A World of Wonder Awaits at Osaka Science Museum

Located on Nakanoshima near the National Museum of Art and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art is the Osaka Science Museum. This cluster of cultural facilities is just a 5–10 minute walk from Osaka Metro’s Higobashi Station on the Yotsubashi Line or Yodoyabashi Station on the Midosuji Line.
The science museum is a popular place for field trips and it actually has its own world-class planetarium. The entire museum underwent got an upgrade in February 2022 so it’s even nicer than it was before. This is a great place for families and it’s a pretty good date spot too!

■A Huge Museum with a View of the Starry Sky

From Higobashi Station you walk along the river until you see this huge building with the letters 大阪市立科学館 (Osaka Science Museum) written on the side.
Although it is a popular place for young students, it’s actually a lot of fun to visit for adults too. There is a huge, state of the art planetarium that’s not only impressive for its size, the starry night projected overhead is amazingly beautiful.
It’s surprisingly a great destination for a date on a rainy day or somewhere to take your family.
Here’s a look at what’s inside…

Gakutensoku, a replica of Asia’s first robot sits in the entrance to great all visitors to the musuem.

The building opens into a big atrium.

Look up and you’ll see a glider.
Tickets are sold on the basement floor, so first head downstairs.
(You can also purchase tickets ahead of time online)
Admission for adults is ¥400. Planetarium tickets are ¥600. A
And you can purchase a combination ticket for ¥1000.
For those junior high school age or younger, admission to the museum is free and planetarium tickets are ¥300. So the pricing is reasonable for families.
If you have the Osaka Amazing Pass or the Enjoy Card (day pass for the Osaka Metro), admission may be free or reduced so be sure to show your pass when you purchase tickets.

The planetarium generally has two different programs. The programs are geared toward families with young children and elementary school students. But some of the topics can be more complicated like the Special Curator’s Program that starts at 5pm on weekends and holidays.
Since I visited the museum on a weekday afternoon, I bought tickets for one of the general programs.
Here I go…

Wow!

This is the projector that made everything possible. It’s a Carl Zeiss Model II Projector that worked behind the scenes in Japan’s very first planetarium. This planetarium opened in 1937 in the Osaka City Electricity Science Museum, which evolved into the modern day Osaka Science Museum.
Considering that Carl Zeiss camera parts are so expensive, I imagined this special machine with so many different lenses must have cost a lot. So I looked it up on the Osaka City website and I was right.
It says that the planetarium construction costs was equivalent to that of 2–3 elementary schools at the time, over ¥460,000. Due to the high price, there was much debate over the planetarium’s construction.
Isn’t that a strange way of putting it—equivalent to 2–3 elementary schools? I’m not sure exactly how much it costs to build an elementary school these days, but you get the picture. It was an extravagant expenditure.
With that in mind, I turned my attention to the show.

■Space Curry & other Unique Dishes

I started to get hungry after all that star-gazing, so I headed to the cafeteria on the first floor!

Hmm… What to choose…

Pork katsu, kid’s plates, and all those desserts. The menu covers all the bases and crowd favorites. Since this is a science museum, I couldn’t resist the space themed curry plate. It was just too cute.

This little planet of rice is surrounded by stars made of hashed browns and carrots. I think I see a rocket made of a hot dog and the plumes of smoke in broccoli color.
Even kids who hate carrots might be tempted to eat these fun stars. It’s clearly made to please children since the curry itself was fairly sweet. And the size was fairly big so it would be plenty for lunch.
And there are other limited-time dishes on the menu that coincide with the planetarium programs.
Definitely visit the cafe to recharge.

■Hands-on Displays & Exhibits

Let’s take a look at the exhibits.
First you head up to the 4th floor and peruse the exhibits as you head downstairs. Osaka’s aquarium Kaiyukan is a similar style. You start at the top and work your way down.
As soon as you step off the elevator…

Boom! Here’s the sun!
The surface is covered in real footage of the sun projected onto the display. It is constantly moving so it really looks like it’s burning.
The 4th floor exhibits focus on astronomy, physics, and science history.

The walls are lined with planetary data.And

And over here you can experience the differences in gravity with this hands-on weight comparison exhibit. See if you can feel the difference in the weight of an apple on each planet and the sun.
There are tons of other hands-on exhibits too.

You can see a real meteorite.

And this model of the Milky Way built inside a can that is absolutely mesmerizing.

This huge observation equipment is real and was actually used at one point. It’s pretty amazing!

At one point, the Osaka University Physics Department was located on Nakanoshima, where the science museum is. This section of the museum is dedicated to scientists who had roots in Osaka, like Nobel laureate Hideki Yukawa who was a researcher at the university.

And the further you go on the 4th floor the more nerdy it gets. There are lots of interesting exhibits related to physics.

Take a seat on this bench next to Einstein and primitive man.

This is the chaotic pendulum. (I can’t really explain it, you just have to see it in person.)

Or, here’s a fun one… Try creating sparks with an electrical charge. I’m enjoying this as an adult, so I’m sure kids would have a blast.
I saw a few couples walking around the museum and enjoying the exhibits. It doesn’t matter how old you are. This is a fun museum!

There were many gorgeous crystals on display too.

You can try to balance balls elevated over air vents.

Or spin a small globe with the power of magnets.
I was absolutely awestruck by all the marvels of science.

■Getting Lost in Time at the Science Museum

This is where I got stuck. At the Ball Machine! I couldn’t keep my eyes off it, following the journey of one ball all the way from top to bottom.
There’s a lot of different displays that will stop you in your tracks and keep you busy observing, feeling, and using all different senses to play with the marvels of science in easy-to-understand hands-on exhibits.
Before I visited the museum, I expected it to be full of boring signs and long explanations, but that wasn’t the case at all. Of course there are plenty of explanations and lots of English signage. But reading it or not is completely up to you.
It is such an experience heavy museum.
One exhibit allows you to smell artificial fragrances paired with the corresponding natural fragrance. You really use all your five senses.
It’s great for kids, but you don’t have to be a child to enjoy it. Come here with your friends or on a date and I guarantee you will have plenty to talk about.
Plus there is the stunning planetarium too.
The museum is definitely somewhere worth a visit on Nakanoshima. Just be careful—it’s easy to get lost in time.

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