, the longest suspension bridge in the world until 2022, with a centre span of 1,991 m The Kansai region is a cultural center and the historical heart of Japan, with 11% of the nation's land area and 22,757,897 residents in 2010. Four of
Japan's national parks lie within its borders, in whole or in part. The area contains six of the seven top prefectures in terms of
national treasures. Other geographical features include
Amanohashidate in
Kyoto Prefecture and
Awaji Island in
Hyōgo. The Kansai region is often compared with the
Kantō region, which lies to its east and consists primarily of
Tokyo and the surrounding area. Whereas the Kantō region is symbolic of standardization throughout Japan, the Kansai region displays many more idiosyncrasies – the culture in
Kyoto, the mercantilism of
Osaka, the history of
Nara, or the cosmopolitanism of
Kobe – and represents the focus of
counterculture in Japan. This East-West rivalry has deep historical roots, particularly from the
Edo period. With a samurai population of less than 1% the culture of the merchant city of Osaka stood in sharp contrast to that of
Edo, the seat of power for the
Tokugawa shogunate. Many characteristic traits of Kansai people descend from Osaka merchant culture. Catherine Maxwell, an editor for the newsletter
Omusubi, writes: "Kansai residents are seen as being pragmatic, entrepreneurial, down-to-earth and possessing a strong sense of humor. Kantō people, on the other hand, are perceived as more sophisticated, reserved and formal, in keeping with Tokyo's history and modern status as the nation's capital and largest metropolis." Kansai is known for its food, especially Osaka, as supported by the saying . Popular Osakan dishes include
takoyaki,
okonomiyaki,
kitsune udon and
kushikatsu. Kyoto is considered a mecca of traditional
Japanese cuisine like
kaiseki. Kansai has many
wagyu brands such as
Kobe beef and
Tajima cattle from Hyōgo,
Matsusaka beef from Mie and
Ōmi beef from Shiga.
Sake is another specialty of the region, the areas of
Nada-Gogō and
Fushimi produce 45% of all sake in Japan. As opposed to food from Eastern Japan, food in the Kansai area tends to be sweeter, and foods such as
nattō tend to be less popular. ==History==