Osaka is the largest city in the Kansai region, a large metropolitan area of 19 million inhabitants encompassing Osaka as well as Kobe and Kyoto. Osaka is located at the mouth of the Yodo River, and is famous for being a city of many bridges. It is also the capital of the Osaka Prefecture. Osaka is the third largest city in Japan, after Tokyo and Yokohama, when counting the number of residents, but the daytime population sweells to 3.7, making it the second largest city in Japan, as many commute from outlying areas to Osaka to work.
Traces of habitation in Osaka goes back to the 5-6th centuries BC, through the ruins of Morinomiya, where shells and human skeletons were found buried. Rice farming in the Osaka area is believed to take place during the Yayoi period, between 300BC and 250AD. Osaka became a capital of an ancient kingdom in 645AD, when Emperor Kotoku built his palace here. The capital was called Naniwa-kyo, and this name exists to this day in the names of the districts of Naniwa and Namba in central Osaka. Although the capital subsequently moved in 655 to Asuka, in today's Nara Prefecture, Naniwa continued to be an important ancient trading centre.
In 744, the capital returned to Naniwa, under the rule of Emperor Shomu. This only lasted a year, however, for in 745, the Imperial Court moved again,b ack to Heijo-kyo, in today's Nara. For a while, the fortune of Naniwa subsided.
In 1496, the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist sect set up their headquarters over the ruins of the old Naniwa imperial palace. This Buddhist temple was attacked by Oda Nobunaga, the major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. The seige lasted 10 years, ending with the monks surrendering in 1580. Their temple was razed, and in its place the Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle.
Osaka is a city of the merchant class, and continues today to be the headquarters of many important Japanese corporations including Mitsubishi, Matsushita, Hitachi Maxell, Sanyo, Sumitomo Life Insurance, Sogo and Sharp.
Kansai International Airport (KIX) is the main international gateway to Osaka. For more details on getting in/out of Kansai International Airport, please click here.
Domestic flights arrive at the Itami Airport (also called the Osaka International Airport, but hadn't had an international flight since 1994).
Getting out of Osaka
Get the Japan Rail Pass (website here) for travel by trains in Japan. The Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen bullet trains collect Osaka to major cities in Japan. The trains arrive at the Shin-Osaka station. The Shin-Osaka station can be reached by the Midosuji subway line from the city centre.
Eastbound: To Tokyo, Nozomi trains take 2 1/4 hours (¥14050). Hikari trains take 3 hours (¥13750).
Westbound: Nozomi trains take 45 min (¥6060) to Okayama, 80min ¥10150 to Hiroshima, 2 1/4 hours ¥14890 to Fukuoka.
To explore the city of Osaka, the best option to to get the Osaka Unlimited Pass (weblink here) It costs ¥2000 per day, and allows you unlimited rides on the trains and buses in Osaka and its neighbouring suburbs, along with free entrance to 24 sightseeing spots, plus discounts for admission to others. For an even better deal, get the 2-day pass, for only ¥2700. You also get a handy little booklet with suggested routes to take. This is a great deal, as entrance fees to some of the more expensive sites like the Floating Observatory in Umeda alone cost ¥700 on its own.
Osaka One-Day Pass (weblink here) is a no-frills option allowing you to travel on all the subways, buses and the New Tram.
Multiple Ride Card (weblink here) is a stored-value card with a discount thrown in. It lets you use the subway, buses and the New Tram; a ¥3000 value gets you rides worth ¥3300.
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