This article is about the city in Japan.

For the prefecture with the same name where this city is
located, see Osaka Prefecture. For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation).

Osaka
大阪市

Designated city

City of Osaka
 From top left: Osaka Castle (front) and Osaka Business
Park (behind), Tsūtenkaku tower in Shinsekai, Dōtonbori, The
Dainihongu building (main sanctuary) and Sorihashi bridge
of Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine, Shitennō-ji temple within Abeno
Harukas, Midōsuji Avenue and Nakanoshima island within
downtown core

Flag

Seal

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
 Location of Osaka in Osaka Prefecture

Osaka
Location in the Kansai region
Show map of Kansai region Show map of Japan
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Coordinates:  34°41′38″N 135°30′8″ECoordinates:  34°41′38″
 N 135°30′8″E

Country Japan
Region Kansai
Prefecture Osaka Prefecture
Island Honshu

Government
 • Body Osaka City Council
 • Mayor Ichirō Matsui (ORA)[1]

Area
 • Designated city 225.21 km2 (86.95 sq mi)
  [2][circular reference]

Population
 (March 1, 2021)
 • Designated city 2,753,862
 • Rank 3rd in Japan
 • Density 12,214/km2 (31,630/sq mi)
 • Metro 19,303,000 (2019, Keihanshin)
[3]
 (2nd)

Time zone UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)

- Tree Cherry
- Flower Pansy

Address Osaka City Hall: 1-3-20 Nakanoshima,

Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu
530-8201
Phone number 06-6208-8181

Website www.city.osaka.lg.jp

Osaka

Ōsaka in kanji

Japanese name

Kanji 大阪
 (obsolete)  大坂

Hiragana おおさか

Katakana オオサカ

showTranscriptions

Osaka (Japanese: 大阪市, Hepburn: Ōsaka-shi, pronounced [oːsakaɕi]; commonly just 大

阪, Ōsaka [oːsaka] ( listen)) is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the
capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan,
following Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the
largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan
area in Japan[4] and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants.[3]
Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had
developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the
imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known
as a center of Japanese culture. Following the Meiji Restoration, Osaka greatly expanded in size
and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality.
The construction boom accelerated population growth throughout the following decades, and by the
1900s, Osaka was the industrial hub in the Meiji and Taishō periods. Osaka made noted
contributions to redevelopment, urban planning and zoning standards in the postwar period, the city
developed rapidly as one of the major financial center in the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area.
Osaka is a major financial center of Japan, and it is recognized as one of the
most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in Japan. The city is home to the Osaka Exchange as well
as the headquarters of multinational electronics corporations such as Panasonic and Sharp. Osaka
is an international center of research and development and is represented by several major
universities, notably Osaka University, Osaka Metropolitan University, and Kansai University.
Famous landmarks in the city include Osaka Castle, Osaka Aquarium
Kaiyukan, Dōtonbori, Tsūtenkaku in Shinsekai, Tennōji Park, Abeno Harukas, Sumiyoshi Taisha
Grand Shrine, and Shitennō-ji, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Origins: Jōmon and Yayoi period
o 2.2Kofun period
o 2.3Asuka and Nara period
o 2.4Heian to Edo period
o 2.5Meiji to Heisei period
o 2.621st century to present
 3Geography and climate
o 3.1Geography
o 3.2Climate
 4Cityscape
 o 4.1Neighborhoods
 5List of wards
 6Demographics
o 6.1Dialect
 7Government
o 7.1Developments
o 7.2Energy policies
 7.2.1Nuclear power
 8Economy
o 8.1Keihanshin
 9Transportation
 10Culture and lifestyle
o 10.1Shopping and food
o 10.2Entertainment and performing arts
o 10.3Annual festivals
o 10.4Museums and galleries
o 10.5Sports
o 10.6Media
 10.6.1Newspapers
 10.6.2Television and radio
 10.6.3Publishing companies
 11Education
o 11.1Libraries
o 11.2Learned society
 12Facilities
o 12.1Leisure facilities and high-rise buildings
o 12.2Historical site
o 12.3Park/Garden
o 12.4Ancient architecture
o 12.5Modern architecture
o 12.6Theater/Hall
o 12.7Sport venues
o 12.8Religious facilities
 13International relations
o 13.1Twin towns – sister cities
o 13.2Friendship cooperation cities
o 13.3Business partner cities
o 13.4Sister ports
 14See also
 15References
 16Further reading
 17External links

