The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living
Opened in April 2001 as Japan’s first museum specializing in the history and culture of housing. Visitors can learn about homes and everyday life in Osaka from the Edo period through the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras.
This place is awesome! You can really learn about the lifestyle and customs of people in Osaka. I felt it was totally worth visiting.
Expo’70 Commemorative Park
Built on the former site of the Japan World Exposition 1970, this park features abundant natural scenery, including forests and satoyama landscapes. Visitors are welcomed by the Tower of the Sun, created by Taro Okamoto.
It's a huge and peaceful park with lots of different flowers. The blooms inside are really beautiful.
Grand Head Temple of the Washu Sect, Shitennoji Temple
Founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku, known as the “father of Japanese Buddhism.” During the Heian period, people’s reverence for the prince developed into a religious devotion, and the temple continues to attract many worshippers as a sacred site of Prince Shotoku worship. Because the temple was founded by Prince Shotoku, the Washu sect was established here as a new Buddhist sect in 1949 (Showa 24).
It's pretty amazing that such a complete temple has been preserved in a modern and bustling city like Osaka!
Shirakawa-go (Gassho-Zukuri Village)
Shirakawa-go is a picturesque area where Japan’s traditional rural landscape remains intact. It has the largest concentration of gassho-zukuri buildings, with more than 100 structures of various sizes as of 2016. As Japan’s largest gassho-zukuri village, it has been designated a National Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
There are a lot of old houses in Shirakawa-go, and they still keep the traditional lifestyle items from the village. Honestly, most of the houses are pretty similar, so just picking one to check out is enough.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
“Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium” is a popular tourist spot, located in Okinawa’s Kaiyohaku Park. If you take the building’s escalator down from the 4th floor to the 3rd, you’ll find yourself at the entrance to the aquarium. The aquarium is designed as a “deep dive” into the ocean as you go down to the 2nd and 1st floors, so as you descend, a magnificent world filled with mysterious Okinawan ocean creatures unfolds before you!
There are so many kinds of sea creatures here! Watching the whale sharks swim was super impressive. I spent about three or four hours here in total.
Bukkoji Temple
The head temple of the Bukko-ji sect of Shinshu Buddhism. The origin of the temple is the hermitage that Shinran Shonin, known as the founder of Jodo-Shinshu, built in Yamashina in 1212 after he was pardoned from exile in Echigo and returned to Kyoto.
My kid is a huge Detective Conan fan and insisted we visit. The temple itself is pretty small and there weren't many tourists—seems like mostly locals come here to pray.
Toei Kyoto Studio Park
One of Japan’s leading movie theme parks, located in Uzumasa, Kyoto. Famous for its sets used to film period dramas, the park offers an even more immersive experience of old Japan when you dress as a period-drama character and stroll through the grounds.
A lot of scenes from Japanese period dramas are filmed here. When I visited, they happened to be shooting a movie too. It's a theme park all about movies.
Kurodani Konkai-Komyoji Temple
A head temple of the Jodo sect affectionately known as “Kurodani-san.” It is the site where Honen, founder of the Jodo sect, established his first hermitage after leaving Kurodani on Mt. Hiei in 1175, making it the first temple of the Jodo sect. During the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate, Matsudaira Katamori, lord of the Aizu Domain and Kyoto Military Commissioner, established his headquarters here. Because Isami Kondo, Toshizo Hijikata, and others served under his command, the temple is also said to be the birthplace of the Shinsengumi.
This place is perfect to visit in the fall. The classic Japanese garden scenery is really beautiful.
Kurama-dera Temple
The head temple of the Kurama Kokyo sect. Its history is said to have begun in 770, when the monk Gantei, a disciple of Jianzhen of Toshodai-ji Temple in Nara, enshrined Bishamonten. The Main Hall houses Bishamonten, the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva, and Goho Maoson. Instead of guardian lion-dogs, a pair of A-un Tigers protects the principal deity. The principal deity is a hidden Buddhist image displayed once every 60 years, in the Year of the Fire Tiger. The next viewing will be in 2046.
Famous for its tengu legends, this temple is known as the guardian temple of the city's demon gate.
Universal Studios Japan
Popularly known as USJ, Universal Studios Japan is a large theme park offering fun for visitors of all ages. The park is divided into distinctive areas and brings together world-class entertainment, allowing guests to experience a variety of immersive worlds.
I went in the summer and it was seriously hot! You get a lot of sun while waiting in line—I almost got heatstroke!