Osaka is usually divided into two areas: Kita and Minami. Kita (Japanese for ‘north’) is the city’s main business and administrative centre, and contains two of its biggest train stations: JR Osaka and Hankyū Umeda.
Reading all this, you might think that the Japanese were down for the count. But here’s the surprising part: that’s not the case at all. As shown by the Japanese people’s response to the earthquake and tsunami, when faced with a tough situation they band together, roll up their sleeves and get to work. Let’s not forget that these are the same people who took a country that was little more than rubble in 1945 and turned it into one of the world’s most advanced and efficient countries in just a few short decades.