Sakai is a historic city in Japan's Kansai Region, close to Osaka. It is known for two things that visitors tend to remember: its traditional knife-making and its ancient burial mounds, called kofun. Sakai is also written ๅ บ in Japanese.
Why visit
Sakai suits travellers who want to look beyond the bigger sights of Osaka and see a city with a long cultural history. Its heritage shows in its crafts, and its ancient mounds give a sense of how far back the area's past reaches.
What to see and do
- Traditional knives: Sakai is closely linked with the craft of Japanese knife-making, a tradition rooted in the city. Visiting the workshops and shops is a natural way to see the skill behind it.
- Kofun burial mounds: The ancient mounds are a distinctive part of the landscape and an important link to the region's early history.
- Traditional crafts: Beyond knives, the city's wider crafts heritage gives visitors a chance to see work made the way it has been for generations.
Getting around the area
Because Sakai lies near Osaka, it works well as a day trip from the larger city. Visitors staying in Osaka can combine a morning of heritage and craft in Sakai with the rest of their plans in the region.
