Japan

Osaka for art lovers

Meet the arty side of Japan’s loudest city.

Once known mostly for takoyaki, neon, and a healthy disregard for subtlety, Osaka’s quietly built itself a serious art cred. Nowhere is that more obvious than Nakanoshima, a skinny sliver of island wedged between the Tosabori and Dojima rivers.

Once full of offices and government buildings, it’s now morphing into the city’s cultural heart - a three-kilometre stretch of sleek museums, design spaces, and arty haunts. Base yourself at Zentis Osaka, the city’s only Design Hotels member and a destination in its own right. Its interiors were dreamt up by British designer Tara Bernerd, who’s also behind swanky spots like SIXTY SoHo in New York and The Hari hotels in London and Hong Kong. The look? Polished, tactile, and cool without trying too hard which is basically how you’ll feel after a night here.

Here’s the 4 museums the Zentis crew sends their art-loving guests:

1. Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka

Thirty years in the making, this black cube of a museum finally opened in 2022. And it was absolutely worth the wait. Inside, it’s all brushed steel, polished concrete, and over 6,000 works covering everything from 19th-century Japan to today’s global scene. Keep an eye out for pieces by local legend Yuzo Saeki, a Modigliani nude, and rotating exhibitions that give Osaka’s creative pulse the attention it deserves.

2. The National Museum of Art, Osaka

Right across the road (because convenience is art too), The National Museum of Art is mostly underground, literally. It dives three floors beneath the surface, hiding one of Japan’s biggest contemporary collections. Think Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Yoshihiro Suda, and a few thousand other big names, all tucked away under Osaka’s concrete jungle.

3. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics

After a glow-up that took nearly two years, this long-loved museum reopened in 2024 with a slick new glass entrance and the same world-class collection of East Asian ceramics that made it famous in the first place. Over 1,000 pieces from China, Korea, and Japan sit under one roof as part of the legendary Ataka Collection gifted by the Sumitomo Group back in the day. Even if you don’t think ceramics are your thing, the craftsmanship will have you astounded.

4. Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest

Because art appreciation should start young, local starchitect Tadao Ando created this dreamy space for kids (and nostalgic adults). The multi-level library is wrapped floor-to-ceiling in books (over 20,000 of them) themed around everything from nature to the future. You’ll need a reservation, but it’s worth it just to wander through Ando’s serene concrete world and pretend you’re eight again.