★ I am exploring Umeda and Sonezaki in Osaka today! It’s an area I’ve transited through this area countless times, but today we are going to actually get to know this area in more detail! ★
This is Travel like a Local: my travel series based on followed the recommendations and itineraries written in Japanese guide books and magazines.
I want to answer questions such as:
What were the best parts of this route?
What would I change to make this route better for a foreign tourist?
Are the recommendations for domestic tourists really different than the recommendations found in English online?
In this video, I go to Osaka and follow a Japanese itinerary that encompasses: Osaka Ekimae Buildings, Kitashinchi, Tsuyuno Ten Jinja (Ohatsu Tenjin), Tairyuji and Hankyu Higashi Doori Shoutengai.
My maps link for this route: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1w0HqJ8I7ZhCLYkmuL9rq5SYk6OUnlVU&usp=sharing
1. Osaka Ekimae Buildings / 大阪駅前ビル
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EymcR1ViVwUHFFXZ9
2. Dojima Yakushido / 堂島薬師堂
https://maps.app.goo.gl/X8avKyTHaGGQchgH8
(Here’s a link to the info I found about their setsubun event: https://kita-shinchi.org/omizukumi.html)
3. Kitashinchi / 北新地
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qk3yKQnd1715GvRAA
4. Tsuyuno Ten Jinja / 露天神社
https://maps.app.goo.gl/PW9FHKYCxyPmdHgz8
5. Taiyuji / 太融寺
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NngTB6QVDiAxsLax9
6. Hankyu Higashi Doori Shoutengai / 阪急東通商店街
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Pj9c6FwCYiXVgBa7
Chapters:
00:00 – Preview
00:30 – Introduction
02:07 – Underground walkways
05:13 – Osaka Ekimae Buildings
07:10 – Dojima Yakushido
07:53 – Kitashinchi
10:13 – Tsuyuno Ten Jinja
15:30 – Taiyuji
18:00 – Hankyu Higashi Doori Shoutengai
18:31 – Reviewing the route
19:39 – What changes I recommend
20:28 – Japanese guides vs English language guides
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[Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome to travel like a local a travel series diving into the fascinating world of Japanese travel guides in Japan there are so many magazines and books aimed at helping Japanese people explore I grabbed some of the most interesting looking Japanese travel guides all aimed at domestic tourists we’re going to dive right into them and see what hidden gems we can uncover so whether you’re living in Japan a regular visitor or researching for your first trip make sure to hit that subscribe button to join me on New Adventures each video in this video I’m following a route in this Osaka kingle book it’s the same book series as the previous kobit and Kyoto Roots links to those videos will be down in the description and since in both of those cases I started with the first route of the book I’ve decided to do the same with Osaka route one is umeda and sonaki an area that I’ve passed through many many times but never really explored the route is 2 2 hours long 3.3 km and 4,100 steps but after the previous two routes I’m paying very little attention to this as I’m sure it’s going to be wrong the route overview says that this is a good route if you’re new to Osaka and talks mostly about underground shopping areas and restaurants the first stop on the route is Osaka eimai building the second stop is kin the third stop is a shrine called suen ginger next is tyui a Temple finally the route takes us back to Osaka station via hu hiashi where this route will end so let’s get going I like to track my steps and timing using my SmartWatch but on this day I have to admit I totally forgot to look until I’d walked for about 10 minutes and around 1,000 steps so here’s what I saw and we can adjust this down for comparison later we are on our way towards the first stop Osaka ekim my building or I should really say buildings cuz there are four of them it took me some time looking at a lot of maps to figure out where on Earth I was supposed to go I wasn’t really familiar with which path to take but we got there in the end and I have to say this stood out to me from the very beginning as a bit of an odd stop the description says the basement floors have reasonably priced restaurants and shops and highlights that building 3 is a particular hot spot for Udo anyway we’re on our way there and we’re walking through all of these underground passages here is diu getting ready to open at 10:00 you can see there’s already some people waiting outside there’s also hin department store hanu department store all linked up in this area and here’s the first sign that we are indeed on the way to Osaka ikim my buildings so I felt really at that point I was going the right way and then I suddenly realized that this was a path I used to walk very often to do some training for my work this path links up the two train lines that I needed to use so I know this way well and although I know it well here is a statue I had never paid any attention to before whatsoever and here are some maps to highlight where the Osaka akimi buildings are since