Osaka is Japan's third largest city and increasingly becoming a center of the country's growing tourist industry. Its history goes back at least to the fourth century and it was one of the main trading centers of Japan well before its opening to the West in 1858. Sixty percent of its housing was destroyed during World War II and it represents both the emergence of Japan's post-war industrial and economic development and the continuation of traditional Japanese art and culture.
There are many images of Japan but in March and April the Cherry Blossom festivals throughout Osaka attract visitors from around the world. Thousands of Cherry Blossom trees grace Kema Sakuranomiya Park on the Okawa River making it an excellent place from which to view the sights, and the Nishinomaru Teien Garden at Osaka Castle combines castle and hundreds of trees for a combination of elegance and beauty.
Osaka in July is pageant season when the spectacular water festival, the Tenjin Matsuri, is held. A river procession said to be a thousand years old contains thousands of participants dressed in traditional attire and parading on boats in commemoration of the death of a 10th century scholar and warrior, Sugawara no Michizane. This two-day festival ends with a fireworks display.
Other ancient traditions in Osaka are eating and shopping, and the city offers plenty of both to the visitor. The Dotomburi District is especially well known for its restaurants and nightlife with seafood and the more formal Kaiseki dishes taking precedence.
Two sights to visit in Osaka that should be included on your tour are the Tennoji Park zoo and the aquarium. The zoo is of a decent size and can be a place for a short respite from the travels around town. Near the zoo in the Tennoji Park is the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art with its exhibits of Japanese and Chinese paintings and sculptures.
The aquarium on the other hand is one of the most impressive in the world. Organized around the themes of the Ring of Fire (Pan Pacific Volcanic Zone) and the Ring of Life (Pan Pacific Life Zone), the shows are as useful for both their educational values as well as their ability to show the interconnection of life and environment.
For an adventure of theater and a trip into Japan's cultural past, attend the Osaka Nogaku-kaikan Theater which is one of the major Noh performance theaters in Osaka. Noh is an 8th century theater import from China and is one of the world's oldest theater traditions. Very stylized and precise in its movements and use of voice, it tells the tales of life and love universal in nature but specific to the history and culture of Japan.
Connected to Noh theater is the Kabuki tradition of dance and acting - as with Noh it has a large following in Osaka. The Osaka Shochikuza and the Shin Kabukiza Theaters are two venues for Kabuki shows. More popular than the Noh theater, the Kabuki developed in the 17th and 18th centuries with lively costumes and a more loose and emotional style of acting than the Noh tradition.
Osaka is very much the modern city. Its roots, however, are strong and its traditions are important to those interested in the culture of the country. The city is working hard to make Osaka a very enjoyable place to visit for conference or vacation. By all accounts they are doing a good job.
