Naniwa-ku (浪速区) is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 4.37 km2, and a population of 51,567.
General information
Largely a residential area itself, Naniwa-ku is adjacent to and has in recent years blurred into the Namba district, which is south Osaka's transport hub and centre of commerce, entertainment, shopping, and culture.
Almost the entire ward was decimated in air attacks during bombing in March 1945. Few buildings pre-dating World War II remain.
Attractions
Naniwa is the site of a number of well-known commercial areas like Nipponbashi, where Capcom and SNK are headquartered.[1] Locally known as Den Den Town (Electric City), Nipponbashi was traditionally a concentration for Osaka's electrical appliance outlets, though the emergence of several large electrical department stores over in recent years has seen its shop space make a gradual shift away from the electrical appliance sector. Directly to its south is Shin Sekai (New World), an entertainment district famous for the Tsutenkaku Tower and Janjan Alley.
Amongst Naniwa's sites is the Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, which sponsors the lively Toka Ebisu Festival. Naniwa is the site of the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka-furitsu taiiku-kaikan), where the Grand Sumo Tournament is held in March (Ozumo Sangatsu Basho) and Liberty Osaka - the Osaka Human Rights Museum. Naniwa also contains the massive modern shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, Namba Parks.
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