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Nara, Himeji & Osaka

Kansai Area

Tony Clemens
2005-08-31 22:15:56

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modern Japanese urban life. The city is mainly a collection of concrete buildings and elevated highways but at night the abundance of neon lighting gives the city an almost surreal look. The Hollywood movie Black Rain was filmed here, although you might think Bladerunner could have been shot here.

For modern attractions Osaka has some interesting attractions including Universal Studios where you can witness Japanese teens acting out the myth of Amerika. Osaka Aquarium has the world's largest tank which is the home of two whale sharks. The place is often packed with kids and expect long line-ups. The most interesting building is the Umeda Sky Building, a twin-tower building with a connecting top floor sky bridge or "Floating Garden" observation deck. You can't miss it from the train.

If you find modern cities can leave you kind of cold, Osaka does not have many traditional sites to visit, there is not even many museums. One of the few historical sites is Sumiyoshi-taisha which is Osaka's most important shrine and is dedicated to ShintÅ� deities of the sea and sea travel. The shrine was founded in the early 3rdcentury and this shrine survived the bombing of WWII with some buildings dating to 1810, the other buildings are faithful reproductions.

ShitennÅ�-ji is supposedly one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan, founded in 593, but the present buildings are concrete reproductions. The temple does have the oldest stone torii (entrance gate) in the country but this is about the only interesting historical thing there.

Osaka castle is the most popular attraction in the city. Its a modern concrete reconstruction of the 1583 castle. The original was destroyed in a civil war in the late 19thcentury. The bridge over the moat survived until 1944. The present building is a concrete reconstruction from 1931 and refurbished in 1997. For a more authentic castle visit Himeji just two hours away.

With about 3 million people you can experience the modern Japanese urban city without the 20+ million people of Tokyo, otherwise Osaka is the city you pass through to go to and from Kanasi International airport.