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Osaka Travel Guide - Travel S Helper

Osaka

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Osaka is a designated city in Japan’s Kansai region. It is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and the major component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, Japan’s second largest and one of the world’s largest, with over 19 million residents. Osaka, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, is Japan’s second biggest city by day after Tokyo’s 23 wards and the third largest city by night after Tokyo’s 23 wards and Yokohama, acting as a key economic centre for the nation.

Historically a mercantile city, Osaka was also known as the “nation’s kitchen” and functioned as a rice trading hub throughout the Edo era.

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Osaka | Introduction

Osaka – Info Card

POPULATION : • Designated city 2,668,586
• Metro 19,341,976
FOUNDED : 
TIME ZONE :  Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
LANGUAGE :  Japanese
RELIGION : observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
AREA :  223.00 km2 (86.10 sq mi)
ELEVATION :
COORDINATES :  34°41′38″N 135°30′8″E
SEX RATIO :  Male: 49%
 Female: 51%
ETHNIC :  Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%
AREA CODE :  66
POSTAL CODE :
DIALING CODE :   +81 66
WEBSITE :   Official Website

Tourism in Osaka

AMUSEMENT PARKS

  • Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan – The Osaka Bay Aquarium has 35,000 aquatic species in 14 tanks, the biggest of which holds 5,400 tons of water and includes a variety of marine animals including whale sharks. This tank is the world’s second-biggest aquarium tank, behind only the Georgia Aquarium’s largest tank, which contains around 29,000 tons of water.
  • Tempozan Ferris Wheel – A 112m tall Ferris wheel situated in the bay area near to the aquarium.
  • Tennōji Zoo
  • Universal Studios Japan
  • HEP Five – A shopping/entertainment center in Umeda including a Sega Joypolis and a rooftop Ferris wheel with city views.
  • Umeda Sky Building – Twin 173-meter buildings connected by a rooftop “Floating Garden” observatory with a 360-degree panoramic view of Osaka. The tower, which is popular for pictures, also has an underground mall with eateries themed during the early Showa era of the 1920s.

PARKS

  • Nakanoshima Park is around 10.6 acres in size. In the neighborhood of City Hall
  • Osaka Castle Park: About 106 ha. Osaka-j Hall, a Japanese plum blossom (Ume) garden, a Cherry Blossom garden, and other attractions are included. In the spring and fall, it is a popular stop for migratory birds.
  • Sumiyoshi Park
  • Tennōji Park: About 28 ha. Tennoji Zoo, an art museum (founded in 1936 with a donation from the Sumitomo family), and a Japanese garden, Keitaku-en . Keitaku-en was built in 1908 by Jihei Ogawa, a well-known Japanese landscaper. Until 1921, this was one of the Sumitomo family’s gardens.
  • Utsubo Park
  • Nagai Park: The Nagai Stadium, situated in this park, hosted the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.
  • In 1990, the flower exhibition was held in Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Park, which included the Sakuya Konohana Kan.

TEMPLES, SHRINES, AND OTHER HISTORICAL SITES

  • Osaka Castle
  • Sankō Shrine
  • Shitennō-ji – The first Buddhist temple in Japan, founded in 593 AD by Prince Shtoku.
  • Sumiyoshi Taisha (Sumiyoshi Temple) Built in 211 AD, this is one of the earliest Shinto temples.
  • Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine
  • Ōsaka Tenmangū Shrine
  • Osaka Peace Pagoda
  • Imamiya Ebisu

