# Kita-ku, Osaka

Kita (北区, Kita-ku) is one of 24 wards of Osaka in Japan.

## Incidents and accidents

* 1970 Tenroku gas explosion
* 2021 Osaka building fire

## Notable locations

Kita-ku, particularly the Umeda area surrounding Osaka Station, is one of the main commercial centers of Osaka. Kita-ku is also a financial administration center, housing the headquarters of the Japan Mint and the Osaka branch of the Bank of Japan.

### Firms headquartered in Kita-ku

* Daicel
* Daikin (Umeda Center Building)
* Daiwa House
* FM802
* Hankyu Hanshin Holdings
* Hankyu Railway
* Kansai Electric Power Company
* Kansai Telecasting Corporation
* Kaneka Corporation
* Mainichi Broadcasting System
* Nihon Bussan
* Nippon Paint
* Nipro
* Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners
* Santen Pharmaceutical
* Suntory
* Toyobo
* West Japan Railway Company
* West Nippon Expressway Company (Dojima Avanza)
* Yanmar (Umeda Gate Tower)
* Zojirushi
Asahi Kasei, Itochu Corporation, Kuraray and Kaneka Corporation each have "headquarters" in both Kita-ku and in Tokyo.

### Firms with branch offices in Kita-ku

Dentsu and Yomiuri Shimbun have branch offices in Kita-ku. Mazda has an office in the Umeda Sky Building Tower East. Air France has an office on the third and sixth floors of the Shin-Sakurabashi Building in Umeda. The office handles Aircalin-related inquiries. Google has an office in the Hankyu Grand Building in Kita-ku. Bandai Visual's Kansai Office opened in Kita-ku in March 1988; the division is now known as the Osaka Branch. Japan Airlines at one time operated a ticketing facility on the first floor of the Daiichi Seimei Building in Umeda, Kita-ku.

## Diplomatic missions

The Consulate-General of the United States in Osaka is located in Kita-ku. The Consulate-General of Belgium in Osaka is located on the twelfth floor of the Snow Crystal Building in Umeda, Kita-ku. The Consulate-General of Germany in Osaka is located on the thirty-fifth floor of the Umeda Sky Building Tower East in Kita-ku. The Consulate-General of Italy in Osaka is located since April 2013 on the 17th floor of the Nakanoshima Festival Tower in Nakanoshima.

## Landmarks
### Umeda downtown

Commercial and business centre of Kansai region with many high-rise buildings and large underground complexes.

### Nakanoshima island

Government facilities and museums, and office buildings is situated on this island. Notable establishments is City hall, Central Public Hall, Bank of Japan Osaka branch and Osaka International Convention Center. National Museum of Art, Osaka and Osaka Science Museum is also in this island.

### Parks

* Nakanoshima Park
* Yodogawa riverside park and Kema-Sakuranomiya Park
* Ohgimachi Park
** Ogimachi Kids Park (Kids Plaza Osaka)
* Sakuranomiya Park
* Minami-Temma Park
* Umeada Umekita Gardens

### Shrine and Temple

* Kokubun-ji (Osaka)
* Osaka Temmangu Shrine

### Others

* Tenjimbashisuji Shōtengai (the longest covered shopping street in Japan)
* Festival Hall
* The South Korean government maintains the Korea Education Institution (Korean: 오사카한국교육원, Japanese: 大阪韓国教育院) in Kita-ku.

## Department stores

* Hanshin Department Store
* Hankyu Department Store
* Daimaru Umeda-mise

## Mass media
### Newspapers

* Mainichi Shimbun Osaka Office – Umeda
* Yomiuri Shimbun Osaka Office – Nozakicho
* Asahi Shimbun Osaka Office – Nakanoshima

### Broadcasting stations

* Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) – Chayamachi, TV and radio
* Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – Oyodo-minami, TV and radio
* Kansai TV – Ogimachi, TV

## Education

International schools:
* Osaka YMCA International School

## Railway stations

Terminals:
* Osaka Station (JR West)
* Umeda Station (Hankyu, Hanshin, Osaka Subway)
* Yodoyabashi Station (Keihan, Osaka Subway)
The following stations are also connected to Osaka and Umeda by underground passageways:
* Kitashinchi Station (JR West)
* Higashi-Umeda Station (Osaka Subway)
* Nishi-Umeda Station (Osaka Subway)
Other stations in Kita-ku:
* Minami-morimachi Station (Osaka Subway)
* Nakatsu Station (Hankyu)
* Nakatsu Station (Osaka Subway)
* Nakazakicho Station (Osaka Subway)
* Ogimachi Station (Osaka Subway)
* Osaka-Temmangu Station (JR West)
* Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchōme Station (Hankyu, Osaka Subway)
* Temma Station (JR West)

## Notable people from Kita-ku, Osaka

* Yasunari Kawabata - Japanese writer, 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
* Etsuko Inada – Japanese figure skater
* Kagaku Murakami – Japanese painter and illustrator
* Kenta Kiritani – Japanese actor and singer
* Tetsuji Takechi – Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author