Travel In Japan January 3, 2015 1:55 pm

Osaka Rundown: A Brief Overview


Travel In Japan January 3, 2015 1:55 pm

Osaka Rundown: A Brief Overview


Tokyo In May: The Happenings

Osaka is Japan’s third largest city after Tokyo and Yokohama. Osaka is located in the Kansai region and a major part of Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. The Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area is the second largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It’s also home to the headquarters of well known electronic companies. Two of the major attractions in Osaka are Osaka Castle and the Umeda Sky Building. The west side of Osaka is open to Osaka Bay, otherwise it is completely surrounded by more than ten smaller cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture; Osaka consists of 24 wards.

Osaka Rundown: A Quick Look

Photo by: Luke Ma
Before night skyline, Osaka, Japan

Osaka General Map

Subway and JR Line

Osaka Rundown: Areas, Neighborhoods, and Places

Photo by: Kevin Dooley – Osaka night lights

Umeda Sky Building

Location: Find on Google Maps
Umeda Sky Building is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The 173 m (568 ft) tall building is located in Kita-ku district and was originally conceived in 1988 as the “City of Air” project, which planned to create four interconnected towers in northern Osaka. Eventually, practical considerations brought the number of towers down to two.

Osaka Castle

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Castle of Osaka is located in Chuo-ku ward and is one of Japan’s most famous castles. It played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. The Castle grounds, which cover approximately 60,000 square meters (15 acres) contain thirteen structures which have been designated as Important Cultural Assets by the Japanese government. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation. The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom.

Universal Studios Japan

Location: Find on Google Maps
One of the worldwide four Universal Studios theme parks is located in Osaka. The park is similar to the Universal Orlando Resort since it also contains selected attractions from Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. The park opened on March 31, 2001. Universal Studios Japan reached the milestone of attracting the first ten million visitors faster than any other theme park in the world. The number of visitors had been in a downtrend after the highest attendance was recorded in the first year. Nevertheless, nowadays Universal Studios Japan is ranked ninth among the top 25 amusement/theme parks worldwide.

Shin-Sekai

Location: Find on Google Maps
This old neighborhood located next to south Osaka City’s downtown “Minami” area, was created in 1912 with New York as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. Shinsekai sits next to Tennoji Zoo, Tennoji Park, and the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, to the east. To the south is Spa World and the now-closed Festival Gate, a compact amusement park built to rejuvenate Osaka’s most run-down area. As a result of minimal redevelopment after World War II, the area has become one of Japan’s poorest. Despite its negative image and commonly held reputation as Osaka’s most dangerous area, Shinsekai boasts a colorful history and unique identity. At the beginning of the 20th century the neighborhood flourished as a local tourist attraction showcasing the city’s modern image. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is Tsutenkaku Tower (the “tower reaching to heaven”). Shinsekai has several fugu (blowfish) restaurants, but the neighborhood’s real culinary forte is kushi-katsu (a Japanese-style of deep-fried kebab).

Osaka Aquarium

Location: Find on Google Maps
Located in Minato-ward, the Osaka Aquarium “Kaiyukan” is one of the largest public aquariums in the world. The aquarium is about a five-minute walk from Osakako Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Chūō Line, and is next to the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. The walk-through aquarium displays marine life in several habitats comprising 27 tanks in 16 main exhibits with a total volume of 10,941 tons of water. The habitats are from the Ring of Fire area of the Pacific Ocean. The largest tank is 9 meters (30 ft) deep and holds 5,400 cubic meters (190,699 cu ft) of water and a variety of fish including manta rays and a whale shark. The Aquarium holds 470 number of species in total.
Official Website (in English)

Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine is a shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi ward of Osaka. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan and famous for the large crowds that come to the shrine on New Year’s Day for “hatsumōde”. The shrine was founded in the year 211 and became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. The center building of the shrine is built in the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style and has been designated a national treasure on the grounds that it is the oldest example of this style of architecture.

