Osaka Castle Park Area

Osaka Castle Park is an urban park with much greenery and water. Many cultural and historical assets can be found here including Osaka Castle Tower, which is popular with foreign tourists. The Osaka City Government enacted a park management system whereby private-sector businesses manage the entire park. Their flexible and exceptional ideas have brought new attractions to the park.

For example, an existing historical building that was once the headquarters of the 4th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army (former Osaka City Museum) was renovated into the MIRAIZA OSAKA-JO (Miraiza Osaka Castle), where visitors can enjoy meals, etc. with close-up views of the castle. There is also JO-TERRACE OSAKA, a commercial complex established in front of JR Osakajokoen Station, providing dining, merchandise sales, information and more. Furthermore, COOL JAPAN PARK OSAKA has opened, which features three theaters of different sizes, ideal for entertainment such as stage performances and Manzai comedies.

As such, the Osaka City Government aims to make the area even more attractive and prosperous by offering high-quality dining, merchandise sales, and entertainment for visitors.

The facility known as "Osaka Castle Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum," which allows visitors to view firsthand the original Toyotomi stone walls that had been hidden for over 400 years since the Toyotomi forces were defeated in the Summer Campaign of Osaka in 1615 and the Tokugawa Osaka Castle was built over them, opened to the public in April 2025. The facility promotes Osaka's urban attractions by utilizing the nationally designated historic site, the Osaka Castle ruins.

Tennoji & Abeno Area

The Tennoji & Abeno Area, known as the southern gateway to Osaka, has a variety of sightseeing spots including Tennoji Park, Tennoji Zoo and the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, which represent the core of this district. To transform this area into a cultural tourism base, the Osaka City Government is leveraging flexible ideas and know-how from private business operators, creating and promoting new urban attractions in a green-filled space, while enhancing the attractiveness and convenience for visitors and creating lively atmospheres.
The entrance area of Tennoji Park called Tenshiba was revitalized in 2015 by introducing a lawn space of 7,000 m², along with restaurants and cafes. Located in the midst of an urban setting with skyscrapers present in the background, Tenshiba is a place where visitors can relax and appreciate nature up close.
In addition, Tennoji Zoo and Tennoji Park Entrance Area, "Tenshiba," were integrated in November 2019, and "Tenshiba i:na" was created as a new dynamic spot to make Tennoji Zoo even more interesting for visitors. Within the zoo, the “Friendship Garden” opened in April 2022, “Penguin Park & Sea Lion Wharf” in April 2023, and “World of Birds” in November 2023. In April 2025, the "Chimpanzee Base/Chimpanzee Room" was renovated, allowing visitors to observe the animals up close in more naturalistic habitats.
In addition, the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts has completed large-scale renovation work, and, while the exterior of the building, a registered tangible cultural property (structure), has remained unchanged since the museum first opened, the facility has been equipped with the essential features of a modern museum and reopened in March 2025 as an "open museum."
Going forward, the vitality of the private sector will continue to be utilized to enhance capabilities for various services, such as dining and merchandise sales, which can significantly contribute to raising the attractiveness of the zoo as well as the visitor satisfaction level.