Osaka Saw Record Foreign Visitors In 2016

Above, Osaka Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One Japanese city that is often overlooked by tourists is Osaka.

Most tourists when coming into Japan largely confine themselves to Tokyo. When venturing out of Tokyo, they will head to Hiroshima or Kyoto. Since Osaka is a next-door neighbor to Kyoto, it is an easy place to reach.

Osaka is about a 30-minute commuter train ride from Kyoto. When in the city, there are subways available (although not quite as extensive as Tokyo's subway and train system) to get visitors to the city's attractions such as Osaka Castle and the Dotonbori restaurant district.

More people are discovering Osaka as record numbers of foreign visitors headed there in 2016 (I was last in Osaka in October 2015).

According to The Japan Times:

OSAKA – Over 9.4 million foreign tourists visited Osaka last year, the largest number ever, Osaka tourism authorities announced earlier this week. 

The figure represents a 31 percent increase on 2015, and is more than triple the number of foreign nationals who visited the city in 2013, officials added.

Naturally, since Osaka had been featured in Godzilla Raids Again (1955) and in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), kaiju fans have reason to visit the city.

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