Osaka Launching Tourism Bureau

Above, Osaka Castle.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The city of Osaka is now opening a tourism bureau to promote tourism to the city.

Kyodo News reported:

Local governmental officials in Osaka decided Monday to launch a bureau in April to boost tourism. 

The new office is designed to handle the overall tourism strategy of the Osaka city and prefectural governments and will be headed by Kunio Kano, a former Hong Kong Tourism Board official. 

The local governments in western Japan aim to attract 6.5 million tourists from overseas annually by 2020. 

In 2011, 1.58 million foreign tourists visited Osaka Prefecture, declining from 2.35 million in 2010 due mostly to the March 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan, according to the prefectural government.

As kaiju fans are aware, Osaka was the setting for the big battle between Godzilla and Anguirus in the first sequel to Godzilla (1954), Godzilla Raids Again (1955) (known here as the butchered Gigantis The Fire Monster).  The battle took place at Osaka Castle.

Above, Osaka Business Park, used in "Godzilla vs. Biollante."
 Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Osaka was also one of the locations used in 1989's Godzilla vs. Biollante.

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