Osaka Photography Spots: Osaka Castle, Shinsekai and Dotonbori

Osaka Castle at sunset with a warm orange sky, photographed with a 70-200mm lens

Osaka was the first stop on our trip to Japan, and it completely won me over. It's loud, colourful, full of food and so easy to photograph. In this guide I'm sharing my favourite Osaka photography spots from the week we spent there, from golden hour portraits at Osaka Castle to the retro streets of Shinsekai and the giant signs of Dotonbori. Every photo was taken on my LUMIX S9, mostly with the little 35mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8.

This is the first post in my Osaka series. If you love neon and night shots, I put all of those in a separate post on Osaka street photography at night, and our temple-filled Kyoto day trip from Osaka has its own post too. We arrived late at night, so the first morning in Osaka felt like landing on a different planet. Watch the start of the vlog.

Osaka Castle: golden hour portraits in the castle grounds

Our hotel was right next to a little river with turtles in it, and we could see the very top of Osaka Castle from our window. So on our first afternoon we walked straight over. The castle sits in a huge park with stone walls, moats, bridges and lots of trees, which makes it one of the easiest places in the city to find soft, pretty light for portraits. See the view from our room.

Osaka Castle with its white walls and green roofs against a clear blue sky

Osaka Castle from the grounds. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

I started the walk with a tiny manual focus pancake lens, but I didn't last long on it and quickly swapped to my 35mm. The weather was so beautiful that afternoon. The trick here is to use the stone walls and the old trees as your backgrounds, and to wait until the sun drops a little so the light comes through the leaves. Watch us walk to the castle.

Woman in a cream t-shirt sitting on a stone wall with the Osaka skyline behind her, shot on the LUMIX S9

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Woman sitting on a rock under green trees in the Osaka Castle park, uneditedUnedited
Woman sitting on a rock under green trees in the Osaka Castle park, edited with Disposable FilmEdited with Disposable Film

Unedited on the left, edited with my Disposable Film preset on the right. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

Woman hugging her knees on a large rock in a leafy park in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Woman in jeans and a cream t-shirt looking to the side in afternoon light, shot on a 35mm

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Around the outer moat you'll find old stone bridges, cyclists and locals walking home, so it's a great spot for a little street photography too. I loved this tree growing straight out of the stone steps.

Large tree growing beside stone steps near Osaka Castle
Man cycling across a bridge in the Osaka Castle park in late afternoon light

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Woman leaning on a wooden railing above the moat at Osaka Castle, looking over her shoulder

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Osaka Castle at sunset from our hotel window

We went back to the hotel before dinner, and the light was so pretty that I put on my LUMIX 70-200mm f4 and photographed the view straight out of the window. A long lens is perfect for this because it compresses the castle and the skyline and lets you pick out little details, like the river and the bridge below. If you're booking a hotel in Osaka, it's worth looking for one with a castle view. See the sunset from our window.

Osaka Castle at sunset with a warm orange sky, shot with a 70-200mm from a hotel window
Osaka skyline silhouetted against an orange sunset sky

LUMIX S9 + 70-200mm f4. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

City buildings reflected in a river at sunset in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 70-200mm f4. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Osaka buildings with mountains in the distance at sunset
A convenience store hidden among the trees near Osaka Castle

LUMIX S9 + 70-200mm f4. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Crowds walking towards the stone walls of Osaka Castle

LUMIX S9 + 70-200mm f4. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Kuromon Market: go later than we did

Our third day in Osaka was so windy that we changed plans and spent it exploring. The first stop was Kuromon Market, which I thought would be a great street photography spot. Unfortunately it was too early and a lot of the stalls were still closed, so I only came away with one photo inside. If you go, I'd plan on mid-morning or lunchtime when the food stalls are open and the market is busy. See Kuromon Market.

Decorative manhole cover on a paved footpath in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

Wide road lined with trees and tall buildings in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

Entrance to Kuromon Market in Osaka with a cyclist crossing the road

Kuromon Market. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Shoppers walking through the covered Kuromon Market arcade with motion blur

Inside Kuromon Market. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Street photography on the walk to Shinsekai

From the market we walked all the way to Shinsekai and did some street photography along the way. This is where I really fell for Osaka. The side streets are full of vending machines, red post boxes, bicycles and power lines, and they make such simple, graphic frames. For a lot of these I found a nice composition first and then waited for someone to ride past on a bike, side on. It sometimes takes a few tries, and you'll always get a car in the background at the worst moment. Watch me waiting for a cyclist.

Row of drink vending machines and a red post box under an orange awning in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Red Japan Post box on a quiet street corner in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

View past a red awning down a quiet Osaka street

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

I switched to the 85mm for part of this walk. That street looked so good with an 85mm, with the mixture of trees and power lines stacked on top of each other. A longer lens is great in Osaka because it squeezes all those layers of signs and wires together.

Busy Osaka street with power lines and signs, compressed with an 85mm lens
Person walking past a blue vending machine on an Osaka street corner

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Person walking down the middle of a narrow street in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Cyclist crossing a narrow Osaka street lined with power poles
Festoon lights and power lines strung across an Osaka laneway

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Entrance gate to Shinsekai in Osaka with a large tree out the front

The entrance to Shinsekai. LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Cyclist riding through a busy pedestrian street in Shinsekai

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku Tower

Shinsekai has such an old school, retro vibe. I love all the lights and giant signs, and of course Tsutenkaku Tower at the end of the street is so iconic. It gets really busy, so instead of fighting the crowds I put an ND filter on my camera and slowed my shutter speed right down. The people walking through the frame turn into soft streaks, which looks so much cooler than freezing a crowd you don't really want in your photo. See how I set up the shutter drag.

