Sights & Attractions in Osaka

Osaka is divided into 26 wards, and though the official city population is only 2.6 million, if you were to include the rest of Osaka Prefecture, this number would jump to nearly 9 million. Central Osaka is predominantly a business district, with some shopping and entertainment. The JR Kanjo-sen (Loop Line) circles the city center. Osaka Station, the primary train station for the city, is at the north end of this loop. In front of Osaka Station, to the east of Hankyu Umeda Station, is the center of Kita-ku (Kita Ward), one of Osaka's major shopping areas. Although ultramodern skyscrapers soar above the streets, Umeda Chika Center is an underground maze of malls, crowded with dozens of restaurants, shops that carry the latest fashions, and department stores that sell every modern gadget.

If you continue south, you come to two rivers, Dojima-gawa and Tosabori-gawa, with the Naka-no-shima (Inner Island) separating them. Here's Osaka's oldest park, which is home to many of the city's cultural and administrative institutions, including the Bank of Japan and the Municipal Art Museum of Asian Ceramics.

South of these rivers and Naka-no-shima are the Minami and Shin-Sai-bashi districts, though the boundary between the two is hard to distinguish. Shin-Sai-bashi was once Osaka's most expensive shopping street, but with the downturn in the economy in the 1990s it has become less exclusive, especially at its southern end. Nearby Amerika Mura, with its cubbyhole-size fashion outlets, and Yoroppa Mura, with continental boutiques, appeal to young Osaka trendsetters. Minami-ku has a wonderful assortment of bars and restaurants, especially on Dotombori-dori. The National Bunraku Theater is also close by, a few blocks southeast, near the Nippon-bashi subway station.

If you come by train you're likely to arrive by Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka Station. Three kilometers (2 mi) north of Osaka Station, the main railway station, amid some of the city's most modern architecture, Shin-Osaka is close to Senri Expo Park. To get to the city center from Shin-Osaka Station, take either the Mido-suji subway line to Umeda or, if you have a Japan Rail Pass, the JR Kobe Line to Osaka Station. The Umeda subway station and Osaka Station are next to each other, on the edge of central Osaka.

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