Etymology[edit]
Ōsaka means "large hill" or "large slope". It is unclear when this name gained prominence over
Naniwa, but the oldest written evidence for the name dates back to 1496. [5][6][citation needed]
By the Edo period, 大坂 (Ōsaka) and 大阪 (Ōsaka) were mixed use, and the writer Hamamatsu
Utakuni, in his book "Setsuyo Ochiboshu" published in 1808, states that the kanji 坂 was abhorred
because it "returns to the earth," and then 阪 was used. The kanji 土 (earth) is also similar to the
word 士 (knight), and 反 means against, so 坂 can be read as "samurai rebellion," then 阪 was
official name in 1868 after the Meiji Restoration. The older kanji (坂) is still in very limited use,
usually only in historical contexts. As an abbreviation, the modern kanji 阪 han refers to Osaka City
or Osaka Prefecture.

History[edit]
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Osaka.
Origins: Jōmon and Yayoi period[edit]
In the Jōmon period (7,000 BCE), Osaka was mostly submerged by the Seto Inland Sea, and the
small Uemachi-daichi plateau (12 km long and 2.5 km wide), located in the southern part of the city
called Uehonmachi, was a peninsula.[7] The Uehonmachi area consisted of a peninsula with an
inland sea (Seto Inland Sea) in the east.[7] It is considered one of the first places where inhabitants of
Japan settled, both for the favorable geological conditions, rich in fresh water and lush vegetation,
and because it was in a position difficult to attack from a military point of view. [7]
The earliest evidence of settlements in the Osaka area are the ruins of Morinomiya ruins (森ノ宮遺
跡, Morinomiya iseki) which is located in the central Chuo-ku district.[7] Buried human skeletons and a
kaizuka (a mound containing remains), were found and shell mounds, sea oysters, interesting
archaeological discoveries from the Jomon period. [7] In addition to the remains of consumed food,
there were arrow heads, stone tools, fishing hooks and crockery with remains from rice processing.
It is estimated that the ruins contain 2,000-year-old debris between the Jomon and Yayoi period. The
findings of the archeological sites are exhibited in an adjacent building. [8][7]
In the years between the end of the Jōmon period and the beginning of the Yayoi period, the
sediments that were deposited north of the Uemachi-daichi peninsula / plateau transformed the sea
that stretched to the east into a lagoon which was called Kawachi. [9] During the Yayoi period (300
BCE-250 CE), permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular. [8]
At the beginning of the third century CE the grand shrine of Sumiyoshi-taisha was inaugurated near
the harbor, commissioned by consort Empress Jingū. This Shinto shrine structure survived historical
events,[10] which inaugurated a new style in the construction of Shinto shrines, called Sumiyoshi-
zukuri.[11] The maritime panorama enjoyed from the shrine gardens inspired several artists, and
nowadays the representations of that type of landscape are called Sumiyoshi drawings.
Towards the end of the Yayoi period the Uemachi-daichi plateau-peninsula expanded further,
transforming the Kawachi Lagoon (河内湖) into a lake connected to the mouth of the Yodo River,
which had widened to the south.[9]

Kofun period[edit]
By the Kofun period, Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of
Japan. The port of Naniwa-tsu was established and became the most important in Japan. [12] Trade
with other areas of the country and the Asian continent intensified.[12] The large numbers of
increasingly larger keyhole-shaped Kofun mounds found in the plains of Osaka are evidence of
political-power concentration, leading to the formation of a state. [8][13] The findings in the neighboring
plains, including the mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku was discovered nearby in Sakai testify to the
status of imperial city that Osaka had reached. Four of these mounds can be seen in Osaka, in
which important members of the nobility are buried. They are located in the southern districts of the
city and date back to the 5th century.[12] A group of megalithic tombs called Mozu Tombs are located
in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.[14]
Important works of the Kofun period is the excavation that diverted the course of the Yamato River,
whose floods caused extensive damage, and the construction of important roads in the direction
of Sakai and Nara.[8][15] Maritime traffic connected to the port of Naniwa-tsu increased in such a way
that huge warehouses were built to stow material arriving and departing. [8]

