Kansai—the region in Western Japan that boasts the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara, the bustling commercial city of Osaka and the cosmopolitan port city of Kobe—has a character all its own, right down to its dialect, mannerisms, and cuisine. It is home to some of Japan's oldest history and an area where the country's most time-honored arts and crafts still thrive. Worldly and otherworldly, spirited and spiritual, trendy and traditional, it's a place where past and future live side-by-side, sometimes at odds.
Part Japanese travel book, part cultural commentary, these 25 spirited essays and 32 pages of color photos paint a broad yet penetrating portrait of the unique Western Japan region, covering such diverse topics as: