Osaka's extensive subway and train system operates exactly like Tokyo's. It even has an overground circular line, called the JR Loop line, with trains running both clockwise and anticlockwise, just like the Yamanote line in Tokyo. The Loop line is handy, especially if you're using a rail pass, but most of the time you'll find the subway more convenient and quicker for getting around the city. You can transfer between the seven subway lines and the New Tram line on the same ticket, but if you switch to any of the railway lines at a connecting station you'll need to buy either another ticket or a special transfer ticket when you start your journey. Most journeys across central Osaka cost ¥230.

Because Osaka's attractions are widely scattered, investing in a one-day pass (¥850) is worth considering if you're up for a hectic round of the sights. The pass, like a thin telephone card, is valid on all the subways and will be date-stamped when you pass it through the gate machines the first time. On the twentieth of each month (or twenty-first if the twentieth falls on a Sunday) you can buy the "No-My-Car-Day" pass, which is the same as the one-day pass, but only costs ¥600 (a consciousness-raising scheme to encourage people to use public transport instead of their cars). If you're spending a few days in Osaka, you could also buy a pre-paid subway card which costs ¥3000, but provides ¥3300 worth of travel - these can be bought at subway-ticket vending machines as well as station kiosks.

There are plenty of buses , but you'll find the subways and trains with their English signs and maps much easier to use. If you do need to go short distances quickly, flag down a taxi ; a city-centre journey shouldn't cost more than ¥2000.