ENTERTAINMENT

  • Dōtonbori – Osaka’s main tourism and nightlife district.
  • Namba and Shinsaibashidistricts – Located in Minami, these two buildings provide shops, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Higashi-Dori area – In Umeda, there is a network of ofshōtengai with several restaurants, pubs, and nightlife choices.
  • Shin-michi/Kitashinchi district – The city is well-known for its premium eating and hostess clubs, but it also has more moderately priced izakaya, as well as pubs and nightclubs that appeal to visitors and foreigners.
  • Shinsekai – Built around the Tsūtenkaku Tower, this earthy eating/drinking zone is noted for its affordable kushikatsu.
  • Den Den Town – Den Den Town, an electronics/anime area similar to Tokyo’s Akihabara, also has maid cafés, clubs, and other entertainment places.
  • Sankaku Koen (Triangle Park) – Amerika-most mura’s popular youth hangout. There are a lot of eccentric clothes and local skateboarders.
  • Jūsō – A well-known working-class bar and nightlife area
  • Kyobashi – A business district and shotengai with a wide range of izakaya
  • Zepp Osaka – A live stage facility in the Osaka Bay region that accommodates a number of well-known musical performers and events.
  • Doyama – It is regarded as a focal point for Osaka’s LGBT population.
  • Tobita – A red-light district

Climate of Osaka

Osaka has four distinct seasons and is situated in the humid subtropical climatic zone. Its winters are relatively warm, with the coldest month, January, having an average high of 9.3 °C (49 °F). During the winter, the city seldom receives snowfall. Spring in Osaka begins mildly but quickly becomes hot and humid. It is also Osaka’s wettest season, with the tsuyu (rainy season) lasting from late May to early July. The summers are quite hot and humid. The average daily maximum temperature in July and August exceeds 35 °C (95 °F), with average overnight temperatures hovering around 25 °C (77 °F). In Osaka, autumn has a cooling tendency, with the early part of the season resembling summer and the later portion of the season resembling winter.

Geography of Osaka

The city’s west side is open to Osaka Bay, and it is otherwise totally encircled by more than ten satellite cities, all of which are in Osaka Prefecture except for Amagasaki, which is in Hygo Prefecture to the northwest. The city has a bigger land area (about 13 percent) than any other city or hamlet in Osaka Prefecture. When the city was founded in 1889, it occupied roughly the area known today as the Chuo and Nishi wards, only 15.27 square kilometers (3,773 acres), which would eventually grow to today’s 222.30 square kilometers (54,932 acres) through incremental expansions, the largest of which was a single 126.01 square kilometers (31,138 acres) expansion in 1925. The highest point in Osaka is 37.5 metres (123.0 ft) Tokyo Peil in Tsurumi-ku, while the lowest point is 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) Tokyo Peil in Nishiyodogawa-ku.

Economy of Osaka

Osaka’s gross city product in fiscal year 2004 was 21.3 trillion, a 1.2 percent rise over the previous year. This statistic accounts for around 55% of total production in Osaka Prefecture and 26.5 percent in the Kinki area. In 2004, the three biggest industries were commerce, services, and manufacturing, accounting for 30%, 26%, and 11% of the total, respectively. The city’s per capita income was around 3.3 million, 10% greater than that of the Osaka Prefecture. According to MasterCard Worldwide, Osaka is ranked 19th among the world’s major cities and plays an essential role in the global economy.

The greater Osaka area’s GDP (Osaka and Kobe combined) is $341 billion. Osaka, like Paris and London, has one of the world’s most productive hinterlands.

Historically, Osaka was the hub of Japanese trade, particularly in the middle and pre-modern centuries. Nomura Securities, Japan’s first brokerage business, was formed in the city in 1925, and Osaka is now home to a major futures market. Many large corporations have now relocated their headquarters to Tokyo. However, some significant corporations, like Panasonic, Sharp, and Sanyo, continue to be based in Osaka. The city has launched an initiative to attract local and international investment, led by mayor Junichi Seki.

The Osaka Securities Exchange is situated in Osaka and specializes in derivatives like as Nikkei 225 futures. The merger with JASDAQ will assist the Osaka Securities Exchange in becoming Japan’s biggest exchange for start-up firms.

According to the worldwide consulting company Mercer, Osaka was the second most costly city in the world for expatriate workers in 2009. It rose nine positions from 11th place in 2008 to eighth place in 2007. However, it did not rank among the top 10 on the list in 2013. In its 2013 Cost of Living research, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) named Osaka as the world’s second most expensive city.

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