Osaka Bay is a bay in western Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As an eastern part of the Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 by the Kii Channel

Kii Channel

The is a strait separating the Japanese Home Islands of Honshū and Shikoku. This channel connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean....

 and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. Its western shore is formed by Awaji Island

Awaji Island

is an island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshū and Shikoku. The island has an area of 592.17 km²...

, and its northern and eastern shores are part of the Kansai

Kansai

The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...

 metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

.

Major ports on Osaka Bay include Osaka, Kobe, Nishinomiya

Nishinomiya, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan, between the cities of Ōsaka and Kōbe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary. It is best known as the home of Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball...

, Sakai

Sakai, Osaka

is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...

, Amagasaki

Amagasaki, Hyogo

is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1916. Its population is around 460,000, below its peak of over 554,000 in 1971.-History:...

, and Hannan

Hannan, Osaka

is a city located in Osaka, Japan. Hannan is bordered by Sennan city to the northeast and Misaki-chō to the west. It is the location of Pichi-pichi beach, a locally famous public park and beach.　It is the southernmost city in Osaka prefecture, being closer in distance to Wakayama city than to Osaka...

.

A number of artificial island

Artificial island

An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...

s have been created in Osaka Bay in past decades, including Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport

is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...

, Port Island

Port Island

is an artificial island in Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan. It was constructed between 1966 and 1981 at Port of Kobe, and officially opened with an exposition called "Port Pier '81." It now houses a heliport, numerous hotels, a large convention center, the UCC Coffee Museum, Japan's 3rd IKEA store, and...

, and Rokko Island

Rokko Island

is the second major artificial island in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Japan located in the southeast region at Port of Kobe. The island was constructed from reclaimed land between 1973 and 1992. It has a 3.4 km by 2 km rectangular shape, and covers 5.80 km². The island was one of the hardest hit areas in...

.

Several islands at the south end of Osaka Bay are part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park.

Industries locate around Osaka Bay because there is a skilled and plentiful workforce, many port facilities, efficient linkages (from small to medium to large firms). There are good transport links (including the Shinkansen

Shinkansen

The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

), room for expansion (land reclaimed form the sea), and a large local market (9 million).

There has been a recent economic change in Osaka Bay: The decline of older 'heavy' industries such as Nippon Steel

Nippon Steel

, also referred to as , was formed in 1970. Nippon Steel Corporation is the world's 4th largest steel producer by volume.-Early years:Nippon Steel was created by the merger of two giants, Yawata Iron & Steel and Fuji Iron & Steel...

, and the expansion of 'new tech' companies such as ICT. There has been a growth in the quaternary industries

Quaternary sector of industry

The quaternary sector of the economy is a way to describe a knowledge-based part of the economy which typically includes services such as information generation and sharing, information technology, consultation, education, research and development, financial planning, and other knowledge-based...

 — research, development, and information. There has also been a development in the science parks and the building of new motorways; this has meant the loss of the countryside.

The Tempozan Ferris Wheel and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

The is an aquarium located in the ward of Minato in Osaka, Japan, near Osaka Bay. It is one of the largest public aquariums in the world, and is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums ....

 are both located in the Tempozan Harbor Village area of Osaka.

Airports

• Kansai International Airport
  Kansai International Airport
  is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
  
  
• Kobe Airport
  Kobe Airport
  is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya Station Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. In the first year of operation the airport handled 2,697,000 passengers with an average load factor of...