Here is Part 3 of my Japan blogs. We briefly explored a couple new areas -- one to get a souvenir for a friend and the other to check out a couple temples.
SHINSAIBASHI
DAYS SPENT: 0.5
OVERALL THOUGHTS: We came here mainly to get a souvenir for a friend and spent some time in line to get that souvenir. After checking online, I found out that Shinsaibashi is next to Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi has a large shopping street (Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street) that leads to Dotonbori. We have explored that large shopping street multiple times and didn't realize it was part of Shinsaibashi. ^^;
PLACES VISITED:
America-mura (American Village)
If we had more time, I think I'd like to come back. I'm almost certain we missed some shops. There should be a small Statue of Liberty in America-mura, but we missed seeing it. ^^;
The line we were in to get the souvenir. The shop is called Lilo Coffee Roasters.
DAYS SPENT: 0.5
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Tennoji was our area for visiting temples. There were two temples within walking distance of each other. There was also a zoo and a museum but they were closed (we were the area way too early). If you plan to visit the zoo and the museum, aim to get to the Tennoji area after 9:30 AM and not on a Monday. There was a place I missed exploring so I'll definitely come back to Tennoji again.
PLACES VISITED:
This was a temple with some interesting statues. It was raining so we kept the visit pretty short. The greenery gave a serene atmosphere and the front entrance had an interesting canopy design.
A statue among some greenery.
The front entrance. Those statues look intimidating.
The walk to Shitennoji Temple was about 8-10 minutes from Isshin-ji Temple. As we were walking, we noticed a number of children in school uniforms walking in the same direction. My initial thought was, 'Is there a school trip going on?'. It turns out that there is a school right next to the temple! There was a sign next to the school's entrance expressing that this is a school and to please not take pictures.
A map. It looks pretty huge!
A glimpse of what we would have seen if we had paid the admission.
This souvenir shop has been taken in by the gacha. The first 4 green characters in the sign above reads "omiyage", which loosely translates to souvenirs for friends, colleagues, and family from a destination.
A shot of America-mura.
The inner goth / punk in me wanted to check this shop out (Volcan & Aphrodite), but I was too shy to walk in.
TENNOJI
DAYS SPENT: 0.5
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Tennoji was our area for visiting temples. There were two temples within walking distance of each other. There was also a zoo and a museum but they were closed (we were the area way too early). If you plan to visit the zoo and the museum, aim to get to the Tennoji area after 9:30 AM and not on a Monday. There was a place I missed exploring so I'll definitely come back to Tennoji again.
PLACES VISITED:
Isshin-ji Temple
This was a temple with some interesting statues. It was raining so we kept the visit pretty short. The greenery gave a serene atmosphere and the front entrance had an interesting canopy design.
A back entrance to Isshin-ji Temple.
Shitennoji Temple (outside)
The walk to Shitennoji Temple was about 8-10 minutes from Isshin-ji Temple. As we were walking, we noticed a number of children in school uniforms walking in the same direction. My initial thought was, 'Is there a school trip going on?'. It turns out that there is a school right next to the temple! There was a sign next to the school's entrance expressing that this is a school and to please not take pictures.
When we reached Shitennoji Temple, we realized that we were in a "lobby area" and we had to pay an admission to really enter the temple. There were three different admissions: 300 yen to the inner precinct, 300 yen to the garden, and 500 yen to the treasure house (why was there so many different admissions?). With our schedule being a bit tight that day, we ended up not paying the admission and instead briefly exploring the lobby area before heading towards our next destination (which was the Hikaru no Go exhibit in Den Den Town).
The entrance to Shitennoji temple.
OTHER PHOTOS:
A vibrant mural in Dobutsuen-Mae station.
The entrance to Shinsekai, a place I wanted to check out in the evening.
All the stalls in Shinsekai were closed in the morning.
A long bridge towards the Osaka Museum of Fine Arts.
That's it for Part 3. Thanks for reading! If you are still here despite all the long pauses in between, thank you for sticking around! XD
If you have any questions or comments about any of these places I visited, feel free to say something in the comments box or fill out a contact form!
If you have any questions or comments about any of these places I visited, feel free to say something in the comments box or fill out a contact form!
Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment