Osaka/North

• 🌍 Open Air Museum of Old Farmhouses (日本民家集落博物館 (nihon minka shūraku hakubutsukan)), Ryokuchi-koen (take the Midosuji subway line to Ryokuchi). Tu-Su. Ryokuchi park is lovely, and in it is a museum of a dozen old Edo period farmhouses, moved across country and lovingly reconstructed. Also on display are tools, furniture, and the like. You can go to Himeji-jo or the old palace in Kyoto and see how the rulers lived, but come down here to see how the people lived. Thanks to the efforts of a volunteer from Australia, they have a great new English-language brochure to guide you. ¥500. 

• Osaka municipal indoor pool - Yodogawa (大阪市立淀川屋内プール), 2-3-1 Juso-Higaqshi Yodogawa-ku (6 minutes walk from Hankyu Juso station east exit). M-F 09:00-21:30, Sa Su 09:00-19:30. Heated swimming pool & exercise room. Admission: ¥700 pool, ¥600 training, ¥1000 pool & training. 

The area around Jūsō (十三) station is a well-known red-light district. Squarely targeted at locals, most adult establishments will refuse entry to non-Japanese, but there are plenty of affordable watering holes and casual restaurants if you'd like to experience nightlife like an Osakan salaryman.

• Shin-Osaka Youth Hostel (A block from the east exit of Shin-Osaka Station). A clean, modern, and friendly youth hostel. ¥3500. 
• Mystays Shin Osaka, 6-2-19 Nishi-Nakajima Yodogawa-ku (10 minutes walk from Shin-Osaka station - walk towards the Washington Plaza hotel and cross under the 423 highway), ☏ +81 6-6302-5571. Small, clean rooms and a bit of a hike to the bullet train station, but unbeatable for the price. Some staff speak English. Some rates include buffet breakfast in the hotel's restaurant (¥1100 separately). Family Mart and Lawson convenience stores are a half-block away, while there is a 7-Eleven with international ATM access is on the way from Shin-Osaka station. Web site lists singles starting from ¥8300, though cheaper rates might be found when searching for availability. 
• Business Hotel OK, 1-10-11 Jusohigashi Yodogawa-ku (5 minutes walk from Umeda (Osaka) station or Shin-Osaka station.), ☏ +81 6-6305-5021. Rooms from ¥4500 single, ¥5000 dobule. 
• Hotel Laforet Shin-Osaka, 1-2-70 Miyahara, Yodogawa-ku (1 minute walk from Shin-Osaka Station), ☏ +81 6-6350-4444. 
• New Osaka Hotel, 5-14-10 Nishinakajima Yodogawa (3 minutes walk from Shin-Osaka Station), ☏ +81 6-6305-2345. Rooms from ¥8085 single,¥16170 twin/double. 

• Osaka Visitors Information Center - Shin-Osaka, 3F JR Shin-Osaka Sta. 5-16-1 Nishinakajima Yodogawa-ku (inside JR Shin-Osaka Station), ☏ +81 6-6305 3311. 09:00-18:00, closed 31 Dec-3 Jan.