Shitennoji Temple

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Shitennoji Temple is a Buddhist temple and the oldest officially administered temple in Japan although the temple buildings have been rebuilt over the centuries. Most of the present structures are from when the temple was last completely rebuilt in 1963. Prince Shotoku invited three Korean Baekje carpenters, and they constructed this temple in 593. Prince Shotoku was known for his profound Buddhist faith when Buddhism was not widespread in Japan. The Prince built the temple to honor the “Shitennō” (four heavenly kings) and gave it four institutions, each to help the Japanese attain a higher level of civilization.

Namba District

Location: Find on Google Maps
Namba is regarded as the center of so-called South Area of Osaka. Some of the most famous images of Osaka, including the Glico Man and the Kani Doraku Crab, are located around the Dōtonbori canal in Namba. Namba is also known as an entertainment district, and hosts many of the city’s most popular bars, restaurants, nightclubs, arcades, and pachinko parlors. The area is also known for shopping, with the Takashimaya department store (for older styles) and the sprawling underground Namba City shopping mall (for newer styles). Namba Parks is a new development consisting of a high office building, called “Parks Tower,” and a 120-tenant shopping mall with rooftop garden.

National Bunraku Theater

Location: Find on Google Maps
The National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka is the best place to experience “Bunraku” (traditional Japanese puppet theatre). The complex is centrally located in Chuo-ward and consists of two halls and an exhibition room. It was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of Bunraku. The Large Theatre has a capacity of around 700 seats depending on stage setup. Besides Bunraku, it is also used for for performances of Buyō (Japanese performing art, a mixture of dance and pantomime) and other stage plays, as well as Japanese music.

National Museum of Ethnology

Location: Find on Google Maps
As one of the major museums in Japan, the National Museum of Ethnology is Japan’s largest research institute in the academic disciplines of humanities and social sciences. The collections feature visual representations of various cultures with high detail in it’s exhibits.
Official Website (in English)


Tags: , , , , , ,

Categorised in:

This post was written by Mathew Ryan

Osaka is Japan’s third largest city after Tokyo and Yokohama. Osaka is located in the Kansai region and a major part of Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. The Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area is the second largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It’s also home to the headquarters of well known electronic companies. Two of the major attractions in Osaka are Osaka Castle and the Umeda Sky Building. The west side of Osaka is open to Osaka Bay, otherwise it is completely surrounded by more than ten smaller cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture; Osaka consists of 24 wards.

Osaka Rundown: A Quick Look

Photo by: Luke Ma
Before night skyline, Osaka, Japan

Osaka General Map

Subway and JR Line

Osaka Rundown: Areas, Neighborhoods, and Places

Photo by: Kevin Dooley – Osaka night lights

Umeda Sky Building

Location: Find on Google Maps
Umeda Sky Building is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The 173 m (568 ft) tall building is located in Kita-ku district and was originally conceived in 1988 as the “City of Air” project, which planned to create four interconnected towers in northern Osaka. Eventually, practical considerations brought the number of towers down to two.

Osaka Castle

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Castle of Osaka is located in Chuo-ku ward and is one of Japan’s most famous castles. It played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. The Castle grounds, which cover approximately 60,000 square meters (15 acres) contain thirteen structures which have been designated as Important Cultural Assets by the Japanese government. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation. The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom.

Universal Studios Japan

Location: Find on Google Maps
One of the worldwide four Universal Studios theme parks is located in Osaka. The park is similar to the Universal Orlando Resort since it also contains selected attractions from Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. The park opened on March 31, 2001. Universal Studios Japan reached the milestone of attracting the first ten million visitors faster than any other theme park in the world. The number of visitors had been in a downtrend after the highest attendance was recorded in the first year. Nevertheless, nowadays Universal Studios Japan is ranked ninth among the top 25 amusement/theme parks worldwide.

