Spa World

Eight floors of bathhouse in Shinsekai, opened in 1997, built on the idea of putting the baths of the world in one building. It is as ridiculous as that sounds and it is also a genuinely large and well-run onsen complex, fed by hot spring water drawn from 900 metres below Osaka.

Two themed zones. The European floor runs Ancient Rome, Greece, Finland, Spain and Atlantis; the Asian floor has Japan, Bali, Persia and an Islamic-styled bath. Both have real hot spring water and proper Japanese bathing etiquette, statues and columns notwithstanding. The zones swap between men and women each month, so which one you get depends on when you come. If you want a specific zone, check first.

Above them is a swimsuit floor with pools, water slides and a spa area that families use for entire days, plus stone sauna rooms and a rooftop pool in summer.

Two practical warnings. Tattoos are not permitted anywhere in the building and the rule is enforced at the entrance, which rules out a lot of foreign visitors. And nudity is required in the bathing zones, as in any Japanese sento, which surprises people who booked it as a water park.

Entry is around 1,500 yen and often less with online or discount tickets. It is busy with families at weekends and school holidays and calm on weekday afternoons.

Shinsekai outside is worth an hour: Tsutenkaku tower, kushikatsu counters, and a district that leans hard into looking like 1960s Osaka. Ebisucho and Dobutsuen-mae stations are both a few minutes away.