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Namba
District of Osaka, Japan

Namba

Namba is a district in Chūō and Naniwa wards of Osaka, Japan.

Plan a trip to Namba→From Osaka

It is regarded as the center of Osaka's Minami region. Its name came from a variation of Naniwa, the former name of Osaka. Namba hosts some of the city's main south-central railway terminals, as JR, Kintetsu, Nankai, Hanshin, and three Osaka Metro subway lines all have stations within this region.

Get in

Getting to Namba

The beating heart of Minami is Namba Station (難波, なんば Nanba), which is actually three separate but connected stations. Just plain Namba, the biggest of the three, is the Nankai Railway and metro hub, while JR serves JR Namba station and both Kintetsu and Hanshin connect to Osaka-Namba station. Nankai's Rapi:t limited expresses from Kansai International Airport take 34 minutes and cost ¥1390.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum
Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Sumo Spring Grand Tournament
  2. 02
    National Bunraku Theater

    One of the last places in the world where bunraku, a form of intricate puppet theater from the Edo period, can be seen live.

  3. 03
    ROR Comedy

    2−16−13 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo (near Namba station Yotsubashi line and Mido-suji line, also Horie and Doutonbori), edd@rorcomedy.com.

  4. 04
    The Silver Ball Planet
Eat

Where to eat

Dōtonbori (道頓堀) is a canal north of Namba station. Lined on both sides with countless restaurants and bars, with plenty of eye-catching neon signage, it is perhaps the most famous entertainment district in all Japan and exemplifies the Osakan maxim of kuidaore (食倒れ), "eat till you burst". The busiest stretch is between Dotonboribashi to the west and Nipponbashi to the east.

  1. 01
    Ajinoya

    Some of the best okonomiyaki in Osaka, and they're so proud of it they prepare it for you from start to end, making a good choice for the casual visitor as well.

  2. 02
    Melbourne Coffee

    1st Floor Sanei Moor Building, 3-8-7 Minamisenba Chuo-ku.

How locals move

Getting around Namba the local way

  • Get inOsaka International Ferry Terminal is in Nankō (南港) in the Osaka Bay Area.
  • Get inThe PanStar Line operates a ferry between Osaka and Busan.
  • Get inThe ferry leaves Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, at 15:10 from both Osaka and Busan and arrives the following day at 10:00.
  • Get inThe ferry holds live musical performances, magic shows, and other entertainment on the run.
  • Get inYou can take your car on the ferry, but there are documentation requirements.
  • Go nextIts location makes Osaka a perfect base for doing one-day trips to nearby cities like Kyoto (30 minutes), Kobe (20 minutes), Nara (40 minutes) or Himeji (1 hour).

From Wikivoyage: Osaka, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.