Osaka Museum of History (Osaka, Japan)

What makes this place special?

At a Glance

The Osaka Museum of History is a municipal museum in Chuo ward, Osaka, beside the NHK Osaka Broadcasting Center. It opened in 2001 southwest of Osaka Castle Park, designed by César Pelli & Associates and Nihon Sekkei, and replaced the earlier Osaka City Museum. Its collection holds more than 100,000 objects.

The permanent exhibition, themed on the city of Osaka, fills the seventh to tenth floors. Visitors ride the elevator to the tenth floor and begin with a reconstruction of the Daigokuden hall of Naniwa Palace from the Nara period. Below it are Osaka's temple town and castle town up to the Edo period, a full-scale excavation site, and a recreation of the early 20th-century city. In the basement, remains of Naniwa Palace, including a warehouse, walls and water supply facilities, are preserved and can be seen on guided tours.