A group of Japanese men in black business suits sat waiting, their palms resting on their knees, as the musicians in a nearby portico tuned their wooden instruments. Soon the Shinto priest shuffled forward on his platform clogs and began to chant, his monotone incantation mingling with the plaintive wails of lyres and flutes.

My husband and I were visiting Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a shrine dedicated to the deity of rice and saké during the eighth century. As we wandered the wooded trails covered with thousands of saffron- and sable-colored torii gates, we repeatedly crossed paths with men carrying briefcases and looking decidedly out of place in the mysterious mountain setting.

As I later learned, the domain of the goddess Inari shifted from agriculture to industry along with Japan’s economy in the 19th century. Nowadays, droves of businessmen from Osaka take the 15-minute train ride to Inari Station on the outskirts of Kyoto to walk beneath the wooden torii — each one donated by a different Japanese company — and pray for prosperity in business.

It’s no accident the country’s most popular Inari shrine sits within easy reach of Osaka. Japan’s third-largest city was historically the country’s commercial center and still houses a leading futures exchange as well as major companies like Panasonic, Sharp and Sanyo. And while it doesn’t boast the temples of Kyoto or the museums of Tokyo, Osaka is known as the food capital of Japan, luring visitors with its fresh squid and saucy comfort fare.

When we arrived in late February, the city was already beginning to spring to life after a mild winter, and its parks and sidewalks were humming with people. In the Osaka Castle plum orchard, delicate pink and white blossoms had started to appear, and retirees with tripods and three-foot camera lenses nearly trampled each other angling for the best shots of the blooms. Gray-haired women sat in the shade painting with watercolors, vendors sold perfectly manicured miniature plum trees out of pots, and a man in a fedora nonchalantly fed two live canaries perched on his hat while his wife slurped a bowl of noodles beside him.

Aside from serving as a daytime hangout for the septuagenarian crowd, Osaka Castle is one of the many legacies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a general who united Japan’s warring territories during the 16th century. Though Hideyoshi would later introduce feudal Japan’s rigid class structure, he rose from the peasant class to the highest level of nobility. His rags-to-riches story — which apparently culminated in his constructing a tea room of solid gold — made him a much-admired figure in local lore.

Unlike Tokyoites, Osakans are known for being relaxed, good humored and even boisterous in public — perhaps owing to the city’s position as a major port and trading center. As we approached Osaka Bay on the elevated train, we watched skyscrapers and concrete overpasses give way to low houses, narrow alleys and glimpses of the busy container ports.

The seaside area around Osaka Aquarium was bustling on Saturday afternoon with toddlers nibbling ice cream, their grandfathers in tow, and hordes of teenagers in matching outfits hunched over smartphones. In the shadow of a 367-foot-high Ferris wheel, a food court hawked rows of takoyaki, the fried octopus balls for which the city is famous. We ordered a half-dozen and stabbed at the unwieldy snacks with chopsticks, letting the steam escape from their purple, doughy centers.

Housed within an eight-floor cube, the Osaka Aquarium ranks among the best in the world. Its star attraction, a whale shark named Yu-chan, shares the central tank with manta rays, giant spider crabs and a variety of other unusual fishes. As we spiraled our way down from the top floor, we spotted dolphins pushing basketballs with their noses, sea otters torpedoing through the water while vigorously rubbing their faces, and a cluster of floppy-haired Japanese television stars cracking jokes in front of cameras. The final exhibit, a collection of colorful jellyfish, included a specimen whose hues resembled a pot of crème brûlée.

We decided to head to Dotonbori, the city’s neon-lit shopping and entertainment area, for dinner. Lining the banks of the Dotonbori River, the million-watt signs for Asahi beer, Glico candies and video arcades screamed for our attention. Giant, three-dimensional displays resembling dragons, crabs, octopuses, cows and blowfish clumsily waved their mechanical fins and feet above restaurant entrances.

Signs light up the Dotonbori neighborhood. © Allison Voigts

Our guidebook compared the scene to the futuristic nightscape from Blade Runner, and I half expected to see Harrison Ford standing in a trench coat at a noodle stand. We stepped into a cloud of steam and were served deep bowls of ramen sprinkled with ground sesame seeds and pickled ginger as shoppers and club-goers streamed past us on the street.

Moving away from the main road’s department stores and nightclubs, we found ourselves lost in a maze of alleys filled with tiny, polished-wood bars, each only large enough to hold five or 10 standing patrons. We slipped inside one and ordered foamy pints of Sapporo draft. Through the glass door, we could see a group of men in three-piece suits laughing and hugging beneath the luminescent image of a happy whale, its fins pointing to a book-length menu of unfamiliar meat.

After the otherworldly atmosphere of Dotonbori, the streets of Kita, Osaka’s ultra-modern Central Business District, seemed staid in comparison. We felt relieved to be returning to The Ritz-Carlton, whose location at the top of a gleaming, glass-and-steel skyscraper belies the environment of Old World opulence inside. From our 30th-floor perch, we could see the last lights flicker off in neighboring office towers and the neon cityscape shimmering below.

Osaka Info to Go

Kansai International Airport (KIX), which handles the city’s international flights, is located 24 miles southwest of Osaka Station on Osaka Bay. The JR West line and the Nankai Electric Railway offer express train services to downtown Osaka. Osaka Itami Airport (ITM) handles the city’s domestic flights and is connected to Osaka by the Osaka Monorail. In addition, high-speed Shinkansen trains link Osaka to Tokyo ($140, three hours) and Kyoto ($30, 14 minutes).

Where to Stay in Osaka

Hilton Osaka Its extensive meeting facilities and location across from Osaka Station make this hotel popular among business travelers. 1-8-8 Umeda, Kita-ku $$$

The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka Spacious guestrooms and suites combine Old World elegance with stunning views of the city’s Central Business District. 2-5-25 Umeda, Kita-ku $$$$

The St. Regis Osaka Contemporary-style guestrooms boast Japanese design details like Kawashima silk headboards with gingko motifs. 3-6-12 Honmachi, Chuo-ku $$$$

Restaurants in Osaka

La Baie Dark wood paneling creates a warm atmosphere for Michelin-starred French food and a wine list lauded by Wine Spectator. The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka, 2-5-25 Umeda, Kita-ku $$$$

Koryu Chef Shintaro Matsuo’s original take on local seafood earned his intimate, 12-seat restaurant three Michelin stars. 1-5-1 Dojima, Kita-ku $$$$

Mizuno Okonomiyaki, a pancake made of green onions, egg, seafood and more, is fried in front of diners at this Dotonbori lunch counter. 1-4-15 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku $$

Read more about takoyaki here.