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Osaka 大阪
Designatit ceety
大阪市 · Osaka Ceety
Nicht view frae Umeda Sky Biggin Dōtonbori an Tsūtenkaku Shitennō-ji, Sumiyoshi taisha an Osaka Castle
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Location of Osaka in Osaka Prefectur
Osaka
Coordinates: 34°41′38″N 135°30′8″E / 34.69389°N 135.50222°E / 34.69389; 135.50222Coordinates: 34°41′38″N 135°30′8″E / 34.69389°N 135.50222°E / 34.69389; 135.50222
Kintra	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefectur	Osaka
Govrenment
• Mayor	Toru Hashimoto in offece syne 19 December 2011
Area
• Designatit ceety	223.00 km2 (86.10 sq mi)
Population  (Januar 1, 2012)
• Designatit ceety	2,666,371(3rd)
• Metro	18,768,395 (2nt)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Staundart Time)
- Tree	Sakura
- Flower	Pansy
Phone number	06-6208-8181
Address	1-3-20 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 530-8201
Website	Osaka Official Website

Osaka (Japanese: 大阪, Ōsaka) is a ceety in the Kansai region o Japan's main island o Honshū, the designatit ceety unner the Local Autonomy Law, the caipital ceety o Osaka Prefectur an an' a' the hert o Greater Osaka Aurie. Locatit at the mooth o the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is the third lairgest ceety bi population efter Tokyo an Yokohama.

For reference, Greater Osaka Aurie is the seicont mucklest aurie in Japan bi population an ane o the mucklest metropolitan aurie heichlie ranked in the warld, wi nearly 18 million fowk, an bi GDP, the seicont lairgest aurie in Japan an the seivent lairgest aurie in the warld.

Historically the commercial caipital o Japan, Osaka functions as ane o the command centres for the Japanese economy. The ratio atween daytime an nicht time population is 141%, the heichest in Japan, hiehlichtin its status as an economic centre. Its nichttime population is 2.6 million, the third in the kintra, but in daytime the population surges tae 3.7 million, seicont anerlie efter Tokyo. Osaka haes tradeetionally been referred tae as the "naition's kitchen" (天下の台所, tenka no daidokoro), or the Mecca o gourmet fuid.

"Osaka" leeterally means "lairge hill" or "lairge slope." It is unclear whan this name gained prominence ower Naniwa, but the auldest uisage o the name dates back tae a 1496 text. Osaka, nou written 大阪, wis umwhile written uisin a different seicont kanji as 大坂 prior tae 1870. At the time, the pairtisans for the Meiji Restoration wished tae avoid the seicont kanji bein implicitly read as "士反," meanin samurai rebellion. The auld writin is still in vera limitit uise tae emphasize history, but the seicont kanji 阪 is nou universally considered referrin tae Osaka ceety an prefectur anerlie, tae distinguish it frae homonyms in ither Japanese prefecturs.

Central Osaka is aften dividit intae twa auries referred tae as Kita (キタ, lit. north) an Minami (ミナミ, lit. sooth), at either end o the major thoroughfare Midōsuji.^[1] Kita is roughly the aurie surroondin the business an retail destrict o Umeda. Minami is hame tae the Namba, Shinsaibashi, an Dōtonbori shoppin destricts. The entertainment destrict aroond Dōtonbori Brig wi its famous giant mechanical crab, Triangle Pairk, an Amerikamura ("Americae Veelage") is in Minami. In Yodoyabashi an Honmachi, atween Kita an Minami, is the traditional business aurie whaur courts an naitional/regional heidquarters o major banks are locatit. The newer business aurie is in the Osaka Business Pairk locatit nearbi Osaka Castle. Business destricts hae an aa formed aroond the seicontary rail termini, sic as Tennoji Station an Kyobashi Station.

“The 808 brigs o Naniwa” wis an expression in auld Japan for awe an wonder, an adage kent athort the land. “808” wis a muckle nummer which seembolised the idea o “uncountable”. In the Edo period thare wur anerlie aboot 200 brigs. Syne Osaka is crossed bi a nummer o rivers an canals, mony brigs wur biggit wi specific names, an the auries surroondin the brigs wur aften referred tae bi the names o the brigs, too. Some o the waterways, sic as the Nagahori canal, hae been filled in, while ithers still remain.^[2] In 1925 thare wur actually 1629 brigs in Osaka but wi the fillin in o canals an rivers, as o Aprile 2003, the nummer haes dropped tae 872, 760 o which are currently managed bi Osaka Ceety.^[3]

Osaka haes 24 wards (ku):

Osaka haes twin touns an sister ceeties aroond the warld:^[4]

Date		Sister Ceety[5]
1957		San Francisco, Unitit States
1969		São Paulo, Brazil[6][7]
1973		Chicago, United States
1998		Kanpur, Indie
1974		Shanghai, Fowkrepublic o Cheenae
1974		Melbourne, Australie
1979		Saunt Petersburg, Roushie[8]
1981		Milan, Italy[9]
1989		Hamburg, Germany
Date		Friendship an Cooperation Ceety[10]
1998		Buenos Aires, Argentinae
1998		Budapest, Hungary[11]
2008		Busan, Sooth Korea[12]

Osaka's business pairtnerships are:^[13]