Osaka as a Hub

Osaka is the Gateway to Asia and centrally located within Japan

From Osaka, many businesses are conducted on a day trip basis to China and most major Japanese cities are within an hour by plane. The Shinkansen (bullet train) connects Osaka and Tokyo in only 2.5hours with nearly 300 lines a day. Both geographically, and in business, Osaka is the central hub of Japan and the gateway to Asia.

The Kansai Region, is the core region of western Japan, comprising Japan’s leading international cities such as Kyoto and Kobe. Kansai’s economy rivals that of Australia in size. It is an attractive large-scale market and the region is also rich in historical and cultural assets.

Water ways of Osaka

City of Osaka is also known as an aquapolis with its canals, rivers and port which has remained active since the 5th century.

For more information on Osaka as a city of water, visit aquapolis events homepage.

Port of Osaka

In addition to the usual travel route by land and air, Osaka is accessible by sea via Osaka Port. Import figures of the Port exceeded 43 billion U.S dollars and export numbers reached 34 billion dollars in 2007. Well over 80% of import and 60% of export through the Port of Osaka is between Japan and Asian countries and therefore Osaka is a good location from which to access Asia.

Air Transportation

Both Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Osaka International Airport (Itami) are located within 45 minutes from downtown Osaka, making Osaka a convenient gateway to fly to other international or Japanese cities.

Kansai Airport (KIX)

In August of 2007, the 2nd runway opened and as the first 24hr air logistics international airport in Japan, KIX serves Japan’s largest number of late-night/early morning cargo flights. Kansai Airport has the most number of flights to Aisa than any airport in Japan and in 2008, KIX ranked 6th in the World Airport Awards ranking by Skytrax.