With the summit for the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies coming to Osaka next year, preparations are underway to host the largest international gathering the city has seen in over two decades.

Earlier this month, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura and senior Osaka business leaders met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss Osaka's, and Kansai's, role in the two-day summit, which is likely be held in June or July 2019.

The venue is the Intex Osaka convention center along the city's waterfront district, a 30-minute subway ride from the central Umeda district, where many top-end hotels that world leaders and their staffs are likely to stay in are located.