Tempozan Harbor Village — Attraction in Osaka

Somewhere near the Southwest of the city, lie several small islands, one of them containing the Tempozan Harbour Village, or as some call it the Tempozan Bay Area. Here you can find several attractions together, the Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium), the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, the Santa Maria cruise ship and the Tempozan Market Place. I lumped them all together because this should definitely be a day's itinerary and helps with easier planning (it took us quite a while to figure out these four attractions go together).

Taken individually, the attractions don't really count as much but if you visit them all together and explore the area, it's really quite enjoyable (though I won't rank them highly). Activities here are more relaxing and slow-paced, as it's mostly only sightseeing.

Like I mentioned earlier, some of the attractions, for example the Kaiyukan and the ferris wheel aren't exactly new attractions to me. I've been to the aquarium at Sentosa and Singapore Flyer before, and I personally feel that Singapore's version are comparable, if not better. Except for the central pacific tank in the Kaiyukan and the opportunity to touch a stingray, Singapore's aquarium offered a more immersive experience while the Singapore flyer had a much bigger space and room (sometimes you need to travel the world to realise that your flyer rocks, eh?).

There's also not much to do in the Tempozan Market Place, other than some touristy priced items, but we did found a rather quaint eating place. It's called Kushikatsu where you can fry your own food after dipping them into some sauce and bread crumbs. Sinful but totally delicious.

There's also a Lego place at the market, but sadly it's just limited to children so we were not able to enter it. I wanted to say I'm still a child at heart but the employees didn't really understood my English.

Personally I find the whole Tempozan Bay area to be interesting, but not really high on my priority list. It's nice to see fishes and stuff, but nothing really jumps out at me (unless the fish escaped the tanks). I like the cruise ship experience the most, mainly because it's not always I get to be on the boat but other than that I would only rate the whole experience at Tempozan...

It’s a great place to shop and eat. I was surprised by the number of places to eat. You could get a good meal for less than 1000 yen if you look around. We even had fresh crepes for dessert from one of the food stands. If you are looking for American food they even have a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Subway among other American fast food Franchises. Souvenirs were affordable in the shopping areas. I found what we consider a dollar store in the US and they had lots of household goods but also just fun little trinkets for 100 yen each! To compare, we bought a sheet of stickers at the aquarium and found a similar sheet of stickers at this store and it was less than half the cost. I bought a brush for Japanese calligraphy and the paper for only 200 yen. (At our current exchange it was only about $1.75!) When you compare the cost to a US store, the same items are about 10x that cost. They even have a store that sells the fake food you see everywhere. The Ferris wheel was great. We were one of the last people to get on and there was no line. The night time view was great. We are glad we waited till night time...

Tempozan Harbor Village is a perfect weekend getaway in Osaka — a lively mix of food, fun, and scenic charm. You can savor fresh seafood, Japanese street snacks, and international flavors at the food stalls and restaurants, browse unique shops for souvenirs, and enjoy the breathtaking Santa Maria cruise with panoramic harbor views. The highlight is the world-class Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, where marine life from around the globe leaves you in awe. Everything is conveniently located, making it an easy, enjoyable, and memorable holiday spot...