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The Swissotel Nankai Osaka is located , and it has also a direct train access to the airport (approx. 30 minutes). Just 45 minutes away, are the ancient capital of Kyoto, old castle town of Nara and picturesque seaport town of Kobe. Local attractions include Universal Studios Japan, and Osaka Castle. Hotel amenities include 24-hour room service, business center, spa, massages, indoor swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, and secretarial services. Dining options include six onsite restaurants, and a bar. Guest rooms feature telephones, slippers, pajamas, Internet access, coffeemakers, cable TVs, movies on-demand, minibars, climate controls, and bath amenities. Culture, tradition, and world class shopping are all at your doorsteps from this hotel. FREE English-speaking guided walking tour is available. Tour will take you through Namba downtown districts, including Dotonbori and Hozenji(famed for its moss-covered Buddhist sculptureMizukake Fudo) and tour departs daily from the hotel lobby at 6pm. Please contact hotel concierge to register your interest.(comfortable walking shoes and a camera are recommended).
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Swissotel Nankai Osaka Property Information:
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Rooms:
548
Floors:
21
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- Fitness facility
- Dining
- Car rental desk
- Luxury
- Data port
- Meeting room
- Nonsmoking
- Business center
- Wheel chair access
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Swissotel Nankai Osaka Reservation Policies:
Check-In:
1400
Check-Out:
1200
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Osaka Events & Entertainment
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January
January
1 - 3
The New
Year’s holiday period.
People
visit shrines and temples to pray for health and happiness in the new year.
Shops, banks and public agencies are usually closed from December 28 through to
January 3.
January
9 - 11
Toka
Ebisu
(at
Imamiya Ebisu Shrine (in Osaka City), Ibaraki Toka Ebisu (Ibaraki City) and at
Fuse Ebisu Shrine (Higashi Osaka City))
This
festival, characteristic of the merchant town flavor of Osaka, is held to pray
for prosperity in business.
February
Around
February 3
Setsubun Festival
(at
Ishikiri Shrine (Higashi Osaka City), at Narita-san Fudoson Shrine (Neyagawa
City), and at Mizumadera Temple (Kaizuka City))
The day
falls on the eve of “Risshun”, the first day of spring or the New Year’s day in
the traditional Japanese calendar. On this day, a bean-scattering ceremony is
held to cast away the evils of the previous year.
Early
February to early March
Plum blossoms
During
this period, people enjoy strolling through fragrant groves of blossoming plum
trees. The main spots for plum blossom viewing are Osaka Castle Park, Expo’70
Commemorative Park, Hiraoka Shrine, and Domyoji Temmangu.
March
The
second Sunday to the fourth Sunday of March
The
Spring Sumo Tournament
(venue:
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)
April
Early
April
Cherry
Blossom Viewing
To
celebrate the arrival of spring, people picnic outside, admiring the overhead
cherry blossoms. The main spots for blossom viewing are Osaka Castle Park,
Expo’70 Commemorative Park, and Satsukiyama Park.
Around
April 29 to around May 5
This
period is called Golden Week.
With
several holidays occurring almost consecutively, some companies are closed for
more than 10 days in a row. Because of the many tourists, accommodation charges
and airfares are higher.
July
July 24
and 25
Tenjin
Matsuri Festival
One of
the big three Japanese festivals with a history of more than 1,000 years.
Late
July to late August
The
season for fireworks displays
Displays
of fireworks, among them the one in Rinku Town, PL Fireworks Art, and Kurawanka
Fireworks Festival, are held at various locations around Osaka.
August
Around
August 13 to 16
The Bon
Festival
This is
the traditional festival for welcoming and then sending off the spirits of
ancestors. Many companies are closed and a lot of people go traveling, so
accommodations charges and airfares are higher.
September
September 14 and 15
Kishiwada Danjiri Festival
The
festival is famous for its danjiri floats lugged around the city by highly
spirited groups of people.
October
second
Sunday of October
Midosuji Parade
One of the
largest parades in the nation, it takes place down Osaka’s main street.
November
mid to
late November
Colored
Leaves of Autumn
People
take excursions out to spots famous for their colorful leaves to enjoy looking
at them. Main sites around are the Meiji-no-Mori Minoh Quasi-National Park,
Settsu-kyo (Settsu Gorge), Amanosan Kongo-ji Temple, Mt. Inunaki, etc.
Arts and Entertainment
The
National Bunraku Theater
1-12-10
Nipponbashi, Chuo-ku
located
east of Namba and the Dotombori entertainment district, a 1-minute walk from
exit 7 of Nipponbashi Station.
06/6212-2531 for information; 06/6212-1122 for reservations
was
completed in 1984 as the only theater in Japan dedicated to Japanese traditional
puppet theater.
Productions are staged five times a year, running for 2 to 3 weeks at a time and
held daily at 11am for Part 1 and at 4pm for Part 2. When Bunraku is not being
performed, other traditional performing arts are often shown, including
classical Japanese music.
