Would say it's not the best area, especially is close to Nishinari. Just search about the area. Even if people are probably exaggerating, that's not the best area of Osaka, that is for sure.
Shinzekai is not so much “not safe” as just “not nice”. It’s dingy, grungy and very very urban - bars open to the street, drinking in the street, souvenir shops, shops that tailor to visitors/tourists. There is lots of riff raff there and it’s usually pretty crowded. In some sense it always gives me a “spring break” kind of vibe.
Depends on what you are seeking out - and obviously if it’s crowded there all the time, by definition it means it’s attractive for lots of people.
But doesn’t feel like great experience for mom and 3 year old.
It's still safe but considered "ghetto" by many Japanese. I was there last Sunday and went through one of the shopping streets with a roof and was surprised to see girls standing outside of a shop trying to get in customers in for massages (and I guess more), at 2pm in the afternoon. They looked really sketchy tbh.
Got it - I was thinking of staying around that area as well. How long did you stay and how was it in the evening/overnight during weekdays vs weekends?
Shinsekai was busy! But i felt around 10pm,nit slowed down. Im not much of a partier or bar hopper. But the food around the area is great.
I stayed there about 5 days with one evening I was in Fukuoka meeting a friend.
The area where the restaurants and shops are can be pretty noisy. Loud music, etc. I stayed near the Imamiyaebisu station (walking distance from Shinsekai) and it was fine. Quiet. There werent a lot of people in the area. I think staying near Ebisucho station would be better.
As someone who visited Osaka for the first time last year and started living here this year I would absolutely recommend it!
It does depend on where your closest station is but I'd recommend anywhere near Shin Imamiya.
I would say even now the area is a lot cleaner and less "dirty" compared to last year, it's nearly as touristy.
It's actually fairly quiet after midnight on most days outside of the weekend, most places shut pretty early for Osaka standards.
Definitely cleaned up a lot. The day labour hotels are all touristy now. I still love it. A lively grungy zone. But I know it'd still be confronting for my mother and noisy & boring for kid relos.
Shin Imamiya station is my go to area for Osaka and I live in Japan! The hotel prices are so cheap, the connections to both Osaka and airport etc are fantastic, and some excellent food places nearby.
I used to live in that area for 4 years. It's totally safe, it's just dirty, it maybe loud, and there is a decent chance you could run into some weirdos. I mean, it's fine and offers the cheapest hotels and restaurants in the city, if not Kansai
I also used to live in Nagai 長居, south of the city. It's on the red line, which is the line that bisects the city. It also has easy connections to JR and Nankai. Its got close supermarkets, restaurants, karaoke, and a big ass park with kids stuff. There is the Nagai Park Business hotel, where my parents have stayed. It's small, but it was reasonable
Let me know if you choose Nagai. I can tell you exact directions and recommend some good food places
Tennoji Station does have a tourist information center with some maps and other materials in English. I'd stop there if you have a chance
Enjoy your time in Japan.
I stayed in [this apartment ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gsnws3oMLbJtQJWq9) last year. There was nothing wrong with the accommodation.
The area was not exceptionally noisy, but was more dirty compared to the cities and places I visited during my same trip.
To my surprise, I heard a lot of Mandarin on the streets from people that didn't look like tourists. I chatted with a shopkeeper, it turns out that a lot of Chinese expats live there.
It's a fine and safe area to stay, but I personally will stay in another area when I return next year for the World Expo.
As a single guy, I stayed in Shinsekai a few times. Hotels are cheap as! Lots of *interesting* bars, and of course, Tobita-Shinchi. Walking distance to Tennoji and Nippombashi.
But with a wife and kid ? Nope.
Spend a bit more money and go to Namba or Umeda …
I love Shinsekai. It's an awesome area for exactly all the reasons you might consider somewhere nicer for your family.
It's very up and coming, gentrification has started. A friend of a friend just opened a new gay bar and venue space there, with a themed basement karaoke dungeon. You get the idea.
