Largely hemmed in by Sakura-dōri (桜通り), Ōtsu-dōri (大津通り), Fushimi-dōri (伏見通り) and Tsurumai-dōri (鶴舞通り), it contains the main shopping area of Sakae which includes a massive air-conditioned 5 square-kilometer underground mall and the 'after-five' semi-red light districts of Nishiki and Shin-sakae.

[citation needed] In addition the Sakae shopping area, there is also Ōsu, a sprawling old-style small-trader shopping area spreading out from the large Ōsu Kannon (大須観音), a Buddhist temple that holds flea markets.

The covered streets housing numerous restaurants and stores selling fashion garments, electronics and alternative medicine give a small taste of what Japan might have been like before modernization.

Between Ōsu and Sakae in Shirakawa Park are the city's Science and Modern Art museums.

South of Ōsu is Kanayama Station (straddling the border with Atsuta-ku and Nakagawa-ku), Nagoya's second-most important rail transportation hub after Nagoya Station and a major access point for the Central Japan International Airport.