Minami (Namba) is one of two largest cities in Osaka. Minami, is “South” for Japanese – most of Osaka’s parts are named after the position of its regions. Minami is home to Namba, Shinsaibashi and Dōtonbori shopping districts. The Minami ward, however, is now merged with Chuo ward in Japan.

The city boasts of a life that is a gregarious and outwardly interesting as Tokyo but admittedly smaller and more personable. It offers something for everyone, with attractions such as Amerikamura for the fashion fanatics, the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, Nipponbashi Den Den Town for electronics and manga otakus, and the colorful Dotonbori entertainment district. These popular spots are located near the Namba Station.

Map courtesy of Japan-Guide on how to get to Minami (Namba):

Check out the Namba Walk in this clip:

The video is taken two years ago by some guy, a tourist, or an exchange student but for some reason, people in Namba are still blasting Destiny’s Child’s Survivor song… lol

If you’re looking for a hot-spring resort that is in between Kyoto and Osaka, Kinosaki Onsen is a place for you. It’s situated in a beautiful location, by the coastline of Sea of Japan. Needless to say, it has a fantastic view. Lines of weep willows are drawn along the river that runs through the town of Kinosaki, which makes it extremely beautiful and sage-looking come spring time.

Anyway, the hot-springs at Kinosaki was discovered during the 8th century and it’s been a popular spot since then. Kinosaki Onsen is one of the most popular onsen spots in Japan and is definitely a great option to stay in if you’re stopping to take a rest from all the traveling. The little picturesque town also offer historical sites to see while you’re in town. Of the mentionable spots are Konotori no Sato (a sanctuary for endangered storks) and Onsenji Temple. Kinosaki onsen is considered to be an off the beaten tracks gem of Japan.

This is the best aquarium in Japan, which showcase aquatic life from the pacific rim. What’s impressive if that every sea creature is organized and displayed according to its habitat and species, the Osaka Aquarium is definitely a place to visit if you are in Osaka for a little knowledge boost about sea life from the Pacific Ocean. Entry fee is 2000 Yen for every person and the tour starts on the 8th floor, which you will then spiral down, aquarium to aquarium of aquatic life from different regions. One of the aquarium’s attraction is the whale shark, one of the largest vegetarian mammals of the sea.

Check out this video clip of the Osaka Aquarium:

When you go to Japan, you must attend a Sumo match because it’s a traditional japanese sport. Baseball may be big in Japan but Sumo Wrestlers are bigger, literally and figuratively. :)
The sport is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budō: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.

The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.

The basic rule of Sumo is very simple; the first sumo that touches the floor with something else apart from his sole or leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. The fights usually last about a few seconds and its very rare for it to last for up to 1 min or longer.

Six tournaments are held each year and each tournament lasts 15 days. I don’t know how many fights go on in one day with each fight lasting a few seconds. I think they must be many fights but there are also the traditional rituals held before and after a match as well. It’s definitely something that’s worth experiencing.

Three of the 15 tournaments is held in Tokyo (Jan, May, Sept), and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).

To know more about Sumo, go to Nihon Sumo Kyokai

Source: Wikipedia ; Japan Guide

Ise Shima is a National Park near the Shima Peninsula. The Shima Peninsula is home to Japan’s most sacred Shinto Shrines, the Ise Shrines. It is in Ise Shima where Mikimoto Pearl Island, an internationally known name for cultivated pearls, is situated to.

So the two places that’s worth the visit in Ise Shima is the shinto shrinese and the pearl island of Mikimoto. There are several sacred shrines to visit while you’re there:

The Ise Jingu consists of two shrines: the Outer Shrine (Geku), which is dedicated to Toyouke, the kami of clothing, food and housing, and the Inner Shrine (Naiku), which enshrines Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. They are Shinto’s most sacred shrines.

Shinto Shrines

Naiku and Geku are located several kilometers apart from each other at the foot of densely wooded hills. Unlike most other Shinto shrines, the Ise Shrines are built in a purely Japanese architecture style which shows no influence from the Asian mainland

There is also Oharaimachi, a one kilometer stretch of old buildings that is lined with traditional shops and houses. This is the stop for most pilgrims who comes over to Ise Shima to pray. Do stop to savor some of their traditional and local delicacies there.

How to get to Ise Shima? There are plenty of routes to get there, the most popular ones is from either Tokyo or Nagoya. For a better picture, read more about orientations HERE.

Source: Japan Guide

Mount Koya (高野山 Kōya-san) is a mountain in Wakayama prefecture to the south of Osaka. It is the center of Shingon Buddhism – a buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi (aka Kukai), one of the most significant personalities in Japan’s religious history. There are over 100 buddhist temples standing in Mount Koya area. And one of the main attractions there is staying overnight in a temple.

There are over 50 temples at Mount Koya that functions as a shukubo; where tourists are allowed to stay overnight a temple and experience temple life – vegetarians meals and morning prayers with the rest of the monks.

Mount Koya is definitely a very spiritual place that is a must see. It’s scenery coupled with its serenity gives the place an almost ethereal feeling to it.

Other noteworthy places to visit in Mount Koya, all in relation to temples of course, are:

Okunoin – where Kobo Daishi is enshrined; it is also a massive ancient Japanese graveyard
Garan – Koyasan’s central temple complex
Kongobuji – Head Monastry of the Shingon sect

In 2004, UNESCO designated Mt. Koya, along with two other locations on the Kii Peninsula, as World Heritage Sites.

Click HERE to find out how you can get to Mount Koya from two points in Japan.

