Osaka
Osaka has served as an international gateway since ancient times, beginning in the 5th century. This background as a meeting point for people, goods, and information has fostered a liberal, forward-looking and enterprising people.
The City of Osaka is continuously trying to enhance its profile as an international cultural center by promoting the arts, sports activities, learning etc. in the city and facilitating cultural exchanges with many other countries In 2004, the following festival took place in Osaka:
- Picasso Exhibition at the ATC Museum (Asia and Pacific Trade Center)
- Tempozan Offshore Fireworks Festival at Tempozan Harbor Village
- Tempozan World Performance Festival at Tempozan Harbor Village
- Special Exhibition of Arts at Universal Expositions atOsaka Municipal Museum of Art
- Midosuji Parade on Midosuji Boulevard
- Special Exhibition: Birth of the ancient capital at Osaka Museum of History
For all the people bewildered by Tokyo’s rail system, Osaka is very navigable; even yours truly, (born without a pigeon - brain) managed to find my way. This is due to the fact that there is only one subway and this is a blessing after Tokyo, which is daunting at first. It means that if the regular trains confuse you, the subway is a safe betto get you where you need to go in a hurry.
History
Osaka was at one time the distribution center for staple domestic goods e.g. rice. This earned Osaka the nickname “the nation’s kitchen,” which the people of Osaka were extremely proud. Even today, the Japanese have a word meaning, “to enjoy food” and this term is generally used to describe the people of Osaka, with the wide variety of foods enjoyed in their many restaurants.
Wealthy merchants handled goods from all over Japan and the waterways were the Favored form of transport and thus canals were built to facilitate trade. These canals provide a pleasant view amid the urban concrete jungle, that many travel writers write make Osaka an “ugly city”. This name is unjustified, as you will read. (See Tourism)
Restoration and Rapid Growth of Post-World War II Although much of the city center was burnt to the ground during World War II, the public and private sectors came together to reconstruct the city and its industries, resulting in the high economic growth of the post – World War II era. Osaka originally had large corporations and a number of small/medium-sized enterprises. After the war, light industry and the field of home appliances and electronic products supported rapid
economic growth via new and remarkable technologies, becoming a pillar of Osaka’s economy while also gaining international recognition for Osaka.
Shopping
There are some streets in Osaka that concentrate on selling the same kind of products, so visitors to Osaka will find better prices because of competition between vendors. (Examples: medicine, furniture, electronics)
Besides eating and drinking, Osaka's main pastime is shopping. The city is a shopping Mecca, with underground arcades, department stores and shopping centres catering for every taste of Osaka's people.The Umeda Hankyu Department Store is set to Become One of the Largest Department Stores in Japan. It has a long history, being built in 1929 and now has have two floors underground and 13 floors above ground, a height of approximately 60 m, when final construction finishes in 2011
Apart from the major department stores such as Sony Tower, OPA, Daimaru and Big Step, Osaka has specialised areas for buying particular items. In Dotombori, there is the Dogusuji-ya Arcade, where every kind of kitchen accessory and food model is on display. The electronics area is close to Namba station, while the biggest fashion areas are Minami and Umeda. In any event, no visitor will leave empty-handed.
There are more quiet places where you can enjoy a nice pub, but they are a little out - of the way, and unless you are living in the area, it may be boring if the pub closes and there is no further entertainment. Again, check train times if you are out in “the sticks”
Nightlife
In Umeda, there is a wide variety of pubs and clubs, second only to Tokyo.
“Pig and Whistle”, my regular when I was in Osaka, was is an English chain bar which served a great pint of Guinness. I was a regular there. It should be born in mind that the Premiership is very difficult to see in Japan, but this bar was great. I even got to see “Match of the Day”, and Champions League. Unfortunately, the trains in Osaka finish a wee bit earlier than Tokyo, so unless it is an all - night session, you can’t watch the end of Match of the Day. There was an Irish bar, which was extremely forgettable, crowded,cramped, and difficult to get served. I think the English bar did a better pint too, which is unforgivable. Added to which the Irish bar was very difficult to find and (on the 6thfloor or something) whereas the English bar was on the main street.
Balabushka - For those who'd rather relax with a beer than spend the night on the dance floor, Balabushka has happy hour, pool tables, dartboards, and plenty of places to sit even when it's busy.