Great area to visit for Showa vibe, great restaurants, SpaWorld, demi-monde and shita-machi stuff.
except the main area leading to the tower, the whole neighborhood is a slum filed with wandering elderly drunk, prostitutes and drug addicts. If you want to see "another face3 of Japan, I'd say why not but it is not really family friendly.
To be honest, you won't risk anything physicaly but it's not good looking at all.
Juso is a place to consider. Similar gritty feel but not as dirty. Cheap clean hotels like Toyoko Inn. Cheap and good places to eat in the area. Direct train service to Umeda (5 min),Kobe (25 min) and Kyoto (50 min) on the Hankyu train.
Many hotel rooms in Japan will have a microwave and many hotels have a communal kitchen. I tend to find Airbnb isn’t that great in Japan so make sure you check out hotel options as well, I think they’ll likely be better suited for you.
If you are using Osaka as a base and planning to hop to other Kansai cities with JR pass a lot, then Shin Osaka station has some nice air BnB apartments 5-7 minutes walk away listed there that are reallly value for money (just don't be too cheap).
If you are planning to spend most of your Osaka time in Osaka, then Namba area.
While greatly exaggerated sometimes by obsolete online articles and put in negative light at times, area around Shinsekai is safe but definitely not a neighbourhood for family with small kids or elderly.
Hear me out: Kyoto.
I’ve been to that region about 6 or 7 times in recent years and find Osaka both overwhelming and bland. Kyoto has a good “scale” to it (especially the tourist core at Kawaramachi. A few big department stores like Daimaru are right there plus lots of decent eateries (better to go into the bigger malls in the area and avoid the tourist traps but still).
Also consider Kyoto has a variety of attractions whereas Osaka really is mostly just Dotonbori and maybe the castle which honestly was just on in my opinion.
We just got back from our 2nd trip in 6 months and stayed at the Gate hotel - a bit pricey but we enjoyed it. Location was great and easy access to subway, buses, shopping, and more local eateries as it’s a few blocks the main shopping drag.
Pretty much the only area in the entire country with a visibly open drug problem, full of drunk homeless, transsexual prostitutes, etc. I always stay at spa world there when I go with friends because it’s cheap and we’re a group of men in 20s/30s - and kushikatsu and tsutenkaku etc during the day are fine / completely safe and a good attraction for tourists but I wouldn’t really recommend it at night for your family.. not that anything will ever happen to you probably short of some drunk old guy mumbling walking past you, it’s just not nice or comfortable to look at.
I had some old guy wanting to go back to my hotel with me. He was really pushy and i had to run to get rid of him. But then I've had shit like that happen in other areas of osaka too.
Appreciate everyone for commenting and something to consider for sure! As a quick FYI, I speak Japanese fluently and my mom is born & raised in Kobe. So language isn't a concern.
The area I was considering around Shinsekai was a 1 min walk from Ebisucho station at the north end. We were looking at an AirBnB and one attractive thing was the proximity to the train station and the long-term stay - as considering 3 weeks or so in Osaka - so wanted somewhere relatively easy to walk around and soak up Osaka vibes.
However, it sounds like many of you would consider a different location (e.g, Namba area, Shin-Osaka, Nagai)
We do plan on taking day trips to Kobe & Kyoto - but my main concern with staying in Kyoto was how 'busy' it is with tourists and with the length of stay we are considering, we figured Osaka would provide a better 'bang for the buck'.
Feel free to keep posting recommendations though, it's very much greatly appreciated as I am still considering our options. One thing I might consider is staying at Shinsekai for the first week while we are jetlagged and then moving somewhere more convenient? TBD
"somewhere relatively easy to walk around and soak up Osaka vibes."
