Osaka, Japan Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The urban equivalent of the Elephant Man, OSAKA , Japan's third largest city after Tokyo and Yokohama, yearns to be loved despite its ugliness. It may well lack the pockets of beauty and refinement found in nearby Kyoto , but beyond the unrelenting concrete cityscape, Osaka is a vibrant metropolis, inhabited by famously easy-going citizens with a taste for the good things in life. The handsomely renovated castle, Osaka-jo , dominates Osaka's heart just as it did centuries ago, while the venerable Shitenno-ji and Sumiyoshi Taisha hark back to the city's past importance as a religious centre. In … more »