Osaka - Glory of the past: Shinsekai and Expo Park

What?
Osaka 大阪 is Japan’s third largest city after capital Tokyo and its neighbouring Yokohama. Since the olden days Osaka has never been a political power, but it always made up with the economic inventiveness and down-to-earth coolness of its citizens. Divided in north (Umeda 梅田) and south (Namba なんば), most tourists go south to visit Dotonbori (道頓堀) – a large street filled with neons, Shinsekai (新世界) – the new world of the 1920’s, and all areas in between. But also the north of Osaka has things to offer like the Expo Park (万博記念公園), the neighbouring shopping center and Nifrel (ニフレル), an interactive aquazoo. For the Universal Studios Japan theme park located in Osaka, click here.
Where?
Shinsekai is very easily reached from either Shin-Imamiya Station (新今宮駅) on the JR line, Dobutsuen-mae Station (動物園前駅) on the Midosuji subway line and Ebisucho Station (恵美須町駅) on the Sakaisuji subway line. The Expo Park is a bit more difficult to reach as you need to find your way to the Osaka Monorail. The easiest is to take the subway from Umeda to Senri-chuo Station (千里中央駅), change to the monorail and get off at Bampaku-Kinen-Koen Station (万博記念公園駅). The Expo Park is not exactly located in Osaka itself, but rather in Suita City (吹田市) in Osaka Prefecture.
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Osaka Station Expo '70 Commemorative Park Expo City Nifrel

Living in the vicinity of Osaka, I sometimes get asked what the touristic attractions are in this city. Honesty leaves me no choice but to say that the only thing to do is eat and drink. The nickname for Osaka is kuidaore (食い倒れ), which means as much as eat till you drop. And it rightfully earns that naming: eateries and bars are not around every corner, but around every stone. And the Osaka locals do keep eating and drinking, even after they drop.

However going to the south there are some spots of interest for tourists looking for something else. I’m not hinting at the very famous Dotonbori (道頓堀), the street lit by hundreds of neon signs and pictured in almost every guide to Osaka. The sight of all these neon signs can be impressive, but you do have challenge hordes of other tourists.

A little bit more south of this street is Shin-Sekai (新世界), which literally means "new world", but couldn’t be farther from the truth. Before the war the area was designed as the "new" new place to be with a tower "to reach the sky". However this tower – Tsutenkaku (通天閣) – is now flanked by other huge buildings, making the name as equally ridiculous as Shin-Sekai.
But this foregone glory is well worth a visit. Some guides will write down that the area is a bit dangerous, but is there really a dangerous place in Japan? I like to come here and look at the old men play go, play some old pinball-like game, enjoy the huge offer of ridiculously colored socks and watch the over-the-top wooden and neon signs. And any visit to this area should end in eating in one of the many kushikatsu restaurants here. Kushikatsu is fried stuff on a stick, and it’s as simple as it is tasty.

Over the top neon signs in Shinsekai.

The Tsutenkaku Tower drowns in the flashyness around it.

The Tower of the Sun and Expo City's fiant ferris wheel.

Flowers in bloom at Expo Park.

Most tourists keep to the south of Osaka, however recently the north also has some fun spots to visit. The Expo ’70 Commemorative Park is a huge park divided into several areas – there’s a Japanese garden, a forest-like area with an aerial promenade, a big pond and a lot of sports facilities around it. The biggest eye catcher is of course the Tower of the Sun. It’s impossible to deny the grandeur of the sculpture, but it’s more difficult to understand it; to me it looks like a giant chicken satellite. The park and its surroundings have been neglected for several decades, but a few years back in 2015 the whole site south of the park was redeveloped as Expo City, a huge shopping center. People who love shopping can of course enjoy a visit, but there’s also a IMAX movie theater and a very interesting interactive aquazoo called Nifrel. With the Kaiyukan Aquarium nearby I wondered about the use of this place, but despite the pricey income it’s a really top-notch place where you can marvel at strange sea life in a completely different and fantastic setting. At the end of the tour you can walk next to penguins, pelicans and beavers – walk, don’t touch!
With also the new Gamba Osaka football home stadium nearby, the whole area is now enjoying a resurge of well-deserved tourism. Because even though the Expo Park has been neglected for a long time, the strange chicken satellite is still a landmark of Osaka.