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Blog Osaka
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Minoh Otaki Waterfall
With a drop of 33 metres, Minoh Otaki Waterfall is a popular spot for viewing autumn foliage. Located about a 40-minute walk from Minoh Station on the Hankyu Line, the gentle gradient makes it a safe and accessible destination even for families with children. This region is home to the Arima–Takatsuki Fault Zone, an active fault line which, whilst recording an earthquake of seismic intensity 6-lower in June 2018, has also created a unique natural landscape featuring steep cliffs known as ‘fault escarpments’ and deep gorges. Late November is generally considered the peak season for autumn foliage, attracting nearly one…
- Osaka
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Minoh Park
Guiding visitors around Osaka is surprisingly tricky. Whilst it’s a great place for those who want to enjoy shopping and sampling street food, the options are somewhat limited when it comes to sightseeing. Minoh is proving more popular with visitors than traditional tourist attractions such as Umeda, Shinsekai, Osaka Castle or Dotonbori. Located just 30 minutes or so from the centre of Osaka and offering the chance to stroll through a forest, this park is attracting an increasing number of foreign tourists. At this time of year, the green autumn foliage is beautiful, and many cicadas are chirping busily. For…
- Osaka
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Abeno Harukas Art Museum
Abeno Harukas, standing at 300 metres tall, is Japan’s second-tallest skyscraper. The art museum is located on the 16th floor. However, it does not have a permanent collection and hosts only temporary exhibitions. The exhibition currently running until 9 September is ‘Van Gogh’s Drawbridge and the Impressionist Painters’. Visitors can view 70 works from the collection of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne, Germany. Whilst the highlight is Van Gogh’s ‘The Drawbridge’, the exhibition is well-rounded, featuring works by Renoir, Gauguin and Cézanne. Photography is permitted with a few exceptions, but the beautiful blues in the works cannot be captured in…
- Osaka
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Sannō Art Museum
Although Osaka has the lowest number of art museums per capita—partly due to its role as a centre of commerce and industry—there are still several museums well worth a visit. One of these is the Sannō Art Museum. It exhibits the art collection of Masao Kinoshita, founder of Acom and Hotel Monterey, with the exhibits changing every few months. The Renoir exhibition runs until the end of this month. This collection is never loaned out to other museums, and 12 works, including *Bather by the Fountain*, are being exhibited to the public for the first time. Personally, the work that…
- Osaka
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Green Bear’s New Outfit
The intense heat is set to continue until the end of this weekend, and it is said that, for the first time this year in Osaka, there will be a day when the temperature does not drop below 30 degrees even at night. The Green Bear at Umeda Kita Plaza. Its official name is TED HYBER, and since its installation at an event in April 2018, it has become a beloved symbol of Umeda. It was created by the French visual artist Fabrice Hyber. ‘Ted Hyber’ is a portmanteau combining ‘Teddy Bear’ with his surname, ‘Hyber’. For the artist, whose…
- Osaka
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Scorching Heat
As Kyoto is situated in a basin, summers are sweltering and winters are bitterly cold. Today, the temperature reached 37 degrees, with humidity at over 80 per cent. It’s not just sweltering—it’s almost suffocating. We had originally planned to preserve the traditional machiya section of our guesthouse, but given this current heatwave, it was definitely the right decision to carry out a full renovation. The Yamahoko Parade took place amidst this intense heat. I hear as many as 25 people were taken to hospital by ambulance with heatstroke. I worked in Osaka as guide, and it was just as sweltering…
- Osaka
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Espace Louis Vuitton Osaka
The works of Yayoi Kusama, who enjoys immense popularity in Europe. Currently, her pieces spanning from her early years to recent times are on free display at the exhibition space “Espace Louis Vuitton Osaka” within the Louis Vuitton Maison Osaka Midosuji. Particularly striking is her 1965 work “Infinity Mirror Room-Phalli's Fiel”. Though viewing is limited to approximately one minute per group, visitors can sense her inspiration centred on infinity and eternity. The exhibition is scheduled to run until 12 January next year.
- Osaka
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Osaka Expo surprisingly well received
The Osaka Expo has been criticised in the Japanese press since its opening. There was a succession of reports that the newly constructed Yumesima Station was overcrowded, that there was no escape route when it rained, and that the toilets were overwhelmingly inadequate and difficult to find. Safety is a concern, especially as methane gas above standard levels has been detected. Construction of pavilions has also been delayed, and the interiors of four pavilions in India, Nepal, Vietnam and Brunei have not yet been finished. Despite the numerous problems, the feedback from overseas visitors seems to be generally positive from what I…
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