Urban Canvas: Osaka Street Art Bike Tour
Description
Experience modern Osaka’s less visited underbelly with a cruise through the hip and gritty neighborhoods of Tenma, Juso and Nakazaki-cho. Explore Osaka’s growing Street Art scene where talented local and international artists express themselves on the city’s urban canvas. As well as the art, you can also expect extensive urban landscapes with a maze of train lines, rivers, bridges, graffiti, street art and gorgeous modern skylines. Among the frequent stops we make, you will also sample specialty coffee, old school Japanese standing bars and a slice of locally produced pizza!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pedal through an urban maze of train lines, rivers, bridges, graffiti, street art and gorgeous modern skylines. Enjoy a commentary from a local resident and learn about the underground life in Osaka.
Pedal through the backstreets of Tenma, pick up recommendations for food and drinks and stop for craft coffee in a hip local stand.
From the griity vibes of Juso and Tenma, we head into the hipster enclave of Nakazaki cho where we will find boutique shops and galleries as well as a local institution serving Pizza slices in a 100 year old building.
One of the centers of Street Art in Osaka, Juso is a hive of urbanity over the river from the main city. Almost never visited by tourists, our tour heads into the middle of this neighbourhood to uncover its treasures, grab a snack and an old school standing bar and absorb a truly unique atmosphere.
Take in Osaka's urban architecture examples as we head over the mighty Yodo river and into Juso, one of the centers of the Osakan Street Art scene.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(52)
This was a very enjoyable, unique, and worthwhile tour. The guide, Eric, was very knowledgable as well as very passionate. In addition to viewing much dazzling street art, I was able to see parts of Osaka that I otherwise would not have seen. Overall, this was a pleasant, engaging tour that I’d highly recommend.
Extraordinary journey to discover some decidedly little-known neighborhoods of Osaka and especially street art. Thanks to Joel artist photographer wonderful guide !
that eric is RAD! not only is his work one of the murals we saw, we stopped at some cool places that he clearly has a good relationship with. he was so friendly, engaging and have us such great background on each if the artists
Our guide, Erik, was awesome! Very knowledgeable on fabulous murals, landmarks and delicious “hole in the wall” food places! He’s an artist himself so that made it even more interesting. He made sure this 71 yo felt comfortable the whole time. Would definitely recommend this cycle tour company!
The tour is really insightful and interesting, I love learning about the smaller details in these huge cities. Thank you to Joel for making it super wellworth! Definitely booking with the company again :)
Do this tour instead of the Mario Karts (go karts). You get to ride around the lesser known parts of Osaka with a local street artist. The experience is exceptionally well put together - the art, the ride through Osaka alleys, and the stop-offs for snacks. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to explore Osaka.
Initially, while I was on my trip in Japan, I was looking to book a bike tour in Tokyo but due to my schedule being packed, I wasn't able to. I knew that I would be spending some time in Osaka and Kyoto so I came across this bike tour in Osaka and I was immediately drawn to the itinerary because it just seemed different from all of the other bike tours I had came across. As someone who loves and appreciates art (who is also an art major and designer), this tour was exactly what I was looking for. Luckily for me, I was the only traveler (solo) who had booked the tour for that day and Eric (the tour guide) took me on a cool journey through the streets and small alleys of Osaka checking out some awesome wall art from different artists. Seeing one of Eric's pieces on the tour was also a nice surprise. Every artist (including Eric) had a story behind their artwork and Eric is a great storyteller. This tour was very unique and memorable. It was like riding through a "street gallery" lol. You never knew what you were gonna see because some of these art murals are tucked away behind buildings. Some are front-facing and some are on the side. If you're someone who appreciates art or you're just looking for something different and unique, this just might be the tour for you. It's laid back and I felt totally safe riding with Eric. He made a cool riding partner and it was nice to learn about his background as well as the Japanese culture. Because I was lucky enough to have the tour all to myself, Eric was able to show me some other cool art gems that I probably wouldn't have seen if I was booked with a bigger group. And the pizza stop at the end was a nice wrap up to the tour (pizza is soooo good lol). I'd go again just for the pie slice lol. I'd definitely recommend this tour to art lovers or to anyone who just wants to experience a different and unique type of tour that's outside of just seeing shrines and monuments.
A brilliant tour of the lesser known parts of Osaka, excellently hosted by the knowledgable and entertaining Reuben. The street art was all so different and beautiful, with incredible coffee and pizza thrown into the mix. Definitely recommend.
Excellent bike tour and Eric our guide was the right person for the job. He knows the art, the artists and the history of the project and artworks. Great coffee, an old school Izakaya and a slice of NY style pizza. Cool fun getting around on the bike too.
My wife and I joined Reuben on the street art tour yesterday. We can not recommend this tour more highly. Reuben was an incredible tour guide. He's just one of those people where he's just immediately easy to talk to, and he's funny to boot. Reuben is also involved in the local art scene and knows some of the artists whose work we viewed. His passion for the subject matter was evident and highly appreciated. If you're considering Cycle Osaka for the tourism trips, I totally get it. But I would encourage you to consider giving the street art tour a try. You'll see a side of Osaka that's just outside the standard tourism path and really get a feel for the beating of the city. Also, the coffee, bar, and pizza places we visited were all fantastic and the people there were all so incredibly friendly. Thank you Reuben for sharing your love for this city. We went during the summer and while it was hot it was also manageable. (resubmitted because typos)