Canopy - open until 5 AM, with a good selection of foods, a lengthy happy hour, and a terrace allows for open-air dining in summer.
Cellar - A small bar which has live music three times a week.
Club Karma - “Club Karma has become a trendy place where style gurus and businesspeople coexist in harmony”. This means it's expensive, but the beautiful people come out in style. Well worth a look but bear in mind we do not know the celebrities in Japan, so looking for autographs or pictures with famous people is difficult. Club Karma hosts all-night techno rave dance parties on weekends and sometimes during the week as well.
Club Joule - The popular Club Joule caters to R&B and hip-hop fans during the week and house and techno clubbers on weekends. A café-style seating area upstairs is a good place to relax, or just watch the action. Due to the popularity of themes in Japan, this is much more fun than is sounds. Even the die hard hip - hop fans in Europe do not wear such big and heavy chains. It is great to watch.
Underlounge - perhaps the city's most modern dance club, with a state-of-the-art sound system and regular appearances by big-name international DJs.
Club Quattro - features up-and-coming Japanese rock bands as well as popular British or American bands almost every night. The sound system is excellent.
Negative Vibes
Osaka men have a reputation for being more “straight” and not beating about the bush than other people in Japan. In fact, compared to other Japanese cities, Osaka has a reputation for being slightly rude. However, my experiences were quite the opposite.
1. At the beginning the language problem being as it is, the straight talk of the Osaka people is actually welcome and very helpful.
For Example, I insulted someone in Tokyo (One of my co–workers was arranging my apartment in Osaka, and she was explaining living arrangement, and one point was that I would have to clean the apartment myself. She asked if I had ever cleaned before. I thought she was joking so I told her she had to travel from Tokyo to Osaka every weekend and clean it for me. She thought I was serious). A co – worker overheard and later told me about some culture in Japan (In Japanese schools and workplaces, people clean every day. It is a culture thing to promote a clean environment). The guy didn’t say why he was telling me this story, he didn’t even tell me in the same day, and didn’t relate it to anything, he just said, “Excuse me, did you know…” so it took a couple of weeks to realize the two incidents were related, that I had actually insulted the person. (The girl had heard that Foreigners didn’t have this custom, so she figured we never cleaned our rooms ourselves/or maybe just never cleaned). The reason for this is that Japanese are very polite and they want tohelp, but didn’t want to insult me by pointing out my mistake at that time, which may have been embarrassing. Instead , I missed the point completely
In contrast, the Osaka people tend to explain as you are doing something, so you are less likely to make a fool of yourself.
2. All Japanese are polite. The difference between a rude Osaka person and a polite Tokyo person is one I haven’t found. They still bend over backwards to help you.
3. Kansai was previously the capital of Japan, and areas such as Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe tend to feel a little peeved that Tokyo became the capital. Similar to Cork vs. Dublin, Osaka tend to think of themselves as the capital and are very quick to highlight Tokyo failures and Osaka successes, e.g. baseball Hanshin Tigers – Osaka and Yomiuri Giants – Tokyo, is a very big rivalry.
4. There are many stories about people in Osaka being rude, not helpful etc., but I must admit I never found that. In fact, they were annoyingly friendly. If I went drinking with co – workers, I never paid a penny, if I bought something in a shop, the fellow followed me around the shop thanking me (it was a supermarket) and telling anyone (everyone) who asked all about me, (what little I had told him). In the dry – cleaners, I mentioned I was going on a day trip and I spent 30 minutes in the shop as she planned my holiday for me. These are just some examples of the way of the “unfriendly” Osaka people, so I would not worry about it too much.
5. If you meet an idiot in Osaka, it is because he/she was born an idiot, not because he/she is from Osaka. There are idiots everywhere.
Others: As for the women of Osaka, ask Rie Sensei, and Susan Sensei, who have lived there for extended periods of time. (For the Alps people, Tosaki San (Alps) and Watanabe Sensei (BNA) are both from Osaka, so please decide for yourselves).
Dining Out
Osaka is well known as "City of Kuidaore" (eat until you fall down). You can enjoy various kinds of food, such as Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Japanese culinary art, set of dishes, and also fancy foreign dishes.
