50 Fun Facts About Osaka

Osaka ranks where among Japan's most populous cities proper?

Only Tokyo's special wards and Yokohama are bigger; with Kyoto and Kobe it forms the 19-million-strong Keihanshin metropolitan area.

What does the name Ōsaka mean?

The oldest written evidence of the name dates to 1496; the older kanji was dropped in 1868 partly because it could be read as 'samurai rebellion'.

By what ancient name was Osaka known when Emperor Kōtoku made it Japan's capital in 645?

The name survives in central districts such as Naniwa and Namba, and Naniwa was capital again briefly in 744–745.

Which warlord built Osaka Castle in 1583 on the site of a razed Buddhist fortress-temple?

Nobunaga had spent a decade besieging the Ishiyama Hongan-ji there; the new castle was modelled on his Azuchi Castle but was meant to surpass it.

How was the outside of Hideyoshi's original main tower decorated to impress visitors?

The keep had five storeys above ground and three underground.

The 1614–15 Siege of Osaka destroyed which clan, ending armed opposition to the Tokugawa?

Ieyasu's 200,000-man army was held off in the winter campaign until he had the outer moat filled in.

The main keep of Osaka Castle built in 1931 is made of what?

A 1997 restoration turned the interior into a modern museum, complete with elevators.

On 14 August 1945 American bombing destroyed 90% of what facility next to Osaka Castle?

The arsenal employed 60,000 workers, and 382 of them were killed in the raid.

How many B-29 bombers took part in the 13 March 1945 raid on Osaka?

An American prisoner held in the city said the raid lasted almost all night and destroyed 25 square miles.

Which two multinational electronics companies are headquartered in Osaka?

The city is also home to the Osaka Exchange and Osaka University.

An old saying holds that Kyotoites ruin themselves on clothing while Osakans ruin themselves on what?

The Osaka half is the word kuidaore, 'eat until you drop', which lends its name to Dōtonbori's mascot Kuidaore Taro.

Which Osaka street vendor is credited with inventing takoyaki in 1935?

The octopus balls evolved from earlier snacks called choboyaki and radioyaki that used beef or konjac.

What is the main filling of takoyaki?

The batter balls are cooked in a moulded pan and finished with sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.

The name of okonomiyaki, the savoury pancake with two rival regional styles, means roughly what?

The sauce is based on Worcestershire sauce, and Osaka's version mixes all the ingredients into the batter.

The giant Dōtonbori billboard of a runner crossing a finish line advertises which confectionery company?

First installed in 1935, the sign is now in its sixth LED version from 2014 and gets altered for the World Cup and Hanshin Tigers.

Dōtonbori was historically what kind of quarter before becoming a nightlife area?

It traces its origins to 1612 and a canal-builder named Yasui Dōton; the crab restaurant Kani Dōraku's moving sign has hung there since the 1960s.

Which fast-food mascot statue did Hanshin fans throw into the Dōtonbori canal in 1985, supposedly cursing the team?

No fan resembled bearded American slugger Randy Bass, so the Colonel stood in; the Tigers still won that year's Japan Series.

Under what name did the Hanshin baseball club begin play in 1936?

They are Japan's second-oldest professional club and have won the Japan Series only in 1985 and 2023.

Which company advertises on Tsūtenkaku, the 'Tower Reaching Heaven' in Shinsekai?

The 1912 original, modelled on the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, was Asia's second-tallest structure and linked by cable car to Luna Park.

Which American charm doll, 'God of Things as They Ought to Be', is enshrined atop Tsūtenkaku?

The original wooden statue vanished when Luna Park closed in 1923, so a copy was carved from an old photograph.

Which imperial prince commissioned Shitennō-ji, sometimes called Japan's first Buddhist temple?

The Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings was last rebuilt in 1963 and formed its own Wa sect after the war.

Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka gives its name to what?

Locals call it Sumiyossan, and it draws huge New Year hatsumōde crowds to honour the three Sumiyoshi gods and Empress Jingū.

The Tenjin Matsuri, one of Japan's three great Shinto festivals, honours which deified scholar?

Held on 24 and 25 July at Osaka Tenmangū, it ranks with Kyoto's Gion and Tokyo's Kanda festivals.

Bunraku, the puppet theatre founded in Osaka in the early 1600s, uses how many kinds of performer?