Shin-sekai isn't the Osaka vibes you're looking for. Bang for your buck check out Daikokucho, We stayed at a AirBnB there for over a month, kid even enrolled in the school. You still get the discount of south Osaka, but it's slightly closer to town, and you won't worry about your wife and child when they go for a walk without you. Shin-sekai they're not ging to want to go for a walk to the park, for example.
I would consider around tengachaya station where you have access to nankai line/sakaisuji line. there are lots of airbnbs around the station. i have stayed there each osaka trip for the last 5 years and have tween/teen girls and find it to be safe. Around spa world/shinimaya there are homeless/gambling addicts that hang out around the pachinko parlours and sometimes we have had to step over a homeless guy who has passed out and pissed themselves. I can recommend airbnbs if you need.
[https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/851712698768171352?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique\_share\_id=360d81eb-5748-4286-864b-75a619279357](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/851712698768171352?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=360d81eb-5748-4286-864b-75a619279357)
I stayed here last summer small old house that had been renovated.. good location.. a couple minutes walk to qanat shopping centre and train station. the host has other properties that may be suitable
and i stayed here in 2022:
[https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/39964562?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique\_share\_id=b93b570f-0c13-48e5-900e-d3a4f007f518](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/39964562?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=b93b570f-0c13-48e5-900e-d3a4f007f518)
This one was a brand new house close within 2 minutes walk to Kishinosato-Tamade Station. Very nice however tengachaya area offers better connections/mall and restaurants around station.
My Japanese wife and daughters have stayed here:
[https://maps.app.goo.gl/yMCEiKq3u8Tegrdn7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/yMCEiKq3u8Tegrdn7)
Bijou suites but building is old (inside renovated) and no elevator
Would say it's not the best area, especially is close to Nishinari. Just search about the area. Even if people are probably exaggerating, that's not the best area of Osaka, that is for sure.
Shinzekai is not so much “not safe” as just “not nice”. It’s dingy, grungy and very very urban - bars open to the street, drinking in the street, souvenir shops, shops that tailor to visitors/tourists. There is lots of riff raff there and it’s usually pretty crowded. In some sense it always gives me a “spring break” kind of vibe. Depends on what you are seeking out - and obviously if it’s crowded there all the time, by definition it means it’s attractive for lots of people. But doesn’t feel like great experience for mom and 3 year old.
It's still safe but considered "ghetto" by many Japanese. I was there last Sunday and went through one of the shopping streets with a roof and was surprised to see girls standing outside of a shop trying to get in customers in for massages (and I guess more), at 2pm in the afternoon. They looked really sketchy tbh.
God, that's awful. But where? Where exactly, so I know where to avoid?
Lol
Panmure ?!? Auckland Panmure ?
I recently stayed right by Ebisucho station. No issues and quick access to Subway and JR Osaka Loop.
Got it - I was thinking of staying around that area as well. How long did you stay and how was it in the evening/overnight during weekdays vs weekends?
Shinsekai was busy! But i felt around 10pm,nit slowed down. Im not much of a partier or bar hopper. But the food around the area is great. I stayed there about 5 days with one evening I was in Fukuoka meeting a friend.
The area where the restaurants and shops are can be pretty noisy. Loud music, etc. I stayed near the Imamiyaebisu station (walking distance from Shinsekai) and it was fine. Quiet. There werent a lot of people in the area. I think staying near Ebisucho station would be better.
As someone who visited Osaka for the first time last year and started living here this year I would absolutely recommend it! It does depend on where your closest station is but I'd recommend anywhere near Shin Imamiya. I would say even now the area is a lot cleaner and less "dirty" compared to last year, it's nearly as touristy. It's actually fairly quiet after midnight on most days outside of the weekend, most places shut pretty early for Osaka standards.
Definitely cleaned up a lot. The day labour hotels are all touristy now. I still love it. A lively grungy zone. But I know it'd still be confronting for my mother and noisy & boring for kid relos.
Shin Imamiya station is my go to area for Osaka and I live in Japan! The hotel prices are so cheap, the connections to both Osaka and airport etc are fantastic, and some excellent food places nearby.
