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Why Go?Kansai (関西) is the heart of Japan. Nowhere else in the country can you find so much of historical and cultural in-terest in such a compact area. Indeed, if you had to choose only one region of Japan to explore, Kansai would be the easy choice. Kyoto, covered in the preceding chapter, makes the perfect base for exploring Kansai and is home to an ex-traordinary range of first-rate attractions.
Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital, is thick with tradi-tional sights and is home to the awe-inspiring Tōdai-ji Tem-ple. Osaka is a great place to sample Japanese city life in all its mind-boggling intensity, while Kōbe retains some of the international feeling that dates back to its days as a foreign treaty port. In Mie-ken, you’ll find Ise-jingū, one of Japan’s three most important shrines, and in Wakayama-ken there are great onsen, a rugged coastline and the temple complex of Kōya-san, Japan’s mountaintop Buddhist retreat centre.
Kansai
When to Go
Late Mar–mid Apr The beauty of the cherry blossoms is over the top.
May–Sep July and August are hot, but summer is a great time to explore kansai.
Oct–early Dec kansai’s sights are sublime against a back-drop of bright red maple leaves
F DNOSAJJMAMJ
Osaka°C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm
0
16/400
8/200
12/300
4/100
10/50
0/32
-10/14
30/86
40/104
20/68
Best Places to Eat¨¨ Café Absinthe (p349)
¨¨ Misono (p369)
¨¨ Imai Honten (p351)
¨¨ Fukutei (p373)
Best Places to Stay¨¨ Nishimuraya Honkan
(p409)
¨¨ Guesthouse Sakuraya (p385)
¨¨ Arietta Hotel (p348)
¨¨ Blue Sky Guesthouse (p403)
osaka .........................338kōbe ..........................364Himeji ........................ 370Hikone ....................... 375Nagahama ................ 376Nara ........................... 377kii Peninsula .............. 393kōya-san ...................394ise ..............................404Northern kansai ........ 407kinosaki ....................408Tango Peninsula .......409
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
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Wakasa-wan
Sea of Japan
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
PREFECTURE
TOKUSHIMA
ISHIKAWA
TOTTORI
OSAKA
WAKAYAMA
NARA PREFECTURE
MIE
AICHI PREFECTURE
FUKUI
GIFU
SHIGA
KYOTO PREFECTURE
HY±GO
Kyoto
KŸbe
Himeji
chŸ
Hirogawara
Takao
Moroyose
Hanase
Tottori
Fukui
Hiketa Naruto
Tokushima
Nakagawa
Yuki
Kurumi-dani
Tatsuno
Yamasaki
MikataKumihama
Toyooka
Takeno
HamasakaYura-hama
±dai-ga-hara
GojŸ
Nachi
ObamaTakahamaMaizuruMiyazu
Ine
Shima
Takashima
Kameoka
Haibari
Yoshino
Nishinomiya Itami
Kawanishi
Takarazuka
Sanda
Takefu
ImajŸ
Tsuruga
Akashi
Ono
Kasai
Nishiwaki
Fukuchiyama AshiuKitamura
Miyama-Wachi
Ayabe
Kurama
Ry¥jin
KainanArita
Wakayama
ShirahamaTanabe
Kushimoto
Shing¥
Kumano
Owase
Kii-nagashima
Goza-misaki Ago
Toba
Matsusaka
Mino
Hikone
Maibara
Nagahama Sekigahara±gaki
Tanigumi
IchinomayaBisai
Minami-Chita
Mihama
TokonameChita
Tokai
NagoyaTsushima
Kuwana
Yokkaichi
Suzuka
Gifu
Tsu
SumotoKishiwada
KaizukaIzumi-Sano
Sennan
TakaishiSakai
Asuka
Hashimoto
Sakurai
KashiharaNabari
JŸyŸUji
Ueno
Minakuchi
±haraShiga ±mihachiman
MoriyamaKusatsu±tsu
Amanohashidate
AirportKŸbe
AirportItami
AirportInternational
Kansai
Hanase-tŸgei Pass
Mikata-go-ko
PeninsulaPeninsulaTangoTsuruga
Awaji-shima
Kotobiki-hama
Kii Peninsula
Hino-misaki
Shiono-misaki
KyŸga-misaki
Ise-shima
(Centrair)International Airport
Central Japan
Yoshino-no-SatoUkawa Onsen
260169
168
425
168
311
371
ExpwyMeishin
ExpwyHokuriku
ExpwyHanwa
ExpwyCh¥goku
BridgeSuspension
Akashi KaikyŸ
Hong¥
Ise-shi
Osaka
Kinosaki
Kumano KodŸ
KŸya-san
Nara
0 50 km0 30 miles
1 gaze in awe at the Great Buddha (p381) at Nara’s Tōdai-ji
2 Feast your eyes on the colourful human parade of osaka’s Dōtombori area (p341)
3 Feel the power radiating from the main hall of Ise-jingū
(p404), Japan’s most sacred Shintō shrine
4 Wander the mystical forest of kōya-san’s Oku-no-in (p395)
5 Soak in the restorative waters of the three onsen of Hongū (p402)
6 Walk the ancient pilgrimage trails of Wakayama’s Kumano Kodō (p398)
7 Put on your yukata (light cotton kimono) and stroll from onsen to onsen in the quaint town of Kinosaki (p408)
Kansai Highlights