 Gallery


Ancient shells found in the Morinomiya kaizuka (Jomon period)

 

Daisen Kofun, the largest Kofun in Sakai, Osaka, 5th century

Asuka and Nara period[edit]

The Kojiki records that during 390–430 AD, there was an imperial palace located at Osumi, in what
is present day Higashiyodogawa ward, but it may have been a secondary imperial residence rather
than a capital.[16]
In 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace in what is now Osaka,[17] making it
the capital of Japan. The city now known as Osaka was at this time referred to as Naniwa, and this
name and derivations of it are still in use for districts in central Osaka such as Naniwa (浪速)
and Namba (難波).[18] Although the capital was moved to Asuka (in Nara Prefecture today) in 655,
Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara
Prefecture), Korea, and China.[8][19]
Naniwa was declared the capital again in 744 by order of Emperor Shōmu, and remained so until
745, when the Imperial Court moved back to Heijō-kyō (now Nara). By the end of the Nara period,
Naniwa's seaport roles had been gradually taken over by neighboring areas, but it remained a lively
center of river, channel, and land transportation between Heian-kyō (Kyoto today) and other
destinations. Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine was founded by Tamomi no Sukune in 211 CE.
[20]
 Shitennō-ji was first built in 593 CE and the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan.[21]

 Gallery
 

Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine

 

Shitennō-ji
 

Remains of Naniwa-no-Miya Palace (2017)

Heian to Edo period[edit]

In 1496, Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists established their headquarters in the heavily fortified Ishiyama
Hongan-ji, located directly on the site of the old Naniwa Imperial Palace. Oda Nobunaga began a
decade-long siege campaign on the temple in 1570 which ultimately resulted in the surrender of the
monks and subsequent razing of the temple. Toyotomi Hideyoshi constructed Osaka Castle in its
place in 1583.[22] Osaka Castle played a pivotal role in the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).
Osaka was long considered Japan's primary economic center, [23] with a large percentage of the
population belonging to the merchant class (see Four divisions of society). Over the course of
the Edo period (1603–1867), Osaka grew into one of Japan's major cities and returned to its ancient
role as a lively and important port. Daimyōs (feudal lords) received most of their income in the form
of rice. Merchants in Osaka thus began to organize storehouses where they would store a daimyō's
rice in exchange for a fee, trading it for either coin or a form of receipt; essentially a precursor
to paper money. Many if not all of these rice brokers also made loans, and would actually become
quite wealthy and powerful. Osaka merchants coalesced their shops around Dōjima, where the Rice
Exchange was established in 1697 and where the world's first futures market would come to exist to
sell rice that was not yet harvested. [24]
The popular culture of Osaka[25] was closely related to ukiyo-e depictions of life in Edo. By 1780,
Osaka had cultivated a vibrant arts culture, as typified by its famous Kabuki and Bunraku theaters.
[26]
 In 1837, Ōshio Heihachirō, a low-ranking samurai, led a peasant insurrection in response to the
city's unwillingness to support the many poor and suffering families in the area. Approximately one-
quarter of the city was razed before shogunal officials put down the rebellion, after which Ōshio killed
himself.[27] Osaka was opened to foreign trade by the government of the Bakufu at the same time
as Hyogo Town (modern Kobe) on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and
the Meiji Restoration.[28] The Kawaguchi foreign settlement, now the Kawaguchi subdistrict, is a
legacy of the foreign presence in Osaka.
Osaka residents were stereotyped in Edo literature from at least the 18th century. Jippensha Ikku in
1802 depicted Osakans as stingy almost beyond belief. In 1809, the derogatory term "Kamigata
zeeroku" was used by Edo residents to characterize inhabitants of the Osaka region in terms of
calculation, shrewdness, lack of civic spirit, and the vulgarity of Osaka dialect. Edo writers aspired to
samurai culture, and saw themselves as poor but generous, chaste, and public spirited. Edo writers
by contrast saw "zeeroku" as obsequious apprentices, stingy, greedy, gluttonous, and lewd. To
some degree, Osaka residents are still stigmatized by Tokyo observers in the same way today,
especially in terms of gluttony, evidenced in the phrase, "Residents of Osaka devour their food until
they collapse" (大阪は食倒れ, "Ōsaka wa kuidaore").[29]