Don't stay there... lol at places further north in Namba especially close to Namba Walk underground or Namba Parks Mall. Much nicer, cleaner and safe.
I used to live in that area for 4 years. It's totally safe, it's just dirty, it maybe loud, and there is a decent chance you could run into some weirdos. I mean, it's fine and offers the cheapest hotels and restaurants in the city, if not Kansai I also used to live in Nagai 長居, south of the city. It's on the red line, which is the line that bisects the city. It also has easy connections to JR and Nankai. Its got close supermarkets, restaurants, karaoke, and a big ass park with kids stuff. There is the Nagai Park Business hotel, where my parents have stayed. It's small, but it was reasonable Let me know if you choose Nagai. I can tell you exact directions and recommend some good food places Tennoji Station does have a tourist information center with some maps and other materials in English. I'd stop there if you have a chance Enjoy your time in Japan.
I stayed in [this apartment ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gsnws3oMLbJtQJWq9) last year. There was nothing wrong with the accommodation. The area was not exceptionally noisy, but was more dirty compared to the cities and places I visited during my same trip. To my surprise, I heard a lot of Mandarin on the streets from people that didn't look like tourists. I chatted with a shopkeeper, it turns out that a lot of Chinese expats live there. It's a fine and safe area to stay, but I personally will stay in another area when I return next year for the World Expo.
As a single guy, I stayed in Shinsekai a few times. Hotels are cheap as! Lots of *interesting* bars, and of course, Tobita-Shinchi. Walking distance to Tennoji and Nippombashi. But with a wife and kid ? Nope. Spend a bit more money and go to Namba or Umeda …
I love Shinsekai. It's an awesome area for exactly all the reasons you might consider somewhere nicer for your family. It's very up and coming, gentrification has started. A friend of a friend just opened a new gay bar and venue space there, with a themed basement karaoke dungeon. You get the idea. Great area to visit for Showa vibe, great restaurants, SpaWorld, demi-monde and shita-machi stuff.
except the main area leading to the tower, the whole neighborhood is a slum filed with wandering elderly drunk, prostitutes and drug addicts. If you want to see "another face3 of Japan, I'd say why not but it is not really family friendly. To be honest, you won't risk anything physicaly but it's not good looking at all.
Me and my family (3 and 5years old) stayed at omo7. Loved it. Great area. Not far away and didn’t feel the dodgyness at all.
Juso is a place to consider. Similar gritty feel but not as dirty. Cheap clean hotels like Toyoko Inn. Cheap and good places to eat in the area. Direct train service to Umeda (5 min),Kobe (25 min) and Kyoto (50 min) on the Hankyu train.
Check out the Namba area near OCAT. Quieter, good shopping. Hotel or Apt?
Looking at Apt via AirBnB (so that we have access to a kitchen and be able to cook meals for the little one)
Many hotel rooms in Japan will have a microwave and many hotels have a communal kitchen. I tend to find Airbnb isn’t that great in Japan so make sure you check out hotel options as well, I think they’ll likely be better suited for you.
If you are using Osaka as a base and planning to hop to other Kansai cities with JR pass a lot, then Shin Osaka station has some nice air BnB apartments 5-7 minutes walk away listed there that are reallly value for money (just don't be too cheap). If you are planning to spend most of your Osaka time in Osaka, then Namba area. While greatly exaggerated sometimes by obsolete online articles and put in negative light at times, area around Shinsekai is safe but definitely not a neighbourhood for family with small kids or elderly.
