Rivers, fountains, roses and art; they're all there on Nakanoshima Island in Osaka, just a stone's throw away but a world apart from the flashy neon and garish glitz of the city's bustling Dotonbori dining and entertainment hub.
Nestled between the Dojima and Tosabori rivers, the city-center sandbar island is currently the main venue of "Suito Osaka 2009/Aqua Metropolis Osaka 2009," an arts and waterfront festival that kicked off Aug. 22 and runs until Oct. 12.
There, at the event hosted by Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture and local businesses — all aiming to help revitalize the metropolis — visitors can enjoy a wide variety of art exhibits, create art works themselves and also relax in the rose garden of the 3-km-long island.