Tempozan Marketplace Twelve Plates of Conveyor Belt Sushi, and the Ferris Wheel Lit in Green at Night

Osaka · Tempozan Marketplace

Tempozan Marketplace (天保山マーケットプレース) is a commercial complex right next to Kaiyukan Aquarium on Osaka's waterfront. It's a natural flow for tourists exiting the aquarium, so there are always lines during lunch hours. We finished the aquarium in the morning and entered this building famished. Our goal was simple: conveyor belt sushi.

We Finally Took a Seat at the Conveyor Belt Sushi Counter

Sitting at the counter where the lane passes by, I watched plates continuously come into view. Menu photos and price lists hung on the wall, and below them was a large notice that read "価格は全て税抜です" (All prices exclude tax). This is something first-timers often miss. Count up the plate prices and the bill comes out 10% higher. It's better to mentally add the tax before settling the bill.

My first plate was lean tuna. Two pieces of red meat were cut so generously they more than covered the rice, while the rice portion was kept modest, letting the fish flavor shine through. For something rotating on a conveyor belt, the color hadn't faded at all.

Lean tuna sushi on a light blue plate with purple berry pattern, two pieces of red fish covering the rice — Lean tuna, 2 pieces. The fish is larger than the rice.

The next plate was today's winner: one piece of chu-toro (medium fatty tuna). I could tell it was expensive just from the different plate pattern (with red triangular marks). The cross-section, with fat marbled throughout like a mesh, glistened under the light. The moment it hit my mouth, the temperature seemed to dissolve on my tongue. This wasn't something to stop at just one piece of, but unfortunately it didn't come around the lane again. I should have ordered it directly from the counter.

A single piece of fatty tuna sushi on a plate with red and navy geometric patterns, with a dark miso soup bowl in the background — Chu-toro, 1 piece. Different plate patterns mean different prices.

Two Battleship Rolls — Ikura and Negitoro

The kids' favorite was the ikura (salmon roe) battleship roll. They piled the roe so high it overflowed from the nori, and the moment I picked it up with chopsticks, a few roe scattered onto the plate. You can see them rolling in the lower right of the photo. The sensation wasn't salty but bursting—clear and bright. The kid next to us already had his portion in hand, and our table's pace picked up from this plate onward.

A plate with two nori-wrapped battleship rolls heaped with orange salmon roe, and a glass of barley tea in the background — Ikura battleship roll. The roe is piled so high it rolls outside the nori.

The negitoro (minced tuna and green onion) battleship roll has a completely different texture. It comes with minced tuna topped with negi (green onion), but the negi is cut thicker than expected, giving it a strong aroma. The kids picked out the negi, but I loved it for exactly that reason. Just minced tuna alone could get monotonous—the negi keeps it balanced.

A plate with two nori-wrapped battleship rolls filled with minced tuna, topped with sliced green onion — Negitoro battleship roll. The green onion aroma is quite strong.

Water wasn't served, so we drank the barley tea in the glass on the table. There's also a self-service station for powdered green tea if you want something hot.

The Bill: Twelve Plates Total

When we were done, the plates stacked up to this height. Light blue, navy striped, and red patterned plates were mixed in—at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, the plate color is the price tag. A bowl of udon broth, a rice bowl, and an iced tea cup sat separately. When you bring the check (お会計) to the counter, the staff doesn't count the plates individually but confirms them by color.

Twelve empty plates stacked by color at the conveyor belt sushi counter, along with a bowl with broth remaining and the bill — Our plate tower. Color equals price per plate.

We even finished the udon broth on the side. Here's one thing I learned—when you bring two kids to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, the plates multiply like a snowball. It helps everyone if you predetermine which expensive plates to limit and start with a promise of 'just one of this color.'

The 2nd Floor Photo Zone and the 3rd Floor Ferris Wheel

After filling our bellies, walking through the building, you'll find seasonal photo zones set up. When we visited, there was a spring-themed setup covered in butterflies and caterpillars, with illustrations of the Santa Maria ship and the Ferris Wheel on the side panels, plus "OSAKA JAPAN" text. Even stickers of caterpillars were on the floor, so kids naturally found their spots and posed. During busy hours you'd wait in line, but we went right after lunch and barely waited at all.

Two children in blue puffy jackets sitting on a spring-themed photo zone bench decorated with butterflies and flowers, with purple stingray and white seal character figures in the background — Seasonal photo zone inside the Marketplace. Kids just need to be placed there and they'll play naturally.

Tempozan is within a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Osaka-ko (大阪港) Station on the Osaka Metro Chuo Line. The streets are wide and flat, so strollers are no problem. Since Kaiyukan, Marketplace, and the Ferris Wheel are all within one block, if you keep your day's itinerary around here, you'll barely spend time on travel.

When we came back out after sunset, the entire Ferris Wheel was lit in green. In the daytime it's just a big wheel, but at night the colors shift constantly, bathing the entire plaza in front of the building. The entrance signage clearly states Ticket Sales: 2nd Floor, Boarding: 3rd Floor, so don't mistakenly line up on the 1st floor. LEGOLAND Discovery Center banners hang on the 2nd floor of the same building too, so if you bring kids, you can bundle it all together and half a day just flies by.

Tempozan Ferris Wheel illuminated with green lighting at night, with LEGOLAND banner below, and signage showing 3F Boarding/2F Ticket Sales — Tempozan Ferris Wheel at night. Tickets 2nd floor, boarding 3rd floor.

What I'll Do Next Time

Skip the conveyor belt sushi right after the aquarium visit (around 1 PM). Go a bit later, past 2 PM, and there's plenty of space.
Order expensive toppings that don't rotate on the lane directly from the counter. I ate just one piece of chu-toro and regretted it.
Prices are displayed before tax. Don't be shocked if the bill comes out noticeably higher than expected.
The Ferris Wheel is much better at night than in the daytime. Just watching the lights change from the plaza is enough.

Prices and hours change by season, so I recommend checking on-site. What we verified were just two things: the tax-not-included notice posted on the wall and the ferris wheel floor signage.