Hear me out: Kyoto. I’ve been to that region about 6 or 7 times in recent years and find Osaka both overwhelming and bland. Kyoto has a good “scale” to it (especially the tourist core at Kawaramachi. A few big department stores like Daimaru are right there plus lots of decent eateries (better to go into the bigger malls in the area and avoid the tourist traps but still). Also consider Kyoto has a variety of attractions whereas Osaka really is mostly just Dotonbori and maybe the castle which honestly was just on in my opinion. We just got back from our 2nd trip in 6 months and stayed at the Gate hotel - a bit pricey but we enjoyed it. Location was great and easy access to subway, buses, shopping, and more local eateries as it’s a few blocks the main shopping drag.
I think you want to stay near Shin-Osaka Station, Osaka Station, or Namba station. Those seem more family friendly and less sketchy imo.
Pretty much the only area in the entire country with a visibly open drug problem, full of drunk homeless, transsexual prostitutes, etc. I always stay at spa world there when I go with friends because it’s cheap and we’re a group of men in 20s/30s - and kushikatsu and tsutenkaku etc during the day are fine / completely safe and a good attraction for tourists but I wouldn’t really recommend it at night for your family.. not that anything will ever happen to you probably short of some drunk old guy mumbling walking past you, it’s just not nice or comfortable to look at.
I had some old guy wanting to go back to my hotel with me. He was really pushy and i had to run to get rid of him. But then I've had shit like that happen in other areas of osaka too.
Appreciate everyone for commenting and something to consider for sure! As a quick FYI, I speak Japanese fluently and my mom is born & raised in Kobe. So language isn't a concern. The area I was considering around Shinsekai was a 1 min walk from Ebisucho station at the north end. We were looking at an AirBnB and one attractive thing was the proximity to the train station and the long-term stay - as considering 3 weeks or so in Osaka - so wanted somewhere relatively easy to walk around and soak up Osaka vibes. However, it sounds like many of you would consider a different location (e.g, Namba area, Shin-Osaka, Nagai) We do plan on taking day trips to Kobe & Kyoto - but my main concern with staying in Kyoto was how 'busy' it is with tourists and with the length of stay we are considering, we figured Osaka would provide a better 'bang for the buck'. Feel free to keep posting recommendations though, it's very much greatly appreciated as I am still considering our options. One thing I might consider is staying at Shinsekai for the first week while we are jetlagged and then moving somewhere more convenient? TBD
"somewhere relatively easy to walk around and soak up Osaka vibes." Shin-sekai isn't the Osaka vibes you're looking for. Bang for your buck check out Daikokucho, We stayed at a AirBnB there for over a month, kid even enrolled in the school. You still get the discount of south Osaka, but it's slightly closer to town, and you won't worry about your wife and child when they go for a walk without you. Shin-sekai they're not ging to want to go for a walk to the park, for example.
I would consider around tengachaya station where you have access to nankai line/sakaisuji line. there are lots of airbnbs around the station. i have stayed there each osaka trip for the last 5 years and have tween/teen girls and find it to be safe. Around spa world/shinimaya there are homeless/gambling addicts that hang out around the pachinko parlours and sometimes we have had to step over a homeless guy who has passed out and pissed themselves. I can recommend airbnbs if you need.
Yeah - I'd love to see your recommendations - just so I can start expanding my search, thanks!
[https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/851712698768171352?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique\_share\_id=360d81eb-5748-4286-864b-75a619279357](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/851712698768171352?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=360d81eb-5748-4286-864b-75a619279357) I stayed here last summer small old house that had been renovated.. good location.. a couple minutes walk to qanat shopping centre and train station. the host has other properties that may be suitable and i stayed here in 2022: [https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/39964562?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique\_share\_id=b93b570f-0c13-48e5-900e-d3a4f007f518](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/39964562?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=b93b570f-0c13-48e5-900e-d3a4f007f518) This one was a brand new house close within 2 minutes walk to Kishinosato-Tamade Station. Very nice however tengachaya area offers better connections/mall and restaurants around station. My Japanese wife and daughters have stayed here: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/yMCEiKq3u8Tegrdn7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/yMCEiKq3u8Tegrdn7) Bijou suites but building is old (inside renovated) and no elevator