Osaka Castle was built in 1583. — Photos: Pixabay
The city of Osaka has a history of over 1,500 years as the commercial capital of Japan, and now, it aspires to be Asia’s number one city for international tourism and culture.
One of the key events poised to transform this dream into reality is the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka (or Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai), scheduled to take place from April 13 to Oct 13, 2025, on Yumeshima island in the Osaka Bay area.
The largest city in western Japan, Osaka – with its cultural diversity – has many similarities with Malaysia, according to Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau president Hiroshi Mizohata.
“It is a city of co-prosperity that accepts many different worldviews and values, attracting people with a spirit of challenge,” he said during a visit by Bernama to the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau office recently.
The visit was in conjunction with the Osaka promotion programme organised by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) to introduce Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai as well as promote the city’s tourist attractions.
More Malaysians are visiting Osaka now. Based on statistics from the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, the number of visitors from Malaysia to Osaka between July and September 2023 increased 120% to 34,000 compared to the same period in 2019.
Flourishing port city
Mizohata said the city’s goal leading up to 2030 is to exemplify Osaka as a world-class city for living, working, studying and travelling.
“The three pillars of Osaka’s tourism strategy are ‘anytime, anywhere and anybody’, which underscores something to see 24 hours a day as a travel hub for all regions in Japan and as a diverse and vibrant destination,” he said. He added that as an international tourism and cultural city, Osaka also puts a lot of focus on the environment and promotes zero-carbon initiatives.
Historically, Osaka was one of the first capitals of Japan in the 7th century. It then went on to flourish as a port city; the Dojima Rice Exchange, considered the world’s first commodity futures market, was established there in the 17th century.
As for its plethora of sightseeing spots, the Dotonbori area is one of Osaka’s most famous tourist destinations.
Tourists can take a cruise by boat on the Dotonbori canal and enjoy the bustling shopping hub with its brightly-lit billboards and funky signboards.
Among the famous sights here is the 20m-tall billboard of the Glico man, whose arms are raised in a victory pose, near the Shinsaibashi shopping area. You can see the Glico Man best from the Ebisu bridge.
The Glico Man at Dotonbori is one of the most famous landmarks in Osaka.
The bright LED signage, erected by Japanese confectionery company Glico in 1935, has been greeted by millions of tourists over the years.
Other attractions in Dotonbori are the mechanical drum-playing clown known as Kuidaore Taro, a large octopus hanging above a shop’s signboard and many cartoon characters displayed in front of restaurants.
Meanwhile, the iconic Kani Doraku restaurant with a giant animatronic crab at its entrance offers a wide selection of crab dishes.
Osaka is generally a food paradise but Dotonbori, incidentally, is known for its kuidaore culture which is loosely translated as “eat till you drop” – it can also mean “spending on food till you go bankrupt”!
Among the specialities available here are takoyaki or octopus balls, okonomiyaki which is supposedly Osaka’s soul food, and kushi-katsu, which is deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables.
Takoyaki is great as a snack.
Chibo, a famous restaurant in Dotonbori, specialises in Osaka-style okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake made from flour, vegetables, seafood or meat.
Yoshiaki Koyama, a chef at Chibo, said the taste of its okonomiyaki has not changed much since the restaurant was founded in 1973.
“The mayonnaise and sauce used to make okonomiyaki are all made by Chibo, which is unique to the Chibo style. While the process of making okonomiyaki has changed with time, the taste has not changed much,” he said.
Elsewhere, the Osaka Castle is another spectacular landmark and main tourist spot that reflects the city’s rich history.
The castle, with its impressive façade embellished in gold, was built in 1583 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a samurai and daimyo (feudal lord), during a tumultuous period of war and it played a pivotal role in Hideyoshi’s power and ambition to unify Japan.
New world district
Another interesting landmark is the Tsutenkaku Tower, found in the Shinsekai or New World district in Minami. This area has lots of restaurants and shops.
Shinsekai developed its retro-charm in 1912 following the success of Osaka’s first international event, the Fifth National Industrial Exhibition, in 1903.
Osaka is now gearing up for its next mega-international event, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and aims to draw the participation of over 150 countries and 25 international organisations.
Themed “Designing Future Society For Our Lives”, the expo will feature eight thematic field projects, namely the quest of life, totality of life, embracing lives, cycle of lives, amplification of lives, invigorating lives, forging lives and resonance of lives.
Osaka is the birthplace of many discoveries that made a huge impact on humans. These include the world’s first instant noodle as well as iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells that made a breakthrough in the world of regenerative medicine). It is now set to introduce flying cars at the 2025 expo.
Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition secretary- general Hiroyuki Ishige said expos have always introduced future technologies – the world’s first mobile phone was unveiled at Expo 1970 Osaka, Asia’s first international exposition.
“Over 50 years ago, Expo 1970 Osaka provided the Japanese people with an excellent opportunity to connect with the rest of the world to view, learn and study the world,” he said.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai is part of the World Expos that are overseen and regulated by intergovernmental organisation Bureau International des Expositions.
The last World Expo was held in Dubai in 2022.
Malaysia, meanwhile, has confirmed its participation at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. – Bernama