Source: Wikipedia; Japan Guide

Osaka, the second largest city in Japan has a lot to offer. There are many things to do of course, it’s a city, you can technically do whatever you did before in your own city but in a different culture like remembering to take off your shoes and such. But there are also other things to see.

Today we’re channeling our focus to Osaka Castle. Now, there are many castles in Japan. Himeji Castle is one of them but we will get to that later. Osaka Castle is a castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. Originally called Ozakajo, it is one of Japan’s most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajo Koen Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom, when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and taiko drummers. Cherry blossom bloom at the Osaka castle is really a pretty sight to behold.

Reasons why you should drop by Osaka Castle when you’re in Osaka.

1. It’s a beautiful architecture that will make perfect postcards
2. It is rich with history and knowledge is power
3. It’s situated right in the middle of the city like a protuding sore thumb but a sore sight it is not
4. Osaka Castle is a museum filled with historical facts
5. The observation deck on the highest floors gives you a fantastic view of the city

If Tokyo is Japan’s capital, Ōsaka (大阪) might be called its anti-capital. Osaka is the main metropolis of the Kansai region, and its inhabitants exhibit a strong rivalry towards the Kanto region, from baseball, food, popular culture, even to which side they ride escalators (on the left in Tokyo, but on the right in Osaka).

Districts

Like Tokyo, Osaka is best thought of as a group of cities that have grown together.

History

Back in the days of the Tokugawa shogunate, Edo (now Tokyo) was the austere seat of military power and Kyoto was the home to the Imperial court and its effete courties, but Osaka was where the merchants made and lost their fortunes. To this day, while unappealing and gruff on the surface, Osaka remains Japan’s best place to eat, drink and party, and Osakans still greet each other with mōkarimakka?, “are you making money?”.

Getting there

• By plane

  The main international gateway to Osaka is Kansai International Airport, covered in a separate article. Domestic flights, however, mostly arrive at Osaka’s northern Itami Airport (ITM), connected to the city by the Osaka Monorail.

• By train

  Shinkansen trains arrive at Shin-Osaka station to the north of the city center. Connect to the center with the Midosuji subway line.

  Local trains from Kobe, Kyoto and Nara arrive mostly at the Umeda and Namba stations.

• By bus

  Overnight highway buses from Tokyo and other areas can get you to Osaka for significantly less than a Shinkansen ticket.

Get around

The convenient Kansai Thru Card can be used on just about anything that moves in Osaka (as well as the rest of the Kansai region), with the notable exception of JR trains.

• By subway

  Osaka has Japan’s second-most extensive subway network after Tokyo, which makes the underground the natural way to get around. The Midosuji Line is Osaka’s main artery, linking up the massive train stations and shopping complexes of Shin-Osaka, Umeda, Shinsaibashi, Namba and Tennoji.

• By train

  True to its name, the JR Osaka Loop Line (環状線 Kanjō-sen) runs in a loop around Osaka. It’s not quite as convenient or heavily-used as Tokyo’s Yamanote line though.

See

Osaka Castle is Osaka’s best known sight, although it’s a concrete reconstruction that pales in comparison with, say, Himeji. Still, it’s pretty enough from the outside, especially in the cherry blossom season when Osakans flock to the castle park to picnic and make merry. Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, adult admission ¥600. The park can be accessed on a number of lines, but the castle is closest to Osaka-jo Koen station on the JR Osaka Loop Line.

Eat

In a nation of obsessive gourmands Osaka is known as an excellent place to eat, exemplified by the Osakan maxim kuidaore, “eat until you burst”. The best place for this is Dōtonbori (道頓堀), a street that contains nearly nothing but one restaurant after another. Some of the more famous establishments here include:

• Kuidaore (食い倒れ), featuring a mechanical clown beating a drum, is one of the contenders for the title of the largest restaurant in the world. Each floor specializes in a type of food. Affordable, but more fun in a group.
• Kani Dōraku (かに道楽), easily identifiable by the giant mechanical crab waving its pincers about, specializes in crab. Good but moderately expensive.

Sleep

The cheapest option is capsule hotels, found near the major train stations .

Capsule Inn Osaka. 9-5 Doyamamachi, Kita-ku (in the Higashi-Hankyu shopping arcade off Namba station). Tel. 06-6314-2100, Fax 06-6314-1281. Japan’s first capsule hotel (opened 1977) is still open for business, happy to accommodate foreigners with some semblance of a clue and a steal at ¥1600 for a night.

Typical Japanese business hotels are step up from a capsule and can be found everywhere. Examples include:

Hotel Nankai Namba, 17-11 Namba-naka 1-chome, Naniwa-ku (Exit 5 from the Midosuji subway line, walk south, and turn right at the McDonald’s), TEL 06-6649-1521 (namba@hotel-nankai.co.jp, FAX 06-6632-5061). This is a clean and well-run hotel convenient to transport: 20 minutes from Shin-Osaka, good access to Nara on the Kintetsu Line. Rooms have LAN access at no additional cost- some rooms with WiFi, so ask when making a reservation or checking in. 8,400 JPY-18,375 JPY (single-triple).

Stay safe

The base for Japan’s yakuza gangsters, Osaka has a dangerous reputation (by Japanese standards), but is still remarkably safe for a city of its size. Unless you’re dealing drugs you’re unlikely to get involved with the local mafia, but some districts, particularly Shinsekai, may be a little dodgy at night.

Get out

The temples and lush greenery of Mount Koya, 90 minutes away by train, are an entirely different world and the perfect getaway when all the concrete starts to get to you.

(Source: Wikitravel)