5 Best Sights in The Kansai Region, Japan

In 1995 the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake killed 6,433 people, leveled vast areas of the city, and destroyed much of the harbor. Using documentary footage and audio, an introductory film shows the frightening destruction of this modern city. A re-created postquake display and high-tech exhibits convey the sorrows and memories of the event. This excellent museum has English pamphlets and electronic guides, and English-speaking volunteers are on hand. It's a 10-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Nada Station, one stop east of JR San-no-miya Station.

Informative as it is enjoyable, the Osaka Museum of History immerses you in the city's history from pre-feudal times to the early 20th century. Full of life-size displays and hands-on activities, the museum does an excellent job of offering attractions for both children and adults. There are two paths through the exhibits, a Highlight Course (to get a hint of Osaka's past in less than an hour) and the Complete Course (for a fuller experience). The museum makes an excellent stop on the way to Osaka Castle.

This museum specializes in work from the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing on reciprocal cultural influences between East and West. The first floor has a variety of displays on the West's impact on Japan in the second half of the 17th century. Other exhibits document the influence of Western hairstyles for women and the arrival of electric and gas lamps. The museum also has an impressive collection of woodcuts, maps, and archaeological artifacts, as well as Namban-style art, namely prints, silkscreens, and paintings from the late 16th to 17th century, usually depicting foreigners in Japanese settings. The historical exhibits are fascinating, but it is the artwork from this period that is the real draw.

From San-no-miya Station, walk south on Flower Road to Higashi-Yuenchi Koen. Walk through the park to the Kobe Minato post office, across the street on the west side. Then head east along the street in front of the post office toward the Oriental Hotel. Turn left at the corner in front of the hotel, and the City Museum is in the old Bank of Tokyo building at the end of the block.

So just what are those red cloth animals on pieces of rope outside houses in Nara? Called migawarizaru (substitute monkeys), they are hung on the eaves of houses to ward off illness and accidents. There is a monkey for every member of a household ready to suffer illness and accidents in place of its owner. The migawarizaru are just one of the many traditions that have lived on in Nara-machi. The Nara-machi Shiryokan displays many other artifacts relating to the history of this neighborhood.

The National Museum of Ethnology has informative displays about the Ainu (the original inhabitants of Hokkaido) and other cultures from around the world. Information sheets explaining the sections of the museum are available and supplement the English-language brochure included with admission. The museum is on the east side of the main road that runs north–south through Senri Expo Park.