Osaka is the epitome of business-savvy Japan, a high-tech metropolis which lives by the 'work hard, shop hard' philosophy. Situated only 50 km from the one-time capital, Kyoto, the country's third largest city has been living by the law of supply and demand for over 15 centuries.
If you're in search of traditional culture you've come to the wrong place. The pre-Buddhist Sumiyoshi Taisha, one of Japan's oldest shrines, is virtually all that's left. Even the city's major tourist attraction, Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle) is a 1931 concrete replica of the original built by shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1585.
However if you want to feel the pulse of modern-day Japan - and the full force of Japanese shopping culture - Osaka certainly has a place on your itinerary.
The city has two main centres. Namba (or Minami) in the south is devoted to entertainment and spending sprees, with trendy gear at Amerikamura (American Village), the latest cut-price electronics at Den-Den Town and everything under the sun at the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade.
Nearby, Dotombori, once the centre of Japan's kabuki and bunraku puppet theatre, is now jammed with restaurants, theatres and karaoke bars.
The main business district is in Umeda (also called Kita) in the northern ward. Even here, though, you're in no danger of retail therapy withdrawal - the subterranean shopping complex at Umeda station is Japan's biggest. There's also Hankyu Entertainment Plaza, 11 storeys of shops, cinemas and restaurants, crowned by an enormous Ferris wheel.
One of Osaka's newest attractions is the Universal Studios Japan theme park, laid out over 55 hectares. For eye-openers of a different variety, the Osaka Aquarium (or Kaiyukan) is justly famous, with vast tanks stretched over several floors for different perspectives of marine life.
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