that’s what’s specifically detailed but I do think the purpose of this route is perhaps to take you through the underground areas you can look at the shops unfortunately for me I arrived slightly early so you can see here the shutters are coming up which means it’s 10:00 and so my walk was significantly less interesting than it would have been had I started a little bit later so that’s one tip if you were interested in exploring this area go after 10 [Music] and then this cute opening area with all the flower arrangements that was really pretty to look at I love the way the lighting is streaming through the ceiling to highlight the beautiful flowers I’m not sure why they were there but I appreciated them all the same [Music] [Music] and finally heading towards kashin Jr station at the end here you can see the entrances to two of the Osaka akimi buildings building one and then opposite is building two so these are the areas specifically that are mentioned in the description again I was a bit early so it wasn’t really worth going and having a look but I can’t really comment as to whether that’s a good stop or not but I do think it’s worth taking a look around those shopping areas if that’s something you’re interested [Music] in finally this is when I remember to look at my watch for reference and we’ll make our way over towards stop number two k Shi [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] back in February I was actually researching and looking out for some cool events for San and there was one event specifically at that time that was based in kitashi and it’s this really cool futuristic style Temple it’s called dojima yakush and although it isn’t a stop on this tour this route I would 100% recommend it it’s so interesting compared with some of the older architectural styles that we’ll see later and you might see in other places on your trips this is a really unique setting I’ll link to this place in the description below even though it’s not officially on the route and I’ll also try and share some information about the festival I was referring to as it looked really [Music] interesting now we’re continuing on to Kini the main street here the description in the guide book says that there are many luxury stores and that if you go in the daytime you’ll find reasonably priced lunch options and of course it’s more famous I think for being like a nlife spot it’s got all of these neon signs in the description in the book I’m not really sure what they’re talking about when they say luxury shops that’s the translation that came back through Google it may actually mean more luxurious like drinking places or bars because I didn’t really see any like designer brands or luxury stores in that sense on the street however there are lots of these signboards that teach you and talk about the history of the puppet shows in the shrine that we’re going to visit next it seems like the puppet shows had a lot of love suicide stories I think Romeo and Juliet that kind of Star Cross lovers where the lovers end up dying in some tragic circumstance that kind of of story was extremely popular in those puppet shows to the point where the local governments tried to ban them unsuccessfully according to the signboards but yeah it apparently it was a big problem and the temple next was one of the birthplaces of that kind of puppet show in fact the nickname of the shrine we’re going to is ohui which is based on the first name of one of the main characters in said love suicide stories [Music] [Music] [Music] so here is the rather inconspicuous entrance to the shrine from up on this bridge we’ll make our way down and have a look inside after a very quick lemon sparkling water break of course so from here we can enter and you can see immediately the the atmosphere kind of changes although you can see the tall buildings in the background it’s still quite a peaceful Shrine [Music] environment and at this time it was hranger season so there are some beautiful colored hydranges at the side here and moving over to this window over here you can see a selection of the Trinkets and amulets that are sold here because of the history with the love suicide puppet shows this is a shrine for couples and marriage and you can also see that they have some amulets depending on the month like each month you can come and get a different flower or you can come and get your Chinese Zodiac year and I thought that was pretty cool I did like that and then down here as well it’s a shrine for marriage and relationships and love but also Beauty so if you buy this enna you can draw the face in and pray for beauty I’m not quite sure what all of this was but it was nice to see on display and some artwork here I feel like since Co or since the last few years these kind of flower arrangements in the water where you cleanse your hands before you enter the shrine are getting increasingly popular and I’m here for it I like it it’s really cute [Music] in [Music] there’s also a display here of some of the temple stamps