A FREE observation deck in Osaka! Yes, you read that correctly! Located in Abeno Harukas, this observation deck is on the 16th floor. If you want to go higher, there are more observations decks on the 58th – 60th floor. However, we were very pleased with this free observation deck.
There was plenty of seating and a nice tranquil garden-like area. If you’ve been to Japan, you’ll know that free and plentiful seating isn’t always easy to find. We came on a Monday at 2pm and while the benches by the glass windows were mostly occupied, there was a lot of empty seating by the “garden”.
This was an extremely enjoyable area to sit and rest our feet (and maybe check our Instagram). Lots of other people were chatting quietly or just taking a moment to rest. The atmosphere was extremely calm and chill. It’s close to the train stations and lots of shopping opportunities nearby.
If you’re feeling parched, there’s also a vending machine in the corner of the observatory. The drinks were relatively reasonably priced at ~130 yen. We chose to get a hot drink as we went during the wintertime. It made for such a nice cozy afternoon watching the city flicker by below us.
OVERALL
We liked that there is also an opportunity to throw away your garbage at this machine. One of our pet peeves when visiting Japan is the lack of places to dispose of our garbage – usually we would have had to carry our empty bottle with us until we got back to the hotel. This was a nice convenience to have.
We highly recommend this free observation deck if you’re in Osaka! If you need help planning your trip to Japan, check out our post with tips here.
