Kansai

From Wikinfo

The Kansai region (関西) of Japan, also known as the Kinki region (近畿地方; Kinki-chihō), lies in the middle of Japan's main island, Honshu.

The Ki (畿) in Kinki is Japanese for miyako meaning city or metropolis. It stems from the fact that up until the Edo era Japan's capital was located in this region.

The Kansai region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Shiga. The Kansai region is often compared (yet more often contrasted) with the Kanto region, which lies to the east and is comprised primarily of Tokyo and the surrounding area.

Whereas the Kanto region is symbolic of standardization throughout Japan (from the government to economics to the language), the Kansai region displays many more idiosyncracies through the culture in Kyoto, the merchantilism of Osaka, the history of Nara, the internationality of Kobe, and the distinct dialect (Kansai-ben) heard through the seven prefectures.

The region has three airports:

Kansai International Airport, near Osaka, which handles little domestic traffic and all of the international traffic
Osaka International Airport, in Itami and Toyonaka, handles most of the domestic traffic
Kobe Airport, near Kobe, an airport under construction, which will handle domestic traffic

Dialect

The way the people of the Kansai region of Japan speak. It could be compared to the Boston Accent of the United States. They have their own pronunciation, and own strange slang terms that are different, and almost unintelligable from the way other japanese is spoken.

Some japanese say that they speak in a very stern, and direct tone, and that it sounds menacing, and almost angry. They also have a few of their own strange words, such as the famous... Okinee: Thanks, Arigato, Domo

This dialect is especially strong in cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Otsu.