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Osaka

City in JapanOn Japan's main island of Honshu, Osaka spreads along the eastern shore of Osaka Bay in the Kansai region, with Kyoto inland to the northeast.

What it's known for

Osaka is a major financial centre of Japan and has long been a city of merchants: its rice exchange, opened in 1697, saw the birth of the world's first futures market. It is also famous for its love of food, summed up in the local saying 'kuidaore', roughly 'eat until you collapse'.

Fun facts

  1. Under its old name, Naniwa, Osaka became Japan's capital in 645, and it was the capital again for a short time in 744 and 745.
  2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle in 1583, and the city's name means 'large hill' or 'large slope'.
  3. Osaka hosted the World Expo twice, in 1970 and again in 2025.

Finding it on the globe

From Tokyo, go about 390 km west-southwest along Honshu to Osaka Bay: Osaka is on the bay's eastern shore, where the Yodo River flows into the sea.

Easy to mix up

Osaka is not the capital of Japan: that is Tokyo. Kyoto, the old imperial capital, is a separate city about 40 km to the northeast.

Sources: Wikipedia: Osaka, Wikipedia: Yodo River