 Gallery


Osaka Castle (first built in 1583)

 

The Sumiyoshi-matsuri in the 16th century

 


Japanese painting of the Siege of Osaka (1615)

 

Map of Osaka, 1686

 

Dōjima Rice Exchange ukiyo-e by Yoshimitsu Sasaki

 
 

A model of the Kawaguchi foreign settlement (1868-1899)

Meiji to Heisei period[edit]

With the enormous changes that characterized the country after the Meiji Restoration (1868), and
the relocation of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo, Osaka entered a period of decline. From being the
capital of the economy and finance, it became a predominantly industrial center. [30] The modern
municipality was established[30] in 1889 by government ordinance, with an initial area of 15 square
kilometres (6 sq mi), overlapping today's Chuo and Nishi wards. Later, the city went through three
major expansions to reach its current size of 223 square kilometres (86 sq mi). Osaka was the
industrial center most clearly defined in the development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as
the "Manchester and Melbourne of the Orient".[30] In 1925, it was the largest and most populated
cities in Japan and sixth in the world.[30]
The rapid industrialization attracted many Asian immigrants (Indians, Chinese, and Koreans), who
set up a life apart for themselves.[31] The political system was pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on
promoting industrialization and modernization. [32] Literacy was high and the educational system
expanded rapidly, producing a middle class with a taste for literature and a willingness to support the
arts.[33] In 1927, General Motors operated a factory called Osaka Assembly until 1941,
manufacturing Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick vehicles, operated and staffed by
Japanese workers and managers.[34] In the nearby city of Ikeda in Osaka Prefecture is the
headquarters of Daihatsu, one of Japan's oldest automobile manufacturers.
Like its European and American counterparts, Osaka displayed slums, unemployment, and poverty.
In Japan it was here that municipal government first introduced a comprehensive system of poverty
relief, copied in part from British models. Osaka policymakers stressed the importance of family
formation and mutual assistance as the best way to combat poverty. This minimized the cost of
welfare programs.[35]
During World War II, Osaka came under air raids in 1945 by the United States Army Air Forces as
part of the air raids on Japan. On March 13, 1945, a total of 329 Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy
bombers took part in the raid against Osaka. According to an American prisoner of war who was
held in the city, the air raid took almost the entire night and destroyed 25 square miles (65 km2) of
the city. The U.S. bombed the city again twice in June 1945 and again on August 14, a day
before Japan's surrender.[36]
In the decades after World War II, the reconstruction plan and the industriousness of its inhabitants
ensured Osaka even greater prosperity than it was before the war. Osaka's population regrew to
more than three million in the 1960s when large-scale prefectural suburbanization began and
doubled to two million by the 1990s. The factories were rebuilt and trade revived, the city were
developed rapidly it became a major multicultural and financial center in the postwar period between
the 1950s and the 1980s, it is known as the "Chicago and Toronto of the Orient". Osaka was chosen
as the venue for the prestigious Expo '70, the first world's fair ever held in an Asian country. Since
then, numerous international events have been held in Osaka, including the 1995 APEC Summit.
The modern municipality, which when it was established in 1889 occupied an area of just
15 km2 including the districts of Chūō and Nishi, following three successive expansions has reached
an area of 222 km2. It was one of the first cities in Japan to obtain designated city status in 1956.[37]

21st century to present[edit]

