Osaka

Osaka (大阪) is the heart of Japan's second largest metropolitan area, as well as the entire Kansai region. It would be the capital of Japan today if not for a battle that was lost in the year 1600, and Osakans are still angry about it. This leads to Osaka often having a different way of doing things from Tokyo. Most people living in Japan have a clear preference for one or the other.

Getting There from Mie

Via JR

JR runs a line to Osaka but it is slow and infrequent. It is very convenient for people living in Kameyama and northern Iga, but for basically everyone else in the prefecture Kintetsu is the best way to get to Osaka.

Via Kintetsu

For almost every corner of Mie, Kintetsu is the best way to get to Osaka. It is easy as they are regular express trains as well as limited express trains that go all the way there.

• If coming from Nabari, southern Iga, Matsusaka, Ise, Toba, or Shima, you luck out because you will be able to get to Osaka directly – no need to change anywhere.
• If coming from the north, you will need to ride to Ise-Nakagawa and change to an Osaka-bound train.
• If coming from the south, you will need to take the JR as far as Matsusaka and then change to an Osaka-bound Kintetsu train.

Tsuruhashi

Kintetsu trains to Osaka are either bound for Uehommachi (上本町) or Namba (難波). Namba is basically the "southern downtown" of Osaka (Umeda is the northern one). If you are on an Uehommachi-bound train and want to continue on the last few stops to Namba, Tsuruhashi (鶴橋) is the best place to change because the Namba trains are right there on the other side of the same platform.

You can also change to the JR Loop Line at Tsuruhashi which is convenient for getting you to JR Osaka Station in the Umeda area. The JR platform is above the Kintetsu platform, so go up the stairs at the far end of the Kintetsu platform, head through the ticket gates, and you'll be able to hop on the Loop Line.

You'll know Tsuruhashi from the smell, it's the only train station where there is such a thick yakiniku smell in the air.

Getting around Town

Once in Osaka, the Osaka Loop Line and the Subway can get you to pretty much anywhere you want to go.

• Subway map (to scale)
• Subway map (not to scale)

Food

Osaka is arguably the most delicious city in all of Japan, helped by the Japanese nickname for the city (天下の台所 tenka no daidokoro), roughly meaning "the best food under the sky".

Though the city is famous for things like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushiage, the truth is that just about any single variety of Japanese food is available in Osaka cheaper and better than anywhere else in the country. One of the best reasons to go to Osaka is simply to eat until you drop.

Accommodations

• Capsule Inn Nanba

  Right near Nanba station exit 31 (3 minutes from exit 7). Relatively clean and cheap, takes both men and women.

• Hotel Raizan South

• Asahi Plaza Capsule Hotel

  Cheap and clean, accepts men and women, easy online reservation system. Location in Shinsaibashi's Amerika-mura.

• Hearton Hotel Shinsaibashi

  A nice business hotel in Amerika-mura.

• Toyoko Inn Shinsaibashi

  A nice business hotel in Shinsaibashi, part of the Tokoyo Inn chain. Easy online reservations.