Like all big Japanese cities, Osaka is divided into wards ( ku ), but you'll often hear locals talking of Kita (north) and Minami (south), the split being along Chuo-dori. Kita covers the areas of Umeda, where all the main railway companies have stations, and Shin-Osaka, north of the Yodo-gawa River and location of the Shinkansen station. On the east side of this area is Osaka-jo, the castle. The shopping and entertainment districts of Shinsaibashi, Dotombori and Namba are all part of Minami .

Slightly further south is Tennoji , where you'll find Tennoji-koen and the temple Shitenno-ji and, further south again, the ancient shrine Sumiyoshi Taisha. West of these districts lies the patchwork of landfill islands edging Osaka Bay; the Osaka Aquarium is at Tempozan Harbour Village , while the Kansai area's tallest building, the WTC Cosmotower, is further south at Nanko .