Travel guide Osaka

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art

Do you have any plan to go to Japan? If so, Osaka is a second biggest cities in Japan and there are a lot of interesting things to do. People in Osaka are said to be the most friendly, and food culture is also what you cannot miss. Takoyaki or okonomiyaki, which are called 'Konamon' because they are made from flour, are very famous local dishes . Inside takoyaki, there is octopus and the temperature is quite hot, so when you eat it please take care not to hurt your mouth.

There are several core areas in Osaka. What I am most used to is around Umeda station, which generally called Kita area. Umeda station is biggest hub of several railways station, so the place is very bustling. You can find something artistic or spontaneous there. The famous baseball team, Hanshin Tigers, places its orient place close to Umeda area, so for someone who are big fun of baseball may find something memorable.

There is another area, named Minami. It is right south from Kita area and some of Minami area has a lot of brand shops and it is very luxurious. The others are more conected to culture and technology, so you can enjoy seeing animal in the zoo and even get a great view from sky high building. This area is called 'Tennouji', where ancient Japanese politician make a temple at the place.

There are even more places to visit in Osaka. The city is built on broad plane land and each areas have unique origin. When you wander places one by one, understanding history may enhance your total concept about the city. Nowadays, Osaka expo is held and it is a tribute in 50 years. Considering of the fact, Osaka is worth visiting.

A famous castle, built by Toyotomi, is reconstructed in showa era, so, in opposite to the scenary outside, inside is quite modern. I reckon it's a good entry point to get into the castle world in Japan. The Osaka castle area is also bustling. As if surrounding the castle, many kind of atracting places exist. From that area, the connection to Kyoto is quite good that you can get to Kyoto by local train. So before moving to Kyoto, get across Osaka castle area is big positive.

If you have a much more ancient histrical interest, how about going to Sakai? The area is further south of city of Osaka. The area always play some historical role. In ancient era, there seems to have conquared Kings and there are a lot of typical way of tomb, called ' Zenpou kouenhun'. ( it's hard to pronounce even local Japanese, though.) From your eye level, the tomb looks just forest, but from sky view, the shape is clear-cut. In middle era, the city work as a free trade point against foreign countries. So I think the place still has exotic atmosphere compared to other cities in Japan. The city makes important manufactured products nowadays, so you can feel living scene of factories.

This guide surely doesn't cover all of Osaka. However, it contains main important cities, so I want this information work well when you make plan to Osaka!