Editing Osaka (section)

=== Neighborhoods ===
Central Osaka is roughly divided into downtown and uptown areas known as {{Nihongo4|'''Kita'''|[[:ja:キタ|キタ]]|extra="north"}} and {{Nihongo4|'''Minami'''|[[:ja:ミナミ|ミナミ]]|extra="south"}}.<ref name="japan-guide.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4009.html|title=Kita (Umeda)|website=www.japan-guide.com|accessdate=February 23, 2025}}</ref><ref name="japan-guide.com1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4001.html|title=Minami (Namba)|website=www.japan-guide.com|accessdate=February 23, 2025}}</ref>

Kita is home to the [[Umeda]] district and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods, a major business and retail hub that plays host to [[Ōsaka Station|Osaka Station City]] and a large subterranean network of shopping arcades.<ref name="japan-guide.com" /> Kita and nearby [[Nakanoshima]] contain a prominent portion of the city's skyscrapers and are often featured in photographs of Osaka's skyline.

Minami, though meaning "south", is essentially in {{Nihongo4|Chūō Ward|中央区|Chūō-ku}} and geographically central within the city.<ref name="japan-guide.com1" /> Well known districts here include [[Namba]] and [[Shinsaibashi]] shopping areas, the [[Dōtonbori]] canal entertainment area, [[Nipponbashi]] Den Den Town, as well as arts and fashion culture-oriented areas such as [[Amerikamura]] and Horie. The 300-meter tall [[Abenobashi Terminal Building|Abeno Harukas]] was the tallest skyscraper in the country from 2014 until 2023.<ref name="Tallest high-rise nears completion" />

The business districts between Kita and Minami such as {{Ill|Honmachi (Osaka)|lt=Honmachi|ja|本町 (大阪市)}} and {{Ill|Yodoyabashi|ja|淀屋橋}}, called {{Nihongo4|'''Semba'''|[[:ja:船場 (大阪市)|船場]]}}, house the regional headquarters of many large-scale banks and corporations. The [[Midōsuji]] boulevard runs through Semba and connects Kita and Minami.

Further south of Minami are neighborhoods such as [[Shinsekai]] (with its [[Tsutenkaku|Tsūtenkaku]] tower), [[Tennōji-ku, Osaka|Tennoji]] and [[Abeno-ku, Osaka|Abeno]] (with [[Tennōji Zoo|Tennoji Zoo]], [[Shitennō-ji]] and [[Abenobashi Terminal Building|Abeno Harukas]]), and the [[Kamagasaki]] slums, the largest slum in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/kamagasaki-japans-biggest-slum/|title=Kamagasaki: Japan's biggest slum|date=April 8, 2014|access-date=July 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714183354/http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/kamagasaki-japans-biggest-slum/|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>

The city's west side is a prominent [[Osaka Bay|bay area]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4010.html|title=Osaka Bay Area|website=www.japan-guide.com|accessdate=February 23, 2025}}</ref> which serves as its main port as well as a tourist destination with attractions such as [[Kyocera Dome]], [[Universal Studios Japan]] and the [[Mount Tenpō|Tempozan Harbor Village]]. [[Higashiōsaka, Osaka|Higashiosaka]] is zoned as a separate city, although the east side of Osaka city proper contains numerous residential neighborhoods including [[Tsuruhashi Station|Tsuruhashi]] KoreaTown, as well as the [[Osaka Castle Park]], [[Osaka Business Park]] and the hub [[Kyōbashi Station (Osaka)|Kyōbashi Station]].

Osaka contains numerous urban canals and bridges, many of which serve as the namesake for their surrounding neighborhoods.<ref name="Eiichi Watanabe-2004">{{cite book |author=Eiichi Watanabe |author2=[[Dan M. Frangopol]] |author3=Tomoaki Utsunomiya |title=Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management and Cost: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Kyoto, Japan |year=2004 |page=195 |isbn=978-90-5809-680-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZiDvMz1CIvwC&q=872+760&pg=PA195R}}</ref> The phrase "808 bridges of Naniwa" was an expression in old Japan used to indicate impressiveness and the "uncountable". Osaka numbered roughly 200 bridges by the Edo period<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/|title=More About Osaka, Osaka City Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030402130253/http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/|archive-date=April 2, 2003}}</ref> and 1,629 bridges by 1925. As many of the city's canals were gradually filled in, the number dropped to 872, of which 760 are currently managed by Osaka City.<ref name="Eiichi Watanabe-2004" />

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="3">
File:Nakanoshima, Osaka in 201504.JPG|[[Nakanoshima]], a boundary of Kita (right) and Semba (left)
File:Aerial photo of Umeda 14-Aug-2019.jpg|[[Umeda]] district (2019)
File:Osaka Dotonbori Ebisu Bridge.jpg|[[Dōtonbori]] bridge
File:Namba 20150531.JPG|[[Namba]] (2015)
</gallery>