Many special foods not available in Tokyo can be found in Osaka.
1. Boxed sushi, battera, steamed sushi, and other types of Osaka-style sushi
2. Kanto-daki and negima kushi-yaki (leeks and tuna grilled on a stick) are both taste that originated in Osaka.
3. Nabe (Hot stew prepared from fish, seafood, chicken, meat and/or vegetables in a bubbling cauldron and served in a communal pot) Many foods originated and were refined in Osaka. When Osakans say "niku" they are referring to "meat". And,Osakans eat lots of "globefish", better known and immortalized in “The Simpsons” as “Fugu”
4. Okonomiyaki - Local Cuisine Okonomiyaki (a Japanese style pancake, made using a batter of flour, water and egg with shredded cabbage, meat or squid, grilled on a hot plate and topped with special sauce and mayonnaise) used to be called a western food because sauce was not common in Japanese society.
5. International Cuisine - There are many restaurants which specialize in foods from various countries. Among the flashing neon lights of Osaka, one can find many restaurants high in quality and reasonably priced.
Things to see
One of the best ways to experience Osaka is from above, and the giant ferris wheel, see picture below, allows a pleasant view of Osaka, the surrounding city, mountains and the nearby ocean. Due to the moving wheel, these sights can be enjoyed from various heights and angles. To fully enjoy Osaka, you will definitely want to try one of the many giant Ferris wheels found in the city.
Osaka Castle
Osaka castle is a very important tourist sight in Osaka, and this beautiful castle
is situated just outside central Osaka. Easily accessible, several travel writers have complained about the elevator at the side, which was almost certainly not an original feature of the castle. (Use the stairs). The castle itself is as magnificent on the inside as it is on the outside, and as far as I know, it is the only castle equipped with an elevator. This makes the castle indefensible of course, but it is an unusual feature and well worth a few photos.
Inside the castle, there is a museum with artifacts of the Toyotomi family and historical objects relating to Osaka prior to the Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle's magnificent exterior and the impressive view from the eighth floor of the donjon are the reasons to see Osaka-jo. From Osaka-jo Koen-mae Eki it's about a 10-minute walk up the hill to the castle. You can also take the Tani-machi subway line from Higashi-Umeda Eki (just southeast of Osaka Eki) to Tani-machi 4-chome Eki. From there it is a 15-minute walk.
The gardens of Osaka Castle change from plum blossoms in early spring to cherry blossoms as the weather warms. This attracts huge crowds, as the Japanese as people are nature – loving, and Cherry Blossoms hold pride of place in Japan in terms of beauty and popularity. (there is only a two-week period every year when they can be viewed, and companies usually arrange the company picnic around this time)
Osaka City Museum
The museum building looks antique; this is because the building, built with donations from Osaka citizens in 1931, was used as the headquarters of the former Japanese Army's Fourth Division; after World War II, the building was used as headquarters by the Osaka Municipal Police and Osaka Prefectural Police.The museum holds permanent exhibitions under the theme of the "History and Culture of Osaka" and at the same time, holds special exhibitions and displays and collects reference materials associated with Osaka, provides citizen with education, and conducts research activities
Osaka Science Museum
Opened in October, 1989, as a science hall presenting "Space and Energy" as the main subject. The exhibition hall contains 230 exhibits that enable the visitor to "See-Touch-and-Play"; the exhibition system is designed to have the visitor start with the fourth floor and go down each floor. The planetarium, equipped with a high-performance projector that can project 28,000 stars on the world's largest dome screen with a diameter of 26.5 meters, enables the visitor to steep in a star-studded sky stirring romantic sensation. The OMNIMAX (a panoramic screen system) is the world's largest image system; the sense of presence the image and sound of great punch produce is beyond compare.
Osaka Human Rights Museum (Liberty Osaka)
The museum collects, conserves, and publicizes historical human rights materials
associated with discriminated groups, women's issues, handicapped persons' issues, and environmental problems, with the aim of spreading human rights awareness and contributing to the development of a culture full of humanity
Osaka Municipal Museum of Art
The Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, opened in May, 1936, is located in Tennoji Park. project and permanent exhibitions sponsored by the museum. Those halls are used, from time to time, also for exhibiting national treasures and important cultural assets presented on the recommendation and approval of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and for introducing the museum's own collection, which consists of exhibits gather or donated during the course of its long history. In contrast, in the newly opened underground exhibition hall, exhibitions are constantly held by various art organizations.
