What other travelers are saying about Osaka Museum of History
Really enjoyed my time at the museum! It was an impromptu plan but I’m so glad I went. Some really interesting exhibits to learn about Japan’s history. I think the entire museum will take you about 60-90 mins to cover if you visit all exhibits.
Great place to learn more about Osaka and its history! I didn’t plan to come here on the 28th of March—just happened to walk in randomly (I forgot how much the entrance fee was). There’s a lot of cool information and exhibitions. I love how there are plenty of chairs and sofas on every floor, so you don’t have to worry if you’re tired from walking elsewhere. You won’t end up walking nonstop in this museum—there’s enough space to rest (mostly in front of the toilets), and it’s super comfy and clean!
Nicely curated museum just beside Osaka Castle. As soon as we got off the train, the NHK Building was there and we decided to check out the museum first before exploring the castle. We learned a lot about Osaka - its history and how it became the city it is today. The regular museum exhibit starts at the 10th floor, each floor showcases Osaka's history from geological formations, to the different parts of history - shogunate, industrial transformation etc.
While going down to the other floors, you can see the beautiful views of the city facing the port area and a great view of the Osaka Castle. We spent about 2.5hrs here going through every display and reading most of the descriptions. There's an area for kids (and adults too) where they can play with puzzles, look at microscopes, play on a 90s model PC, dig some fossils and more.
Who could've thought it was possible to fill 4 floors for a local history museum, but Osaka has done it. The exhibits are of the highest calibre, especially the models of the Naniwa Period. Although the life sized models on all the floors are excellent.
There's a currently a special exhibition of Japanese sword making, which I highly recommend. Although most of it is about traditional Japanese swords, there's a special section. This special section is a collaboration between sword-smiths and modern manga artists to create some fanciful swords.
It's also worth taking the escalators down and you can get birds eye view of Osaka Castle and the castle park.
Well worth a visit.
It’s a good museum. But not the best. The exhibitions themselves are a little bit dated and the English translations aren’t extensive but they are there. I’d recommend bringing a translation app.
It was interesting to learn about how Osaka has developed over time but I did notice the complete lack of history on the WW2 period. This I didn’t like, it is important to acknowledge this and Japans role in this, along with every other country too.
The special exhibition on Japanese swords was very cool but there is no English at all.
Worth a visit if you are looking to kill time but definitely not a must visit
