Osaka Castle Review

Osaka, a city in the western part of Japan near the prefecture of Osaka, is the seat of the prefecture of Osaka and one of the designated cities by decree. Osaka has an area of 223 square kilometers and a total population of about 2.67 million people. It is the third most populous city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama. Osaka was often referred to as "Daegu" in ancient times, and the term "Daegu" first appeared in the Innora era. Since the Nara era, Osaka has become a trading port for its sea-front location. Toyoson Sioji built Osaka Castle and used Osaka as the core city of Toyoson's regime. In the Edo era, Osaka and Kyoto Edo, known as the "three capitals", were the most economically active commercial cities in Japan at the time. After the war, it was still the metropolis of Western Japan. Osaka has a heavy industry dominated by steel, machinery and metal processing, and light industry dominated by textiles, printing, food, paper and chemical industries. There are more than 100,000 shops in the city. Osaka is also known for its unique culture. In the city's Hankyu district, there are also bustling underground streets. The scale of business activities and the density of mass transit trains are among the highest in Japan. On December 13, 2017, Osaka City of Japan officially announced that it would dissolve 60 years of friendly urban relations with San Francisco. In January 2019, Osaka was selected as the “2018 WFBA World Featured Charming City 200” list.