Headsets
are available that provide translations into English. The acoustics are
excellent. To find out whether a performance is being held, check Meet Osaka
or contact one of the visitor information centers.
The
Osaka Shochikuza
1-9-19
Dotombori, Chuo-ku
The
theater is located on Dotombori, just west of the Ebisu-bashi Bridge.
06/6214-2211)
The
theater was built more than 50 years ago and was remodeled in 1997 as part of a
revival of interest in Kabuki. Traditional kabuki is performed in January, July,
and some other months of the year (the schedule changes yearly), and
performances start usually at 11am and 4:30pm.
Performance information is also listed in Meet Osaka.
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Osaka Destination Overview
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It is
said that the standard greeting between Osakans is: moukarimakka?, "Are
you making money?" Osaka is the second largest city in Japan and has always had
the reputation as a center for financial success. Osaka is located in Kansai
region on the main island of Honshu. It is Japan's second largest city and is a
major industrial, port, and economic center. Osaka is famous in Japan for shopping . Midosuji Dori, a wide
boulevard lined with gingko trees running north and south in the heart of the
city, is the center for name-brand boutiques. Just to the east is
Shinsaibashi-suji, a covered promenade with many shops, some dating back to the
Edo Period. On the other side of Midosuji Dori is America-Mura, where young
Japanese shop for T-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, ripped jeans, and other American
fashions. Teens also patronize HEP FIVE, a huge shopping complex near Umeda
with a Joypolis amusement arcade and a Ferris wheel on top.
Universal CityWalk,
near Universal Studios, sells everything from Hello Kitty merchandise to Italian
imports. Osaka has
many underground shopping arcades. Enter in Umeda (where the JR, Hanshin,
subway, and Hankyu train lines intersect) and you can shop for miles! Crysta
Nagahori, connecting Nagahoribashi Station to Yotsubashi-suji, has a glass
atrium ceiling, flowing streams of water, and 100 shops, making it one of the
largest shopping malls in Japan. Nearby are Namba Walk, Nan-nan Town, and Namba
City, all interconnected by underground passageways. The City
of Osaka has two main areas: Kita (North) and Minami (South). Extensive
building is also taking place in the Bay Area.
The Kita is the district around
JR Osaka Station and Umeda Station on the subway, Hanshin and Hankyu Lines, with
a concentration of department stores and commercial centers forming a huge
underground shopping area. The Shin-Umeda City to the east features a “Floating
Garden” Observatory, which commands panoramic views of Osaka. The Minami
district is in the vicinity of Namba Station on the subway, Nankai and Kintetsu
lines. While Kita has a sophisticated image, Minami is a bustling town of
ordinary people. In this area, visitors will find the Shin Kabukiza Theater, the
National Bunraku Theater, and the Museum of Kamigata Performing Arts displaying
exhibits describing Osaka’s performing arts.
The Bay
Area, is home to Universal Studios Japan, with its focus on Hollywood movies and
TV programs. Also located in the area are the Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium), the
WTC (World Trade Center), the tallest building in western Japan, and the Osaka
Dome. The Dome combines a ball park and an amusement center. Of the
other major landmarks in Osaka, Osaka Castle is best known. The park surrounding
the castle is the site of cherry and plum blossom viewing in season. Also within
the castle grounds are Peace Osaka (Osaka International Peace Center), and Osaka
City Museum.
The castle stands in contrast to the high-rise buildings of the
neighboring Osaka Business Park. Other
highlights are the Tennoji area, with Shitennoji Temple-Japan’s oldest official
temple, and Tennoji Zoo, along with Tsurumi Ryokuchi-an urban oasis; and Nagai
Park. River cruises are a favorite way to enjoy Osaka, which is known as the
“city of water”. Osaka is also known as the food capital of Japan. One of the most
fascinating aspects of the city is Osaka has its food theme parks. These are
elaborately designed and constructed. They contain numerous restaurants and
food stalls that specialize in one kind of cooking, for example, noodles or
dumplings. Persons wanting to try that food gravitate to these areas to sample
the wide variety of different flavors and styles available.
Another
type of food theme park in Osaka is the kind where a street or part of the city
from the past is re-created, and all the restaurants serve dishes from that
Period. An example is Naniwa Kuishimbo Yokocho. Located inside the Tempozan
Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishimbo Yokocho is the first theme park of Osaka cuisine
in Japan. Inside, it re-creates a sample of a Naniwa gastronomy alley near the
railway station circa 1965, just before the city hosted Expo '70. Instead of
focusing on a single food, Naniwa Kuishimbo Yokocho brings together 20
restaurants that are popular in and around Osaka and that serve special
delicacies of the area. The result: inexpensive and tasty food in just the
right ambience. The theme
of Dotombori Gokuraku Shopping Street is an Osaka streetscape from the late
Taisho Period to the early Showa Period.
Interesting buildings, shops, and
unique eating places recapture the mood of those early days. Osaka is a
friendly city offering an eclectic blend of the old and the new and a myriad of
interesting activities throughout the year.
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