Nakanoshima Park
Nakanoshima Park is full of greenery and surrounded by water, stretching out across the heart of urban Osaka. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, stands in the park as if melting into the surrounding greenery. The museum, opened in November, 1982, was established to commemorate the donation to Osaka City of the world-famous Ataka Collection" by the 21 Sumitomo Group companies
Sakura Art Museum
Osaka has created original theatrical performances and public entertainment.
Especially in modern times, Osaka developed the original culture with the support
of free-hearted townsmen, whereas Edo (today's Tokyo) was supported by samurai families and Kyoto was supported by court nobles. Even today, many original performances and entertainment still exist in Osaka, and audiences are known for their cheerfulness.
The National Museum of Art
One of the national museums established
as a facility of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. With the works of contemporary
art forming the centerpieces of the exhibits, the museum exhibits objects of art
so that one can easily understand not only the close relation between the realization and development of Japanese art and international art, but also the
new trends in the contemporary art of Japan and the world through the exhibition
of objects of art.
Others include, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka Museum of Natural History.
Entertainment
The Colorful Lights along the Dotonbori River at Night is another important symbol of Osaka City, which is known as Japan's “water capital.” The river runs east to west through the center of the city and is one of its most lively shopping and entertainment districts. A pedestrian walkway, opened in 2004 is a pleasant walk and there are small entertainemts all along the river, ofering performances such as kabuki and traditional Japanese joruri puppet shows, Dotonbori has become a source for various classic cultural aspects of Japan. See below picture.
Experiencing Typical Osaka
Sonezaki Shinchi, known as "Kita no Shinchi", is a high-class night spot equal to Ginza in Tokyo. Expensive bars, night clubs, and restaurants are established along the main street, Shinchi Hon-dori. Narrow back streets are crammed with colored neon signs and billboards, and as the night closes in, those neon signs become brighter and brighter making the night scenery look more gorgeous. Narrow paths stretching out from Hon-dori to Kami-dori winding around buildings here and there are peculiar to this district. It is a several minute walk from JR Osaka station,
Japans Eifel Tower
"Tsutenkaku", is 75 meters high and modeled after the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Built in July, 1912. It was the highest tower in Japan in those days. A second Tsutenkaku, 103 meters high, was completed in 1956 and still exists today. The tower has various devices to attract attention of the local people: companies' neon signs, a big clock, and a weather forecasting board which reports forecasts using colored neon lights. The night view of Osaka seen from an observation room, 91 meters high, is splendid. See picture below.
Other
Theater/Traditional Performance
Bunraku (Puppet Theater)
Cruises on the Many Canals and Waterways in Osaka
Himawari/Bay
Osaka Bay
Visit the many bridges
Suishobashi Bridge
(Dojima Movable Weir)
Temmabashi Bridge / Naniwabashi Bridge
Minato-o-hashi Bridge etc.
Universal Stuidos Japan(TM), Festival Gate Amusement Park
Modern Transportation Museum
Ogimachi Kids Park
Sewerage Science Museum
Osaka Aquarium
Bird watching at Nanko Natural Bird Sanctuary or elsewhere.
There are many places where you can enjoy sports in Osaka city, such as Osaka Dome, Osaka Pool, Nagai Park, Maishima Outdoor Activities Center and so on. On last Sunday of January every year, Osaka International Women's Marathon is held at Nagai Park. Top athletes gather in Osaka to add grace to the New Year of Osaka.
There are many flea markets in Osaka, which can serve your needs from reasonable items to brand-name products, computers, and so on.
Osaka is also a very useful base – camp, where some of the most beautiful areas in Japan are very close, e.g. Hiroshima is one and a half-hours by the bullet train,
Kyoto is 30 minutes by a local train; Nara is 1 hour - ish by local train. This makes a stay in Osaka very useful, in terms of getting to see the south of Japan. And for all the Snowboarding fans, there are some excellent slopes nearby in Gifu, which is 2 hours away by car.
Links
General info about Osaka
Places to stay
Adult Entertainment site
More Nightlife