Shin-Sekai

Location: Find on Google Maps
This old neighborhood located next to south Osaka City’s downtown “Minami” area, was created in 1912 with New York as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. Shinsekai sits next to Tennoji Zoo, Tennoji Park, and the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, to the east. To the south is Spa World and the now-closed Festival Gate, a compact amusement park built to rejuvenate Osaka’s most run-down area. As a result of minimal redevelopment after World War II, the area has become one of Japan’s poorest. Despite its negative image and commonly held reputation as Osaka’s most dangerous area, Shinsekai boasts a colorful history and unique identity. At the beginning of the 20th century the neighborhood flourished as a local tourist attraction showcasing the city’s modern image. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is Tsutenkaku Tower (the “tower reaching to heaven”). Shinsekai has several fugu (blowfish) restaurants, but the neighborhood’s real culinary forte is kushi-katsu (a Japanese-style of deep-fried kebab).

Osaka Aquarium

Location: Find on Google Maps
Located in Minato-ward, the Osaka Aquarium “Kaiyukan” is one of the largest public aquariums in the world. The aquarium is about a five-minute walk from Osakako Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Chūō Line, and is next to the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. The walk-through aquarium displays marine life in several habitats comprising 27 tanks in 16 main exhibits with a total volume of 10,941 tons of water. The habitats are from the Ring of Fire area of the Pacific Ocean. The largest tank is 9 meters (30 ft) deep and holds 5,400 cubic meters (190,699 cu ft) of water and a variety of fish including manta rays and a whale shark. The Aquarium holds 470 number of species in total.
Official Website (in English)

Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine is a shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi ward of Osaka. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan and famous for the large crowds that come to the shrine on New Year’s Day for “hatsumōde”. The shrine was founded in the year 211 and became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. The center building of the shrine is built in the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style and has been designated a national treasure on the grounds that it is the oldest example of this style of architecture.

Shitennoji Temple

Location: Find on Google Maps
The Shitennoji Temple is a Buddhist temple and the oldest officially administered temple in Japan although the temple buildings have been rebuilt over the centuries. Most of the present structures are from when the temple was last completely rebuilt in 1963. Prince Shotoku invited three Korean Baekje carpenters, and they constructed this temple in 593. Prince Shotoku was known for his profound Buddhist faith when Buddhism was not widespread in Japan. The Prince built the temple to honor the “Shitennō” (four heavenly kings) and gave it four institutions, each to help the Japanese attain a higher level of civilization.

Namba District

Location: Find on Google Maps
Namba is regarded as the center of so-called South Area of Osaka. Some of the most famous images of Osaka, including the Glico Man and the Kani Doraku Crab, are located around the Dōtonbori canal in Namba. Namba is also known as an entertainment district, and hosts many of the city’s most popular bars, restaurants, nightclubs, arcades, and pachinko parlors. The area is also known for shopping, with the Takashimaya department store (for older styles) and the sprawling underground Namba City shopping mall (for newer styles). Namba Parks is a new development consisting of a high office building, called “Parks Tower,” and a 120-tenant shopping mall with rooftop garden.

National Bunraku Theater

Location: Find on Google Maps
The National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka is the best place to experience “Bunraku” (traditional Japanese puppet theatre). The complex is centrally located in Chuo-ward and consists of two halls and an exhibition room. It was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of Bunraku. The Large Theatre has a capacity of around 700 seats depending on stage setup. Besides Bunraku, it is also used for for performances of Buyō (Japanese performing art, a mixture of dance and pantomime) and other stage plays, as well as Japanese music.

National Museum of Ethnology

Location: Find on Google Maps
As one of the major museums in Japan, the National Museum of Ethnology is Japan’s largest research institute in the academic disciplines of humanities and social sciences. The collections feature visual representations of various cultures with high detail in it’s exhibits.
Official Website (in English)


Tags: , , , , , ,

Categorised in:

This post was written by Mathew Ryan