The plan to reorganize Osaka and its province into a metropolis like Tokyo met with stiff opposition
in some municipalities, particularly the highly populated Sakai. He then fell back on a project that
included the suppression of the 24 wards of Osaka, thus dividing the city into 5 new special districts
with a status similar to that of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo. It was introduced by former
mayor Tōru Hashimoto, leader of the reform party Osaka Restoration Association which he founded.
The referendum of May 17, 2015 called in Osaka for the approval of this project saw the narrow
victory of no, and consequently Hashimoto announced his withdrawal from politics. [38] A second
referendum for a merger into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down by 692,996
(50.6%).[39]
According to the Forbes list of The World's Most Expensive Places To Live 2009, Osaka was the
second most expensive in the world after Tokyo.[40] By 2020 it slipped to 5th rank of most expensive
cities.[41]
On March 7, 2014, the 300-meter tall Abeno Harukas opened, which is the tallest skyscraper in
Japan.[42]

 Gallery


Skyscrapers in Umeda district
 

Sennichimae area in 1916

 
 

View of Osaka after the bombing in 1945

 

The Expo '70 was the first world's fair held in Japan and Asia

 

Abeno Harukas, tallest building in Japan

Geography and climate[edit]

Geography[edit]
Satellite image of Osaka
The city's west side is open to Osaka Bay, and is otherwise completely surrounded by more than ten
satellite cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture, with one exception: the city of Amagasaki, belonging
to Hyōgo Prefecture, in the northwest. The city occupies a larger area (about 13%) than any other
city or village within Osaka Prefecture. When the city was established in 1889, it occupied roughly
the area known today as the Chuo and Nishi wards, only 15.27 square kilometres (3,773 acres) that
would eventually grow into today's 222.30 square kilometres (54,932 acres) via incremental
expansions, the largest of which being a single 126.01-square-kilometre (31,138-acre) expansion in
1925. Osaka's highest point is 37.5 metres (123.0 ft) Tokyo Peil in Tsurumi-ku, and the lowest point
is in Nishiyodogawa-ku at −2.2 metres (−7.2 ft) Tokyo Peil.[43] Osaka has a latitude of 34.67 (near
the 35th parallel north), which makes it more southern than Rome (41.90), Madrid (40.41), San
Francisco (37.77) and Seoul (37.53).[44]

Climate[edit]
Osaka is located in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons. Its
winters are generally mild, with January being the coldest month having an average high of 9.3 °C
(49 °F). The city rarely sees snowfall during the winter. Spring in Osaka starts off mild, but ends up
being hot and humid. It also tends to be Osaka's wettest season, with the tsuyu (梅雨, tsuyu, "plum
rain")—the rainy season—occurring between early June and late July. The average starting and
ending dates of the rainy season are June 7 and July 21 respectively. [45] Summers are very hot and
humid. In August, the hottest month, the average daily high temperature reaches 33.5 °C (92 °F),
while average nighttime low temperatures typically hover around 25.5 °C (78 °F). Fall in Osaka sees
a cooling trend, with the early part of the season resembling summer while the latter part of fall
resembles winter. Precipitation is abundant, with winter being the driest season, while monthly
rainfall peaks in June with the "tsuyu" rainy season, which typically ends in mid to late July. From
late July through the end of August, summer's heat and humidity peaks, and rainfall decreases
somewhat. Osaka experiences a second rainy period in September and early October, when tropical
weather systems, including typhoons, coming from the south or southwest are possible.