Colourful restaurant signs and lanterns in Shinsekai, Osaka
Shoppers blurred by a slow shutter speed walking through Shinsekai

LUMIX S9 + 85mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Tsutenkaku Tower framed by giant signs in Shinsekai, Osaka

Tsutenkaku Tower. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Crowds blurred with a quarter second shutter speed in front of Tsutenkaku Tower

A shutter drag with an ND filter. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Dotonbori by day: giant signs and street food

Osaka is the place to be if you want to eat, and Dotonbori is the heart of it. The streets are lined with food vendors and the most eclectic shop fronts, with giant 3D signs of crabs, dragons, octopus and pufferfish hanging off the buildings. My dad always asks about these signs, so I had to film a few for him. Go during the day for the colours and the signs, then come back after dark for the neon. Watch the Dotonbori walk.

Giant green dragon sign on a ramen shop in Dotonbori, blurred crowd below
Huge red octopus sign on a takoyaki shop in Dotonbori, Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Bright yellow sign above a busy Dotonbori street

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Colourful 3D food signs on a building in Dotonbori

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Giant mechanical crab sign above a restaurant in Dotonbori, Osaka
Pedestrians on a busy shopping street in Dotonbori under blue sky

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Giant gyoza sign on a building in Dotonbori

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Crowds walking under signs and street lamps in Dotonbori

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

The main street in Dotonbori is so busy that I did another shutter drag here. It's just the best way to make the people blend into the photo in a more cinematic way. See the shutter drag in Dotonbori.

Giant angry face sign above a kushikatsu restaurant with blurred crowds
Tall red lucky cat sign on a building in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Giant strawberry sign above a shop front in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

The Dotonbori canal

Down by the canal you get a completely different view of Dotonbori, with the river running between rows of signs and buildings. The walkways along the water are a great place to slow down and take wider shots, especially in the late afternoon when the light starts to warm up.

Dotonbori canal lined with buildings and signs on a sunny afternoon

The Dotonbori canal. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Boat on the Dotonbori canal surrounded by signs and buildings, uneditedUnedited
Boat on the Dotonbori canal surrounded by signs and buildings, edited with Disposable FilmEdited with Disposable Film

Unedited on the left, edited with my Disposable Film preset on the right. LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

Street food vendors cooking takoyaki in Dotonbori

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Busy Dotonbori street with lanterns and signs in the late afternoon

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Red ramen signs against a blue sky in Dotonbori
Bicycles parked on a busy street in Dotonbori

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8. Edited with my Disposable Film preset.

Dinner was a random little restaurant we sat down at, and it ended up being one of the best meals of the trip. That's my favourite thing about Osaka: you don't need a plan, just walk until something smells good.

Bowl of ramen with a soft boiled egg and two beers on a wooden table in Osaka

LUMIX S9 + 35mm f1.8.

My tips for photographing Osaka

  • Pack a small, fast prime. I shot almost everything on a 35mm f1.8, and switched to an 85mm when I wanted to compress the signs and power lines.
  • Bring an ND filter. A variable ND lets you drag the shutter in crowded spots like Shinsekai and Dotonbori, so people become motion blur.
  • Wait for the cyclist. Find your composition first, then wait for someone to ride through side on.
  • Use a bag that doesn't look like a camera bag. I used a simple sling bag for the whole trip and my camera survived just fine. See my travel bag.
  • Shoot the same street day and night. Dotonbori looks like a completely different place after dark.

If you're travelling around Japan, Osaka pairs perfectly with Kyoto and Nara. You can read my Kyoto travel photography guide and my Nara day trip and deer park photography guide, and you'll find our next stops in my Kyoto vlog and Tokyo vlog on YouTube.

Osaka photography FAQ

What are the best photography spots in Osaka?

My favourites were Osaka Castle and its park, the side streets between Kuromon Market and Shinsekai, Shinsekai with Tsutenkaku Tower, and Dotonbori with its giant signs and canal.

When is the best time to photograph Osaka Castle?

Late afternoon into sunset. The park trees soften the light for portraits, and at sunset the castle glows against an orange sky.

Is Kuromon Market good for street photography?

It can be, but go when the stalls are open. We went too early and most of the shops were still closed.

What lens is best for Osaka street photography?

A 35mm is a great all-rounder. I also loved an 85mm for compressing the signs, wires and buildings together.

How do you photograph crowded streets in Osaka?

I use an ND filter and a slow shutter speed so the people walking through the frame blur into soft streaks.

What camera did you use in Osaka?

Every photo was taken on the LUMIX S9, mostly with the LUMIX 35mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.8, plus the 70-200mm f4 for the sunset views.

Next up, see my Osaka street photography at night and our Kyoto day trip from Osaka. Most of these photos were edited with my Disposable Film preset. Browse all my packs in the Lightroom Presets for Portraits collection, and if you're stuck between a few, you can buy any 3 presets and save 10%.

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