Osaka Vacations, Japan

If Tokyo is Japan's capital, Ōsaka might be called its anti-capital. The central metropolis of the Kansai region and the capital of Osaka prefecture. Osaka is the largest of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto trio, and its inhabitants exhibit a friendly rivalry towards the Kanto region, from baseball, food, popular culture, even to which side they ride escalators (on the left in Tokyo, but on the right in Osaka).

Although older than either Kyoto or Tokyo (it dates back to Nara times), Osaka is in some ways the Japanese counterpart to Chicago in the U.S., a centrally located hub of commerce and industry for the country as a whole. Whereas Chicago served as a central processing point for meat and grain, Osaka served as the collection and distribution point for rice, the most important measure of wealth during the Tokugawa era, while Edo (now Tokyo) served as the austere seat of military power and Kyoto remained the home of the Imperial court and its effete courtiers.

Osaka was where merchants made and lost fortunes and received repeated warnings from the shogunate to reduce their conspicuous consumption. During Meiji times, Osaka's fearless entrepreneurs took the lead in industrial development, making it the equivalent of Manchester in the U.K. To this day, while unappealing and gruff on the surface, Osaka remains Japan's best place to eat, drink and party, and Osakans still greet each other with mōkarimakka?, "are you making money?".

More information on Osaka Travel at Wikitravel.org

Things To Do and See in Osaka

Sumiyoshi Taisha, Osaka
Built prior to the influx of Buddhist architecture, this shrine - one of the

oldest in Japan - exemplifies a purely Japanese style design.
Attraction type: Historic site; Religious site

Osaka Castle (Osaka-jo), Osaka
Once the largest castle in Japan when originally built in the 1580s,

this castle has an observation platform with city views and a history

museum that uses holograms, 3D pictures and other technologies to

describe the history of the castle and the period during which it was built.
Attraction type: Castle

Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan), Osaka
See the wide range of habitats that make up the Pacific Rim on a tour

of this fascinating aquarium, which takes you from one environment

to another and lets you feel as though you’re underwater.
Attraction type: Aquarium

Umeda Sky Building, Osaka
This modern, soaring building consists of two towers connected

by an observation deck that offers a spectacular view of the city.
Attraction type: Architectural building; Observation deck/tower

Tenno-ji, Osaka
The oldest temple in Japan, built over 1,400 years ago, this temple is

famous for its symmetrical design and even has an architectural

arrangement named after it,”Shitenno-ji-style temple layout.”
Attraction type: Religious site