Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao continued his tour of the Kansai in western Japan on Saturday, before wrapping up his "warm spring" trip to the country.

President Hu flew to Osaka Friday afternoon from Tokyo and met some local officials of the Kansai area, which includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Shiga.

On Saturday morning, Hu arrived in Japan's ancient capital Nara for a tour.

Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, which is now known as Nara. The city boasts a variety of historic treasures, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples.

In Nara, President Hu also visited Horyuji, one of Japan's oldest temples and a world heritage site designated by UNESCO in 1993.

President Hu (C) poses for photos with monks of Toshodaiji Temple, founded by Chinese monk Jianzhen in 759, in Nara, Japan, May 10, 2008.

Before his departure for China in the afternoon, the Chinese president is scheduled to visit Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in Osaka. The company was among the first foreign companies to make investments in China about 30 years ago, when China adopted the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world.

Hu arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for a five-day state visit aiming at pushing forward the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two neighboring Asian nations.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2008)