Cherry blossom magic in Osaka Seasonal
Experience the magic of the annual sakura season "hanami" celebrations with a local insider
$190.48 per person
4 hours
(9)
Hi, I’m Maria
Hi, I’m Maria
I’ve lived in Osaka for 32 years
I speak English, Japanese
I am English teacher
Ohayo!! My name is Maria and I have lived in Nara for many years now. Nara is the ancient capital of Japan. Here, you will find the world's biggest Buddha, lots of World Heritage temples, a very famous deer park. It is just an hour train ride away from Osaka. Osaka is Japan's third biggest city and has lots of fun and lively activities, art cultures, and if you're a foodie like me, lots and lots of streets food for the adventurers. Osaka also has fine dining experiences, on high end restaurants with spectacular views. There are also plenty of places that are quiet and serene which we refer as the hidden treasures of Osaka. If you're interested, please don't hesitate to reach out. Looking forward to meeting you.
My knowledge & interests
Basic Nutrition
Food
Shopping
Culture & customs
Street food
Theater
Art galleries & museums
Parks
Gardens
Hikes
Religious history
Cityscape photography
Portrait photography
Modern architecture
Whiskey
Local beers
Street markets
Handicrafts & souvenirs
Traditional culture
Japanese sake
Landscape photography
Traditional music
Experiences I love to host
City Unscripted Original
Eat like a true Osakan in trendy Ura Namba Food & Drink
Tiny streets buzzing with locals feasting on delicious food; eat like a local in Osaka’s favorite culinary neighborhood with a host in the know
$162.73 per person
3 hours
(27)
My reviews
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Our guided tour with host Maria lead us to a lot of interesting and bustling places in the vicinities of Dotonbori and Shinsekai districts. Our guide was able to provide a lot of background info, e.g. on the meaning of the "Billiken" statuettes, the hidden Hozen-Ji temple and the reason why there is a sign on Ebisubashi bridge prohibiting diving. We were taken to well-known places, like the Kuromon fish market, but also to places we'd never have entered or even found on our own, like a tiny Karaoke pub (where they sold snake-flavoured booze), a Pachinko salon (a slot-machine hell, just for watching), a house with lots of awkward theme pubs (like one where you attend a funeral while eating) and a very nice conveyor sushi restaurant. We've enjoyed the tour a lot, Maria is a very sympathetic and well-informed guide, fluent in both Japanese and English. She planned the tour from the outset, but also took our interests into account while we were on the road. The only downer was the huge number of people, but that's part and parcel of this place, and it was Saturday. But since we were lead through side alleys where possible (with even more hidden gems inside), we could circumvent them here and there, which is a bonus of a tour given by a local. In a nutshell: Great tour, great guide, highly recommended.
July 2024
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We had a fantastic time with Maria in Osaka as a family of four with two kids aged 5 and 14 coming in for a day trip from Kyoto. Maria tailored our trip to exactly what we wanted to see and do - eat delicious food, see the Osaka castle and a few kids activities. We had a blast eating some street food in Dotonbori, playing in the arcades, eating at the Cinnamoroll Cafe that Maria got us a reservation for and checking out the Osaka castle. Maria helped us navigate the subways, always kept our kids engaged and made us feel like locals. Would highly recommend Maria for a great day in Osaka!
July 2024
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Our family had a fantastic time taking in key highlights of Osaka. Maria was warm and welcoming and picked out interesting things for our teenagers to see.
July 2024
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We booked for our Osaka port of call. I can't say enough good things about Maria! She was so communicative and tailored our tour even better than what I came up with. She even combined our group with my friends group. Their tour guide Candy was just as friendly and helpful. At the end some of us wanted to make it to a head spa and they made it happen!!! Booked it for after our tour was over got us there, and even made sure we had a ride back to our cruise on time! They made us feel so at home. My only regret is that we couldn't take them both with us for the rest of our vacation!! Maria... Candy, thank u again it was the best day!!! Hope to see you again. Come to Florida!!!
July 2024