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Osaka and Nara in 3 days: a day-by-day itinerary

3 days · 15 places · Nights near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋

You land at Kansai Airport early on the first morning and spend that whole day in south Osaka, from Kuromon Market through Shinsekai and Dōtonbori, ending at Shin Umeda City in the evening. Day 2 is Nara, and it starts at Kasuga-taisha because Kasuga opens earlier than Tōdai-ji. Day 3 keeps Osaka Castle and the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan for the hours before the flight home. Both nights are near Tsuruhashi, where the Kintetsu line to Nara meets the JR Loop Line.

Calculated by Michiplan for a trip starting Wed, Dec 2, 2026, with days from 06:00. Every ride here is estimated from how often its line runs: no open timetable covers these lines. Check the times before you go.

Add this trip to MichiplanIt opens with each place on its day, ready to calculate for your own dates or change.

Day 1: Kuromon, Shinsekai, Dōtonbori and Umeda

Wed, Dec 2, 2026 · 7 places · 2h 36m on the move
  1. Kansai Airport (KIX) · leave 06:00

  2. 59 min, 1 changeEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

    1. Kansai Airport Line → Hanwa Line · 34 min
    2. Osaka Loop Line · 6 min
  3. Leave the bags at Tsuruhashi 鶴橋, 06:59–07:09

  4. 7 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

    1. Kintetsu Osaka Line → Kintetsu Namba Line · 4 min
  5. Stop 1: Kuromon Market07:19–08:04
  6. Breakfast near Kuromon Market 08:04–09:04

  7. 13 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

    1. Sakaisuji Line · 2 min
  8. Stop 2: Tsūtenkaku09:17–10:37

  9. 3 min

    1. Stop 3: Shinsekai10:40–12:00

    2. 16 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

      1. 6 min
      2. Sakaisuji Line · 2 min
      3. 5 min
    3. Stop 4: Hozenji Temple12:16–12:56
    4. Lunch near Hozenji Temple 12:56–13:56

    5. 2 min

      1. Stop 5: Dōtonbori13:58–15:58

      2. 4 min

        1. Stop 6: Shinsaibashi-suji16:02–16:47

        2. 24 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

          1. 5 min
          2. Midōsuji Line · 8 min
          3. 9 min
        3. Stop 7: Shin Umeda City17:11–18:11

        4. 28 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

          1. 12 min
          2. Osaka Loop Line · 14 min
        5. Dinner near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 18:39–19:39
        6. Hotel near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 · arrive 18:39

        Day 2: Nara: Kasuga-taisha, Tōdai-ji, Nara Park

        Thu, Dec 3 · 6 places · 3h 10m on the move
        1. Hotel near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 · leave 06:06

        2. 51 min, 1 changeEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

          1. Kintetsu Osaka Line → Kintetsu Nara Line · 33 min
          2. 奈良交通: 1・1J　市内循環・内回り (+12) · 6 min
          3. 6 min
        3. Stop 8: Kasuga-taisha06:57–08:17
        4. Breakfast near Kasuga-taisha 08:17–09:17

        5. 17 min

          1. Stop 9: Kōfuku-ji Temple09:34–10:54

          2. 13 min

            1. Stop 10: Koshi-no-Ie Residence (Naramachi Lattic House)11:07–11:52
            2. Lunch near Koshi-no-Ie Residence (Naramachi Lattic House) 11:52–12:52

            3. 28 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

              1. 奈良交通: 1・1J　市内循環・内回り (+12) · 11 min
              2. 9 min
            4. Stop 11: Tōdai-ji Temple13:20–14:40

            5. 11 min

              1. Stop 12: Isuien Garden14:51–16:11

              2. 16 min

                1. Stop 13: Nara Park16:27–18:27

                2. 54 min, 1 changeEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

                  1. 7 min
                  2. 奈良交通: 1・1J　市内循環・内回り (+12) · 5 min
                  3. Kintetsu Nara Line → Kintetsu Osaka Line · 33 min
                3. Dinner near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 19:21–20:21
                4. Hotel near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 · arrive 19:21

                Day 3: Osaka Castle, the Kaiyukan, then the airport

                Fri, Dec 4 · 2 places · 2h 49m on the move
                1. Hotel near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 · leave 07:43
                2. Breakfast near Tsuruhashi 鶴橋 07:43–08:43

                3. 26 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

                  1. Osaka Loop Line · 4 min
                  2. 22 min
                4. Stop 14: Osaka Castle09:11–11:41
                5. Lunch near Osaka Castle 11:41–12:41

                6. 49 minEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

                  1. 22 min
                  2. Osaka Metro Chūō Line · 16 min
                  3. 8 min
                7. Stop 15: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan13:30–17:30

                8. 37 min, 1 changeEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

                  1. 8 min
                  2. Osaka Metro Chūō Line · 7 min
                  3. Hanshin Namba Line → Kintetsu Namba Line → Kintetsu Osaka Line · 11 min
                9. Collect the bags at Tsuruhashi 鶴橋, 18:07–18:17

                10. 57 min, 1 changeEstimated time: this line publishes no open timetable, so the ride is worked out from how often it runs. Check before you go

                  1. Osaka Loop Line · 6 min
                  2. Hanwa Line → Kansai Airport Line · 34 min
                11. Kansai Airport (KIX) · 19:16

                Good to know

                • Bags go to Tsuruhashi on the first morning, before Kuromon Market, and are picked up there on the last afternoon on the way back to Kansai Airport, so you never drag a suitcase through Dōtonbori.
                • Kuromon Market is first only because the day starts at six, and it is quiet that early. It is a short walk from Dōtonbori, so if you want it busy, move it to after lunch.
                • Nara is the long day: out of Tsuruhashi just after six, back around seven in the evening. Nara Park comes last, and in early December it is dark before five, so take your deer photos as you pass through earlier in the day.
                • Isuien Garden is closed on Tuesdays in the hours this plan used. If your Nara day lands on a Tuesday, put Nara on a different day.

                Plan your own

                It opens with each place on its day, ready to calculate for your own dates or change. Bring the places you want to see. Michiplan puts each on a day and in order around opening hours and train times, and it is free while in beta.

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