hideClimate data for Osaka (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1883−present)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Y
19.1 23.7 24.2 30.7 32.7 36.1 38.0 39.1 36.2 33.1 27.2 24.5
Record high °C (°F) (66.4 (74.7 (75.6 (87.3 (90.9 (97.0 (100.4 (102.4 (97.2 (91.6 (81.0 (76.1 (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
 9.7 10.5 14.2 19.9 24.9 28.0 29.5 23.7 17.8 12.3
31.8 33.7
Average high °C (°F) (49.5 (50.9 (57.6 (67.8 (76.8 (82.4 (85.1 (74.7 (64.0 (54.1
(89.2) (92.7) (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
6.2 6.6 9.9 15.2 20.1 23.6 25.2 19.5 13.8 8.7
27.7 29.0
Daily mean °C (°F) (43.2 (43.9 (49.8 (59.4 (68.2 (74.5 (77.4 (67.1 (56.8 (47.7
(81.9) (84.2) (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
3.0 3.2 6.0 10.9 16.0 20.3 21.9 16.0 10.2 5.3
24.6 25.8
Average low °C (°F) (37.4 (37.8 (42.8 (51.6 (60.8 (68.5 (71.4 (60.8 (50.4 (41.5
(76.3) (78.4) (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
−7.5 −6.5 −5.2 −2.6 3.5 8.9 10.4 3.0 −2.2 −4.5
14.8 13.6
Record low °C (°F) (18.5 (20.3 (22.6 (27.3 (38.3 (48.0 (50.7 (37.4 (28.0 (23.9
(58.6) (56.5) (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
1
47.0 60.5 103.1 101.9 136.5 185.1 152.8 136.0 72.5 55.5
Average precipitation m 174.4 113.0
(1.85 (2.38 (4.06 (4.01 (5.37 (7.29 (6.02 (5.35 (2.85 (2.19
m (inches) (6.87) (4.45) (
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Average snowfall cm 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(inches) (0) (0.4) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0)
Average precipitation
6.4 7.3 10.3 10.0 10.4 12.3 11.3 7.8 10.6 9.2 7.0 7.1 1
days (≥ 0.5 mm)
Average relative
61 60 59 58 61 68 70 66 67 65 64 62
humidity (%)
Mean monthly sunshine 152. 2
146.5 140.6 172.2 192.6 203.7 154.3 184.0 222.4 161.6 166.1 152.6
hours 1
Average ultraviolet
3 4 6 8 9 10 11 10 8 6 3 2
index
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[46] and Weather Atlas[47]

Cityscape[edit]
Osaka's sprawling cityscape has been described as "only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the
Japanese urban phenomenon".[48]
 

Central Osaka looking north from the Abeno Harukas observation deck (2014)
 

Osaka skyline towards Umeda (2014)

Osaka skyline at night from Umeda Sky Building (2008)

Neighborhoods[edit]
Central Osaka is roughly divided into downtown and uptown areas known as Kita (北,
"north") and Minami (南, "south").[49][50]
Kita is home to the Umeda district and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods, a major business
and retail hub that plays host to Osaka Station City and a large subterranean network of shopping
arcades.[49] Kita and nearby Nakanoshima contain a prominent portion of the city's skyscrapers and
are often featured in photographs of Osaka's skyline.
Minami, though meaning "south", is essentially in Chūō Ward (中央区, Chūō-ku) and geographically
central within the city.[50] Well known districts here include Namba and Shinsaibashi shopping areas,
the Dōtonbori canal entertainment area, Nipponbashi Den Den Town, as well as arts and fashion
culture-oriented areas such as Amerikamura and Horie. The 300-meter tall Abeno Harukas is the
tallest skyscraper in the country since 2014. [42]
The business districts between Kita and Minami such as Honmachi and Yodoyabashi,
called Semba (船場), house the regional headquarters of many large-scale banks and corporations.
The Midōsuji boulevard runs through Semba and connects Kita and Minami.
Further south of Minami are neighborhoods such as Shinsekai (with
its Tsūtenkaku tower), Tennoji and Abeno (with Tennoji Zoo, Shitennō-ji and Abeno Harukas), and
the Kamagasaki slums, the largest slum in Japan. [51]
The city's west side is a prominent bay area[52] which serves as its main port as well as a tourist
destination with attractions such as Kyocera Dome, Universal Studios Japan and the Tempozan
Harbour Village. Higashiosaka is zoned as a separate city, although the east side of Osaka city
proper contains numerous residential neighborhoods including Tsuruhashi KoreaTown, as well as
the Osaka Castle Park, Osaka Business Park and the hub Kyōbashi Station.
Osaka contains numerous urban canals and bridges, many of which serve as the namesake for their
surrounding neighbourhoods.[53] The phrase "808 bridges of Naniwa" was an expression in old Japan
used to indicate impressiveness and the "uncountable". Osaka numbered roughly 200 bridges by the
Edo period[54] and 1,629 bridges by 1925. As many of the city's canals were gradually filled in, the
number dropped to 872, of which 760 are currently managed by Osaka City. [53]

 Gallery


Nakanoshima, a boundary of Kita (right) and Semba (left)

 

Umeda district (2019)
 


Dōtonbori bridge