Osaka

Osaka is Japan’s third-largest city and the center of the Kansai region. It has been a port and commercial hub since ancient times and, during the Edo period, became known as “the nation’s kitchen,” through which rice from all of western Japan passed. From that comes the reputation the city still cultivates today: a place where people eat a lot and well, summed up in the word kuidaore, meaning to eat until you drop.

The city is divided between two centers. Kita, to the north, revolves around Osaka and Umeda stations, with skyscrapers, department stores and the Umeda Sky Building. Minami, to the south, includes Namba and Shinsaibashi, with covered shopping streets, the Dotonbori canal and its illuminated signs, Kuromon Market and Den Den Town, the electronics and gaming district.

Osaka Castle, rebuilt on the site of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s fortress, sits in a large park between the two centers. Further south, Shinsekai and the Tsutenkaku Tower retain a 1950s atmosphere, and Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the country’s oldest shrines. In the bay are the Kaiyukan aquarium, the Tempozan Ferris wheel and, on the opposite shore, the Universal Studios Japan theme park.

Street food is the calling card: takoyaki, octopus balls; okonomiyaki, the cabbage pancake grilled on a plate; kushikatsu, breaded skewers. Kansai Airport, on an artificial island in the bay, is one of the country’s gateways, and from Osaka you can reach Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji in under an hour.

This destination brings together 1 city: Osaka.