title: Nishinari-ku, Osaka
text: # Nishinari-ku, Osaka
  
  Nishinari-ku (西成区) is one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It contains some shopping and entertainment areas, such as Tamade. It lies directly south of the Namba transport hub and extends further south toward Sumiyoshi Park. It is served by the Nankai Railway lines as well as the Yotsubashi and Sakaisuji subway lines. Nishinari-ku is also home to a number of shitamachi ("lower-town") shopping streets, increasingly a rarity in fast-developing urban Japan. Kamagasaki in Nishinari-ku is home to many day-laborers and most of the homeless people in Osaka.
  
  ## Crime and safety
  
  Nishinari has a historical reputation for being "sketchy and dangerous", but it is currently undergoing gentrification.
  
  Two designated yakuza groups, the Sakaume-gumi and the Azuma-gumi, are based in Nishinari.
  
  ## Transport
  
  ### West Japan Railway Company
  
  * Osaka Loop Line: Shin-Imamiya Station
  
  ### Osaka Metro
  
  * Midōsuji Line: Dobutsuen-mae Station
  * Sakaisuji Line: Dobutsuen-mae Station, Tengachaya Station
  * Yotsubashi Line: Hanazonocho Station, Kishinosato Station, Tamade Station
  
  ### Nankai Railway
  
  * Nankai Main Line: Shin-Imamiya Station, Tengachaya Station, Kishinosatotamade Station
  * Kōya Line: Shin-Imamiya Station, Haginochaya Station, Tengachaya Station, Kishinosatotamade Station
  * Shiomibashi Line: Kizugawa Station, Tsumori Station, Nishi-Tengachaya Station, Kishinosatotamade Station
  
  ### Hankai Railway
  
  * Hankai Line: Minamikasumicho Station, Imaike Station, Imafune Station, Matsudacho Station, Kitatengachaya Station, Shotenzaka Station, Tenjinnomori Station, Higashitamade Station, Tsukanishi Station
  
  ## Education
  
  Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Osaka City Board of Education. The public high schools are operated by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education.
  
  ## Notable people
  
  * Yoshie Kashiwabara, singer
  * Yashiki Takajin, singer and television personality
  * Kiichi Kunimoto, mixed martial artist
  