you can get and here are the aforementioned tiles where you can draw your own face in and I think some of them are so good and some of them are just so funny too [Music] time for another little break before making our way over to the next stop [Music] so we are exiting and making our way through this shorten Guai to the next Temple and you can see if you look at the top there’s all of these images from one of those suicide love stories [Music] [Music] and here is the end of where we will end up later so then the next part of the route is essentially like a little Loop Round to include the temple I got a little lost somewhere in the middle here so there are some skipped parts where I was figuring out where I was but in the end we made it to the right place and we make our way up the street towards the temple [Music] and there it is you can see it over there on the other side of the road the temple I very nearly missed it and walked straight past but I didn’t luckily I went back and I found it so let’s head on inside [Music] so again quite similarly to the shrine I was quite impressed by how much the atmosphere really changes as soon as you enter you can still feel you’re in the middle of the city you can still see all the tall buildings but there is a calm space where you can enjoy and I really appreciated that and here’s a big map of the temple it’s said in the guide that this Temple was founded by Kishi and he’s a very famous Buddhist monk probably best known for his temples and pilgrimage route that is in shikoku or his resting place on top of Mount Kya in wakayama but apparently he also founded this Temple [Music] [Music] [Music] I [Music] [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] and then we exit the temple and make our way over to our final stop our final route which is this hu hiashi shenai area it’s just a covered shopping arcade lots of restaurants lots of drinking establishments it’s a nice place to walk through and then before you know it you arrive back at Osaka station and that is kind of the end of the route for for the day by the end of this route it was 1240 and I had done 8,581 steps that means it took me around 2 hours 45 minutes and around 7,000 steps alog together I’m also estimating that I walked around 5 and 1/2 km I did take a couple of breaks here and there and walk a little further for filming purposes but even taking those things into account the numbers from the rout details were way off it’s so routinely off that I’m not sure it’s worth talking about anymore on this short route I was able to get to know this area a little better as well as learn more about the history of the Baku puppet shows thanks to the guide but also thanks to the interesting signboards in kitashinchi for me the best stops on this route were the religious places they were interesting if not only for their ju deposition of the atmosphere compared with the areas that they’re in as well as my own added stop do Jim yakushi which is a super unique Temple architecturally the shopping arcades and underground shopping areas are kind of cool but I think it’s mostly restaurants and bars so perhaps it’s more fun to browse in the evening as a tweak to this route for foreign visitors I would suggest walking through one of the department stores basement levels then continue the route out at street level to kitashinchi these basement floors are called depaa and they’re full of food sweet food Savory food ingredients for cooking drinks all of it and I just think they’re fascinating we certainly don’t have anything quite like that in the UK and I know that when my mom visited recently that was something that she really enjoyed too another interesting thing to note that is not highlighted in the guide is that the hu hiid guide is just south of Doyama a district with many gay friendly bars and clubs many of these are also very Foreigner friendly so if you’re interested you can Google which one you want to add to your nighttime itinery comparing the recommend s to things commonly recommended for foreign tourists is difficult due to the time limit and condensed area of this route without taking into account other attractions that require traveling further into other parts of Osaka this seems to be a fairly good route for this area if a little boring for those with a limited time to enjoy and see Osaka most language websites do mention either umida K or Northern District all referring to the same area and they mention that it is a daytime and business Hub which I’d say is accurate I would say if you happen to be in this area with some time to kill some of these stops may just be what you need to entertain yourself for a while while you wait for your train or your hotel check-in or something like that none of this route is necessarily worth traveling to Osaka specifically for but I do hope that this route and this video have given you a better understanding of umeda as more than just a transport Hub and maybe you can enjoy a stop or two as needed in the future that [Music]