3 Days in Higashi-osaka: Itinerary 2026

Good writeup, the budget breakdown especially is more honest than most guides that pretend you can do Higashi-osaka on ¥5000 a day. One thing I'd flag: the Furuichi Kofun Group deserves more than a sunset stroll. If you're into this stuff at all, the Ōjin-tennō-ryō (the big keyhole mound) is the real draw and it's a solid 25 minute walk from anywhere, so plan it as its own half day rather than tagging it onto Hiraoka. Also the city museum has a small exhibit on the kofun that's worth 20 minutes before you go, otherwise the mounds just look like overgrown hills with no context.

On food, Jumbo is fine but if you want the okonomiyaki locals actually queue for, try the place two doors down from Nagata Station's east exit, I forget the name but it's the one with the red awning and only six seats. Cash only, obviously.

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the detail about the kofun walk is useful but i'd push people toward the fureai bus instead of bikes if the weather's bad, it loops past hiraoka & some of the mound clusters for ¥210 flat and runs maybe every 20 min. also a small correction on day 3, shitenno-ji is in tennoji ward which is a good 25-30 min from ishikiri by train, not 15, so budget extra time or you'll be rushing the temple before it closes at 16:30. the kuzumochi stalls along the ishikiri approach are legit though, that part checks out

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honestly this is a solid writeup, way more thorough than most Higashi-osaka posts which just say "it's near Osaka" and move on. one thing i'd add tho: the walk from Hiraoka Shrine over to the Furuichi Kofun area is way better by rental bike. there's a shop near Hiraoka Station, like ¥1000 for the day, and the kofun are spread out enough that you'll wear yourself out on foot. also fwiw the Ishikiri hike is steeper than it looks, wear actual shoes not sandals, learned teh hard way last spring.

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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