With its long history of merchant and trade culture, canals and rivers have always played important historic and cultural roles in Osaka and served as important symbolic and physical features for its citizens. In the Edo Period (1600-1868), Osaka developed into the main trade and mercantile center of Japan, and it was able to carry out its role stunningly thanks to its vast infrastructure of wat..

If you have ever lived in Osaka City, then the mere mention of Super Tamade is sure to bring forth either a smile or a grimace. At any rate, it will invoke some kind of feeling. Perhaps that feeling when you ate their “super” meat and spent a super-swell evening bent over the toilet. Perhaps it is a memory–a memory of the time you first saw Super Tamade and said, “Wait, that’s a superm..

Tennoji Station First opened in 1933 between a temporary Umeda Station and Shinsaibashi Station, the Midosuji Line is Japan’s second oldest subway line (after Tokyo’s Ginza Line) and the first state-operated subway line in Japanese history. Coinciding with a massive widening and redevelopment of Midosuji Boulevard–transforming it from a narrow street into a sweeping boulevard, and the firs..

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so I have decided to compile a list of romantic spots around town for those who may be in need of such advice. This can also be used as a White Day reference. Namba Parks: This fantastic shopping center is connected directly to Nankai Namba Station and the Namba City building, and connected underground to subway, private and JR train lines. On the r..

I am often asked what I like about living in Osaka. And because I have also lived in Tokyo, I am also asked whether I prefer Osaka or Tokyo. Besides the fact that my job and life are here, there are four primary reasons I prefer to live in Osaka over any other place in Japan: 1. The People This is the number one reason Osaka is the most livable place I have found in Japan. People here are the mo..

Hard Rock Cafes are found in most major cities of the world, and Osaka is no exception. You can get a delicious burger with fries for around 2,000, yen which is a little spendy but worth it considering Japanese burger joints consider a hamburger to be what is essentially cheap meatloaf placed between bread (e.g., Mos Burger). The HRC in Hommachi, near many of the city’s large offices and the l..