03Cities and regions

Kansai

Osaka: the castle in the city center

Osaka is a designated city in Kansai and the capital of its prefecture. The city has about 2,816,247 residents. The heart of a visit is Osaka Castle: construction began in 1583, and the main keep sits on two raised platforms inside moats and stone walls. The keep has five stories outside and eight inside, above a stone base. From the outer moat you see the castle with office towers behind it — old stone and modern glass in one frame. Kansai Airport on an artificial island is the best-known international gateway for Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. One day for castle and walls is enough if you are passing between Tokyo and Kyoto; two days if you want neighborhoods and food. Osaka does not compete with Tokyo on towers; it competes with a clear castle in a dense urban core. The castle works as a half-day stop between Kyoto and Tokyo on the shinkansen. Moats and walls explain the defensive plan clearly to a traveler without a long reading before the visit.

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Osaka population

1583

Castle construction year