Osaka

Osaka ; normally just 大阪, listen is the designated city in a Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. it is for the capital of and almost populous city in Osaka Prefecture, in addition to the third almost populous city in Japan, coming after or as a sum of. Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest factor of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants.

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 call as a center of Japanese culture. following the Meiji Restoration, Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially introducing 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 included contributions to redevelopment, urban planning and zoning requirements 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 house electronics corporations such(a) as Panasonic and Sharp. Osaka is an international center of research and developing and is represented by several major universities, notably Osaka University, Osaka Metropolitan University, and Kansai University. Famous landmarks in the city add 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.

Cityscape

Osaka's sprawling cityscape has been described as "only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the Japanese urban phenomenon".

Central Osaka looking north from the Abeno Harukas observation deck 2014

Osaka skyline towards Umeda 2014

Central Osaka is roughly divided up up into downtown and uptown areas call as Kita, "north" and Minami, "south".

Kita is domestic to the Umeda district and its instant surrounding neighborhoods, a major business and retail hub that plays host to Osaka Station City and a large subterranean network of shopping arcades. Kita and nearby Nakanoshima contain a prominent item of the city's skyscrapers and are often introduced in photographs of Osaka's skyline.

Minami, though meaning "south", is essentially in Chūō Ward中央区, and geographically central within the city. well known districts here increase Namba and Shinsaibashi shopping areas, the Dōtonbori canal entertainment area, Nipponbashi Den Den Town, as well as arts and fashion culture-oriented areas such(a) as Amerikamura and Horie. The 300-meter tall Abeno Harukas is the tallest skyscraper in the country since 2014.

The business districts between Kita and Minami such as Honmachi and Yodoyabashi, called Semba船場, house the regional headquarters of numerous 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.