Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

Visiting the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living is like stepping back in time to the streets of mid-19th-century Osaka to see how they might have looked during the Edo Period.  The museum is laid out in a series of recreated houses, each depicting an element of daily life, including merchant houses, a bath house and a town hall. For an additional fee, visitors can rent traditional kimonos to wear while walking around to really immerse themselves in the scene and to create better photo opportunities.  After you’ve toured the recreated Old Osaka on the building’s ninth floor, head downstairs to see the impressive scale model of “New Osaka” as it looked just after World War II. The tenth-floor observatory makes for a prime spot to people-watch, as museum-goers pass just below.

Practical Info

The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living is located on the eighth floor of the Housing Information Center Building in Kita-ku, so it’s a little difficult to see from the street. The easiest way to get there is by taking the Tanimachi line to Tenjinbashisuji-rokuchōme.