Puppeteers, chanters and shamisen players; Osaka hosts the National Bunraku Theatre and playwright Chikamatsu made the form famous.

Which artist's Tower of the Sun still stands on the site of Expo '70?

Tange designed the Expo itself, the first world's fair in Asia, which drew 64 million visitors.

How many visitors did Expo '70 attract in six months?

It held the record for the best-attended Expo until Shanghai in 2010.

On which artificial island in Osaka Bay was Expo 2025 held?

It was the first Expo on an island; private cars were banned and a 3.2 km Metro extension opened in January 2025.

Which architect designed the wooden Grand Ring that encircled the Expo 2025 site?

Inside were three thematic districts: Connecting, Empowering and Saving Lives.

What was the name of Expo 2025's red-and-blue mascot?

Designed by children's illustrator Kouhei Yamashita, it was named by public contest in 2022; the Expo drew 29 million visitors.

Osaka's main international airport, opened in 1994, is built where?

The soft seabed made the island sink about 50 cm a year at first, so the terminal sits on adjustable columns.

Which Italian architect designed the airport's 1.7 km Terminal 1, the world's longest?

He refused to shorten it to save money, and the airport was Japan's first to operate 24 hours a day.

Universal Studios Japan, opened in Osaka in 2001, was the first Universal park where?

Over 11 million guests came in year one; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter followed in 2014.

When the Kaiyukan in Osaka's bay area opened in 1990, what distinction did it hold?

Its Pacific Ocean tank holds 5,400 cubic metres of water, and its whale sharks are the star attraction.

Abeno Harukas was Japan's tallest building from 2014 to 2023. How tall is it?

It sits above Osaka Abenobashi Station and holds a Kintetsu department store, a Marriott hotel and university campuses.

The Umeda Sky Building's two towers are connected at the top by what?

Hiroshi Hara designed the 40-storey pair, completed in 1993 as the 'City of Air' project.

In what year did the Osaka Municipal Subway, now Osaka Metro, open?

It is the only Japanese subway partly classified in law as a tram system and carries about 2.5 million passengers a day.

How many wards make up Osaka city?

Tōru Hashimoto's plan to abolish them and turn Osaka into a Tokyo-style metropolis met stiff opposition, especially in Sakai.

In 2018 Osaka ended its sister-city relationship with which US city over a 'comfort women' memorial?

The mayor sent a 10-page, 3,800-word letter in English to Mayor London Breed.

How did Edo-period writers such as Jippensha Ikku stereotype Osakans?

Edo residents coined the insult 'Kamigata zeeroku' in 1809 and mocked the vulgarity of the Osaka dialect.

Which two J.League football clubs play in the city?

Gamba play at Suita City Football Stadium and Cerezo at Yanmar Stadium Nagai; the Evessa basketball team won the B.League's first three titles.

When the city of Osaka was established in 1889, roughly how large was it?

A single expansion in 1925 added 126 square kilometres, and the city now covers 222.

Which two districts are Osaka's main business and shopping hubs, north and south?

Kita's Umeda holds Osaka Station City and a vast underground arcade; Minami's Namba has Dōtonbori and Den Den Town.

Osaka Metro is Japan's only subway partly classified in law as what?

Every other Japanese subway is legally a railway, though Osaka's has all the features of a full metro.

Which airport handles most of Osaka's domestic flights?

Officially Osaka International Airport, it lies closer to the city than Kansai and was the reason the offshore airport was built.

Osaka's population is about how many people?

That makes it Japan's third most populous city proper after Tokyo's special wards and Yokohama, though the metro area tops 19 million.

In Osaka-ben, which copula replaces the standard Japanese 'da'?

Negative verbs take the suffix -hen instead of -nai in the local dialect.

Which Osaka venue, built in 1982, was Japan's first designed specially for classical concerts?

It opened with a concert by the city's own Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Hanjo-tei theatre, opened in 2006 near Osaka Tenman-gu, is dedicated to which art form?

Yoshimoto Kogyo's Namba Grand Kagetsu hall is the place for manzai comedy.

Which professional baseball team plays its home games at Kyocera Dome Osaka?

The Hanshin Tigers borrow the dome each summer when Koshien hosts the high-school championship.

Osaka bid to host the Summer Olympics of which year, losing to Beijing?

It was eliminated in the first round of the IOC vote on 13 July 2001.