Japan's third largest city, Osaka is Tokyo’s rebellious younger sibling, doing its best to assert its independence and quirky personality. Long Japan’s trading hub, it is a wealthy city that absolutely loves its food – so much so it has the nickname ‘Japan’s Kitchen’, so be prepared to taste as much as you can! ‘Kuidaore’ which means roughly ‘to ruin oneself by extravagance in food’ is the city’s unofficial motto, and who are we to argue with that?

Osaka is a unique place that is to be experienced rather than seen – whilst there isn’t a huge amount to visit, there is plenty of ambience to soak up, extremely friendly locals to meet and fascinating areas to wander.