Hi Everyone,
We have been to Osaka many times but never gotten around to checking out the Tram as trains and metros are very well designed in the city so you could go everywhere quickly. We live relatively close to Shinsekai a popular suburb in Osaka, so rather than taking the traditional train there, we decided to take the longest way which was the Hankai Tram. The tram in Osaka is not widely used mainly because there aren’t many in the city. Hankai Tramway only owns two tram lines in Osaka. It is one of the oldest modes of transport in the city so we were very keen to try it.
We walked to Tenjinnomori from our long stay house in between residential houses. We were lucky to stay in the house for more than a month, close to the city and public transport. As you can see from the tram map, there are many stops between the two lines but not enough to travel around Osaka effectively. Another barrier is that the tram doesn’t come frequently meaning that you need to time your travel time very well or else you will be waiting there for ages.
The station is very old school with many signages even in English. Situated right in the middle of houses, there are no fences or barriers between the platform and tracks. We were walking on the tracks to get to the platform. The kids loved it!
Once the tram arrived, we got on and tapped our train passes. Just remember to tap off when you leave. If you are paying cash, there is no change given so make sure you have the correct amount. The tram was very old school, it wasn’t fast but enough to get to places on time according to the timetable. As you can see, it wasn’t very busy inside as I believe many won’t like to take the tram as it comes so infrequently. After a few stops, we were at the end station arriving at Shinsekai. I would say it is a wonderful experience on the tram in particular it wasn’t crowded, and you are travelling in between residential houses and streets but in terms of practical use, we may not use it as often due to the limited location and frequency.