"Akiba in the east, Pombashi in the west." Comparable to Tokyo's Akihabara and Nagoya's Osu, Nippombashi is Osaka's electric town, stretching 1.6km from the southern end of Nippombashi Bridge along the Sakaisuji. The electric town part, known as Den Den Town rests on the Naniwa-ku side and is bordered ny Nansan Dori. The Chuo-ku side, is more of an entertainment district with the National Bunraku Theatre, "Osaka's Kitchen" Kuromon Ichiba Market, and footwear wholesale stores. Nippombashi is more than just a place to buy electronics and its many faces is what attracts tourists. Since 2005, approximately 700 meters of the strip becomes the venue for Nippombashi Street Festa and its accompanying parade, held on the spring equinox or following Sunday. In 2009, Neon-chan, created by videogame artist Noizi Ito, became the mascot character as part of a project to promote the area.