Regions & prefectures
JapanRegions & prefectures
Osaka
The people’s kitchen, the country’s quickest dialect and four centuries of merchant tradition.
- Capital
- Osaka
- Status
- Urban prefecture (fu)
- Region
- Kansai
- Must-see
- The Dōtonbori district
- Local specialty
- Takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu
Nicknamed "the nation’s kitchen" because all the archipelago’s rice passed through it, Osaka was built on trade rather than court or army: the world’s first futures exchange priced rice here from 1697. The city gave Japan manzai, the comic duo format that still structures television, and a reputation for humour and informality the rest of the country readily grants it.
What to see there
Places, dishes and traditions tied to this territory.
In the magazine
Articles that cover this topic.