Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living (Osaka Kurashi no Konjaku-kan) is a charming visit to travel back in time to the Osaka of the 19th century. On the top floor, the museum recreates at full scale an entire street of the late Edo period, with merchant houses, a medicine shop, a public bath and a temple, all under an artificial sky that changes from morning to night with light effects and even storm simulations. Strolling among the wooden facades, entering the houses and taking off your shoes to step onto the tatami is a very immersive experience, and for a small supplement you can rent a kimono to walk the street and take photos. The lower floors show models and dioramas of the city's evolution in the 20th century. Adult admission is around 600 ¥, which makes it one of the best value-for-money museums in Osaka. It is in the Kita district, above the Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome station (Tanimachi and Sakaisuji lines), next to the longest shopping arcade in Japan. It closes on Tuesdays.