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Being a big, business-based city, Osakans are thought of as always being in a rush. People consider a waiting period of more than 5 minutes too long in most cases. They apparently also walk the fastest in Japan - at an average speed of 1.6 metres per second (surpassing even [[Tokyo]]ites who also walk fast at 1.56 metres per second).
Being a big, business-based city, Osakans are thought of as always being in a rush. People consider a waiting period of more than 5 minutes too long in most cases. They apparently also walk the fastest in Japan - at an average speed of 1.6 metres per second (surpassing even [[Tokyo]]ites who also walk fast at 1.56 metres per second).
One difference between the Osaka region and the rest of Japan is that it is customary in Osaka to stand on the right side of the escalator and allow people to pass on the left. In Tokyo and other parts of Japan, the opposite custom holds sway. While the difference is arbitrary, it is also emblematic of the iconoclastic reputation that Osaka has within Japan.
One difference between the West Japan including Osaka and the East Japan is that it is customary in West Japan to stand on the right side of the escalator and allow people to pass on the left.


== Sister Cities ==
== Sister Cities ==

Revision as of 09:14, 4 November 2005

Osaka Castle (Ōsaka-jō)
Location in Japan
Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan)
Osaka railway station
This article is for the city of Osaka. For information about the anime/manga character named Osaka, see Azumanga Daioh.

Osaka City (Japanese: 大阪市, Ōsaka-shi, listenⓘ) is the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2.7 million. However, its daytime (9am–5pm) population is second in Japan after Tokyo.

The city is located on the main island of Honshu, at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay (in the Kansai region). It is one of Japan's major industrial centers and ports, as well as the capital of Osaka Prefecture and a central part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area, which has a population of 17,510,000.

History

Osaka city was named originally Naniwa and appears in early Japanese historical documents. Emperor Kōtoku made this area his capital, and named it Naniwa-no-miya (The Capital of Naniwa). It has always been a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture), Korea, and China. Settsu, a former province of Japan, consisted of the northern part of modern Osaka prefecture and the seaside part of Hyogo Prefecture.

In 1496 the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist sect set up their headquarters, the heavily fortified Ishiyama Honganji temple, in Ishiyama, today a part of Osaka. In 1576, Oda Nobunaga started a siege of the temple that went on to last for four years. The monks finally surrendered in 1580, the temple was razed and Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the place for his own castle, Osaka Castle.

Osaka was called Ōzaka (大坂) from the middle ages until the premodern period. In the beginning of Meiji Era the government renamed the city to Ōsaka, which remains its name today. In those days Osaka was the second largest city of Japan and economically the most important, because most of the important markets, rice, exchange and so on were there.

The modern city was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance.

Attractions

Central Osaka is divided into two sections: Kita（北） (north) and Minami （南）(south). The retail district of Umeda（梅田）is located in Kita, while the entertainment area around Dotonbori Bridge with its famous giant motorised crab, Triangle Park and Amerikamura ("America Village") is in Minami. Minami is also home to the Shinsaibashi (心斎橋） and Ebisubashi shopping districts. The central business district, including the courts and major banks, is primarily located in Yodoyabashi and Hommachi　（本町）, between Kita and Minami. Business districts have also formed around the city's secondary rail termini, such as Tennoji Station（天王寺駅） and Kyobashi Station.

Osaka is known for bunraku (traditional puppet theatre) and kabuki theatre, and for manzai, a more contemporary form of stand-up comedy. Tourist attractions include:

Transport

Kansai International Airport is the main airport: it is a rectangular artificial island which sits off-shore in Osaka Bay and services Osaka and its surrounding satellite cities of Nara, Kobe and Kyoto. Kansai is the geographical term for the area of western Honshu surrounding Osaka. The airport is linked by a bus and train service into the centre of the city and major suburbs.

Osaka International Airport in Itami and Toyonaka still houses most of the domestic service from the metropolitan region: its proximity to the Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto city centers outweighs its noise restrictions.

Besides the subway system there is a network of both JR and private lines connecting the suburbs of the city, and Osaka to its neighbours. Keihan and Hankyu line connect to Kyoto, Hanshin and Hankyu line connect to Kobe, the Kintetsu line connects to Nara and Nagoya, and the Nankai line to Wakayama.

Wards

Osaka has 24 wards (ku), one more than Tokyo:

Demographics

As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 2,640,097 and the density of 11,894 persons per square kilometre. The total area is 221.30 km².

The people of Osaka speak a dialect of standard Japanese called Osaka-ben, characterised, most prominently amongst other particularities, by the use of the suffix hen instead of nai in the negative of verbs.

About 118,000 foreign residents are registered in the city. Its 96,000 Korean residents are mainly concentrated around Ikuno Ward, where a famous Korean town, Tsuruhashi, is located.

Economy

Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce, especially in the middle and premodern ages. Today, many major companies have moved their main offices to Tokyo, especially from the end of 1990s, but several major companies are still based in Osaka. Below are some of the companies based in Osaka.

Major companies based in Osaka

In addition, Matsushita (Panasonic) is based in nearby Kadoma, Sanyo is based in nearby Moriguchi, Daihatsu Motor is based in nearby Ikeda and Nintendo is based in nearby Kyoto.

Culture

As Osaka has always been the centre of commerce, people from Osaka have a reputation of being very good businessmen. On top of this they are popularly considered to be some of the most outgoing Japanese people. Their dialect, "Osaka-ben", has become the standard for stand-up comedians and actors often train in the dialect so they can be seen as even funnier on the stage.

Food from Osaka is said to be Japan's best. Osaka regional cuisine includes okonomiyaki (a type of pancake), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), udon (a noodle dish), as well as regional sushi and other traditional Japanese foods. It is said that to succeed in the Osaka food service business, the food must taste above-average, have larger servings than normal, be inexpensive and fast.

Being a big, business-based city, Osakans are thought of as always being in a rush. People consider a waiting period of more than 5 minutes too long in most cases. They apparently also walk the fastest in Japan - at an average speed of 1.6 metres per second (surpassing even Tokyoites who also walk fast at 1.56 metres per second).

One difference between the West Japan including Osaka and the East Japan is that it is customary in West Japan to stand on the right side of the escalator and allow people to pass on the left.

Sister Cities

Sister Cities of Osaka include San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Chicago, Shanghai, Melbourne, St. Petersburg, Milan, and Hamburg.

In fiction

  • In Tsubasa Chronicles, the "Hanshin-kuni" is a take off of Osaka
  • Mitsune Konno from Love Hina is from Osaka.
  • In the 2005 version of War of the Worlds, Ogilvy mentions to Ray Ferrier that some people in Osaka managed to defeat the invaders.
  • Osaka is the nickname for the spacy, distant, Osaka native high schooler, "Ayumu Kasuga", from the manga/anime, Azumanga Daioh.
  • The anime/manga "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" is set in the Abeno-ku ward of Osaka.
  • the manga/anime "Ai Shite Knight" is set in Osaka.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Osaka.

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