About City

Osaka is Japan's third biggest city and second largest metropolitan area in Japan and serves a major economic hub. Osaka is a port city, and historically the merchant capital of Japan. The traditional greeting among citizens of this friendly, unpretentious "work hard, party hard”. Osaka has long identified itself by kuidaore "ruinous eating" and there are several Osaka-born dishes that you must try, starting with the okonomiyaki savory pancake, if you are to say you have experienced Osaka. October is one of the best months for weather in the whole year: sunny and warm days predominate, with cool evenings. It’s a very pleasant time to travel. At the very end of the month, the leaves start to change color.

The other main cities of the Kansai region: Kyoto, Nara and Kobe are all less than an hour by train from Osaka.

Best tourist attractions in Osaka:

• Osaka's best known sight is the Osaka castle. While it is a reconstruction, it is pretty and has a nice castle park. To learn more about thee history of Osaka, you can head to the nearby Osaka Museum of History.
• The Osaka Science Museum on Nakanoshima is an interactive activity center with planetarium and cinema.
• Umeda Sky Building is a weirdly shaped building with an observation deck and a escalator suspended between two buildings mid-air. It is located near the Osaka station.
• The Sumiyoshi Shrine is located south of the city center. It is one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines and has a very unusual architecture. It is also famous for a bridge arching over a pond.
• The Japan mint is located in Osaka and is especially famous for the nearby cherry blossom tunnel road, a prime spot to see the annual cherry blossom.
• The TsÅ«tenkaku landmark tower in the Shinsekai area with an observation platform at 91 meters.
• The Shitennōji temple is near the Tennōji station. It is regarded as maybe the first Buddhist temple in Japan dating back to the 6th century. The building of today's temple however, are a reconstruction.
• Located inside the Ryokuchi park is the Open Air Museum of Old Farmhouses, a collection of Edo period farmhouses. This gives a good insight in the lives of the common people during this period. It is located north of the city center.
• The Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum in Namba is dedicated to ukiyoe, Japanese woodblock prints.

Attractions & Landmarks

• Osaka Castle.
• Shitennō-ji Temple.
• Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
• The Tempozan Ferris Wheel.
• Twin Towers: TsÅ«tenkaku and the Kobe Port Tower.
• The National Museum of Art.
• The Umeda Sky Building.
• Hozenji Temple.
• Osaka Science Museum.
• Tennōji Park and Zoo.
• Minoo National Park.
• Dotonbori Bridge.
•  Universal Studios Japan.