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Osaka (大阪市;
-shi) is the third-largest
city in
Japan, with a population of 2.7 million. It is located on the island of
Honshu, at the mouth of the
Yodo river on
Osaka Bay. The city is one of
Japan's major industrial centers and ports, as well as the capital of
Osaka prefecture.
Attractions
Central Osaka is divided into two sections: Kita (north)
and Minami (south).
The
retail district of Umeda is located in Kita, while the
entertainment area around Dotonburi Bridge (with its famous enormous
motorised crab), Triangle Park and
Amerikamura ("America Village") is in Minami. Minami is also home to the
Shinsaibashi and
Tenjinbashi shopping districts. The
central business district, including the courts and major banks, is
primarily located in
Yodoyabashi and
Hommachi, between Kita and Minami.
Osaka has had many names in the past: Naniwa and
Settsu are among the better-known ones. Before the modern era, it
was written in
kanji as 大坂.
Osaka is known for
bunraku (a type of puppetry) and
kabuki theatre.
Tourist attractions include:
- Osakajo (Osaka
castle),
- Kaiyukan - an enormous walk-through
aquarium located in Osaka Bay, containing 35,000 aquatic animals in 14
tanks, the largest of which holds 5,400
tonnes of water and houses whale-sharks,
- numerous
amusement parks including
Universal Studios Japan,
Expoland, and
Festival Gate, and,
- for the sanitary-minded, the "Toilets
of the World" exhibit in the International Finance Center in Osakajo-koen.
Osaka regional cuisine includes
okonomiyaki (a type of pancake),
takoyaki (octopus
dumplings),
udon (a noodle dish), as well as regional
sushi and other traditional
Japanese foods.
Transportation
Kansai International Airport is the main
airport: it is a man-made rectangular island which sits off-shore in
Osaka Bay and services Osaka and its surrounding satellite cities of
Nara,
Kobe and
Kyoto.
Kansai is the geographical term for the area of western Honshu
surrounding Osaka. The airport is linked by a
bus and
train service into the centre of the city and major suburbs.
Osaka International Airport in
Itami still houses most of the domestic service from the metropolitan
region: its proximity to the Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto city centers outweighs
its noise restrictions.
The
mass transportation system of Osaka is first-rate: Besides the
subway system there is a network of both government (JR)
and private lines connecting the suburbs of the city, and Osaka to its
neighbours.
Keihan and
Hankyu line connect to Kyoto,
Hanshin and
Hankyu line connect to Kobe, the
Kintetsu line connects to Nara and
Nagoya, and the
Nankai line to
Wakayama.
The city was founded on
April 1,
1889.
Geography
Osaka has following
wards:
Abeno-ku,
Asahi-ku,
Chuo-ku,
Fukushima-ku,
Higashinari-ku,
Higashisumiyoshi-ku,
Higashiyodogawa-ku,
Hirano-ku,
Ikuno-ku,
Joto-ku,
Kita-ku,
Konohana-ku,
Minato-ku,
Miyakojima-ku,
Naniwa-ku,
Nishi-ku,
Nishinari-ku,
Nishiyodogawa-ku,
Suminoe-ku,
Sumiyoshi-ku,
Taisho-ku,
Tennoji-ku,
Tsurumi-ku and
Yodogawa-ku.
Demography
As of
2003, the city has an estimated
population of 2,624,129 and the
density of 11,857.79 persons per
km². The total area is 221.30 km².
The people of Osaka speak a variation of standard
Japanese called
Osaka-ben, characterised by, most prominently amongst other
particularities, the use of the suffix hen instead of nai
in the negative of verbs.
Osaka people are considered by other Japanese to be rowdy
and boisterous with a robust and coarse sense of
humour, befitting people engaged in the commercial life of the region.
Economy
Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce.
Nowadays, most major companies have moved their main offices to
Tokyo, but several major companies are still based in Osaka, including
Daimaru,
Hankyu,
Hanshin,
Matsushita,
Sharp Electronics, and the
West Japan Railway Company.
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