Osaka, Japan's gritty second city, suddenly finds itself amid Asia tourist boom

Oct 17, 2017 | News On Japan

Oct 17, 2017 (Japan Times) - Amid the gloom and struggle that Osaka has gone through in recent years, a tourism boom has been an unexpected boon for Japan's gritty second city.

The commercial roots and boisterous and friendly people of Osaka and the surrounding Kansai region provide a contrast to the relative coolness and formality of Tokyo that's winning favor with tourists from Northeast Asia.

The boom is boosting the economy. Duty-free sales at department stores in the region were up almost 60 percent in the first eight months of this year from the same period in 2016, according to the Bank of Japan.

The area's relatively high unemployment rate has dropped considerably, to 4 percent last year, while the number of companies in Osaka grew 16 percent in the 12 months through March, faster than in Tokyo or across the whole nation.

While Japan as a whole has benefited from a massive increase in tourism, it's especially pronounced in Osaka. Almost 10 million overseas tourists visited the city in 2016, a 363 percent jump over five years, versus the 188 percent increase seen nationally.

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