Day 1Temples, market and neon
Begin with the route «From Shitennoji to Shinsekai», the most old-school Osaka, and have takoyaki for lunch in Tamade. In the afternoon head to Minami: graze at Kuromon Market, then walk along Shinsaibashi-suji almost to Dōtonbori. When the sun goes down, take the mysteries route, from Imamiya Ebisu to Ebisu Bridge, which drops you right in the neon zone for okonomiyaki. It is an intense day, so save your energy.
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Morning
From Shitennoji to Shinsekai: Ancient Temples and Old-School Osaka
- Shitennoji TempleOne of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples, founded in 593 according to the chronicles and rebuilt time and again.
- Stone Torii and the Gate of ParadiseA torii from 1294 which, according to its inscription, marks the eastern gate of Buddha's Paradise.
- Isshinji TempleThe temple that, since 1887, has made Buddha statues from the ashes of hundreds of thousands of people.
- Chausuyama HillA small mound that served as Ieyasu's headquarters in 1614 and Sanada Yukimura's in 1615.
- Tsutenkaku TowerThe tower that "reaches to heaven", symbol of the Shinsekai district, rebuilt in 1956.
- Jan Jan Yokocho AlleyA covered alley from 1921 named after the shamisen, with games of shogi and the smell of kushikatsu.
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Lunch
Try Takoyaki at Aizuya (sede central). Tamade-nishi 2-3-1, Nishinari, Osaka
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Afternoon
Kuromon Market
Kuromon is Osaka's pantry: a covered arcade of stalls selling seafood, fruit and skewers that you eat standing up. Come hungry and in no hurry, graze rather than sit down, then walk to Dōtonbori in a few minutes.
DirectionsShinsaibashi-suji
This is Minami's great covered shopping street, a pedestrian strip of about 600 metres that almost ends at Dōtonbori. It shows you how Osaka shops, gives you shelter if it rains, and links on foot with the mysteries route.
Directions -
Early evening
Deaf Gods, Giant Lions and a Curse: Osaka's Mysteries
- Imamiya Ebisu ShrineThe shrine of the merchants' god, who, so custom says, must be knocked on the back because he is hard of hearing.
- Namba Yasaka ShrineA twelve-meter lion's head that, people believe, swallows bad luck.
- Hozenji Temple and Mizukake FudoA moss-covered statue that everyone splashes with water, beside the old Sennichimae graveyard.
- Ebisu Bridge and the Curse of the ColonelDotonbori's busiest bridge, where a KFC statue ended up in the canal and a curse was born.
- Mitsutera TempleAn 1808 temple tucked under a hotel, a sacred camphor tree and the saddest tanuki in rakugo.
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Dinner
Try Okonomiyaki at Okonomiyaki Mizuno. Dōtonbori 1-4-15, Chūō, Osaka