Kansai

Mt.Fuji from Lake Ashi, Fuji-Hakone National Park

A propos de Kansai

The Kansai region is the cultural and historical heart of Japan: it includes both Osaka and Kyoto, and also the Seto Inland Sea towards Kobe and Himeji, and Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake. It has four of Japan’s national parks, and other picturesque areas including Amanohashidate in Kyoto Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyōgo.

Kyoto
Osaka
Kobe
Himeji
Amanohashidate

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Compared to the Kanto region, the cities and aread of Kansai are more diverse. Kyoto is the city of culture; Osaka the city of commerce and business; Kobe as a port city is open and cosmopolitan. It could even be said a rivalry has existed between Osaka, historically the merchant city, and the power base of Tokyo, since the Edo period.

The areas of Kansai are known for their characteristic dishes: Kyoto is famous for classic Japanese cuisine, Osaka for practical and economical dishes like takoyaki and okonomiyaki, and Kobe for its beef. Sake is another specialty of the region; the areas of Nada-Gogō and Fushimi produce 45% of all sake in Japan.

The Osaka accent is distinctive, and in fact the whole region has a dialect called Kansai-ben, with its own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.