sacred sites. I breathed a sigh of relief when we exited through the ornate gates.

Next up we went to Tsutenkaku tower - an Eiffel Toweresque structure with astounding views and no less than five gift shops. The children enjoyed the views nearly as much as the dark and interactive elevator ride up. We then trained to Dotonbori where we wandered around until our show started. This was not just any show but one involving outrageous costumes, shrimp babies, tap dancing, kabuki, a slightly offensive Miss Crepe, and very odd plot line involving river monsters woken up from a deep slumber due to too much food greed and who are ultimately defeated by rhythmic clapping. Next up was an activity my chldren have long coveted and been denied - the giant Ferris wheel. It met all their expectations. After a nice lunch of okonomiyaki and matcha ice creams we headed to the Legoland discovery center, essentially a small sized bit of Legoland. Here the children spent three joyous hours on rides (Tova especially liked my least favorite shooting game ride), solving lego mysteries, playing on a large indoor climbing playground, building lego and all those other things children love. Sweaty and tired, we then headed to the Cosmo tower for some night views of the city. Unfortunately, the tower was closed for some unidentified reason so we had to finish up our day with onigiri in the tower lobby. End of day one.

For day two I left the exhausted Tova with Jakob and took three children to the Osaka castle where we wandered through gardens and eight floors of castle history. We took a Gozabune boat through the moat before heading back to the castle to see the Illusion museum. The museum, much to Aurora's disappointment and Zadie's, glee was shut so we wandered around more gardens before hopping on another boat for a scenic ride down the river. From here we headed for lunch and then another Ferris wheel nestled between two large malls. We then walked over to the sky building where we took an escalator through the abyss to get to an odd donut-shaped rooftop where we could gaze lovingly at Osaka while eating ice cream. And then to another museum that was closed too! Then it was back to Dotonbori where we wandered around, ate some more, and went for an evening boat ride down the river. Given the museum closures, our day was mostly boat rides and views, which suited us just fine. Once the kids were cosied up back at home I got ready to go to the onsen included in the pass but then exhaustion took over and I decided the pass had been amazing enough. Apologies for the slightly boring play by play but hopefully this makes you as excited about Osaka as we are and likely to plan your own day our two of the Amazing Osaka pass.