KANSAI Tourism Bureau and JTB Australia presents

The 4 Experiences of Feel Japan in Sakai City, Osaka

If you are coming to Osaka for EXPO2025, and leave from Kansai International Airport,

you will find easily spend a last day or before the flight in Sakai City, Osaka.

Why Stop by Sakai City- Easy access to/from Kansai International Airport and Shin-Osaka Station, just 30 minutes from both Kansai International Airport and Shin-Osaka Station, such as two major gateways to the Kansai region. It’s also right on the way from Kansai International Airport before heading to central Osaka, or Kyoto and Nara – Sakai is very easy to stop by!

Itinerary

09:50 – 12:45    Ancient Tumlus  Historical Walking with English Speaking Guide

Take a leisurely stroll through the area where you can see the representative burial mounds of the Mozu Kofun Group ; the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Osaka, and a tourist guide will introduce you. They will also visit the Mozu Visitor Centre and the Sakai City Museum (entrance fee is not included).

Visit Emperor Nintoku’s mausoleum and tumulus.

Emperor Richu’s mausoleum viewing points

12:30-13:30       Lunch at Nankai Sakai Higashi Station area

14:00-15:00       Tea ceremony experience at Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko

Enjoy yourself with a combo ticket for the exhibitions, tea ceremony and VR Time Trip at Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko.

A new museum where you can experience Sakai through two of its most famous figures, Sen no Rikyu and Yosano Akiko. At Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko, you can get to know and experience both the Azuchi-Momoyama Era (1573-1603) Sakai of tea master Sen no Rikyu and the Meiji and Taisho Era (1868-1926) Sakai of poet Yosano Akiko. This is an ideal place to start your historical and cultural tour of Sakai.

Experiencing “Chanoyu” a tea ceremony

Have an authentic experience to make your own tea under the instruction by tea masters from one of major tea schools in Japan.

15:30 – 15:45    VR Experience Time Trip

Experiencing the streets of medieval Saka

By putting on the VR goggles, you can see a 3D hologram come to life before your eyes, and you will be granted a bird’s-eye view of the city of Sakai as it appeared in the 16th century. You can examine the immersive townscape and the lives of the local people from a variety of different angles.

16:00 – 17:00    Enjoy the Exhibition Hall

Experience the Sakai of five hundred years ago through explanations of its history, traditional, and culture industries, and culture of tea.    

Digital signage screens show scenes from the four seasons.

The neighboring cities of Sakai on Osaka Bay makes rewarding excursions. Due to its proximity to Kansai International Airport, Sakai is ideal stopping-off point before a flight or during a long layover. Because of Sakai has a rich and colorful history. A prosperous merchant town and trading port in the 16th century, it is also the birthplace of revered tea master Sen no Rikyu. Today Sakai is renowned for its craft cutlery industry (Sakai knives are much sought after by chefs) and precision bicycle manufacture, and has museums devoted to both. Its most remarkable claim to fame, however, is the site of one of the largest mausoleums on the planet.