The view of Osaka from the Harukas 300 observation desk
The journey for me started the day before the U.S. Memorial Day holiday, as I flew from Beijing Capital International Airport 北京首都国际机场 on an Air China flight to Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港, landing at the not at all unreasonable hour of 15:30, and subsequently checking into my accommodations (the Hotel Trusty Osaka Abeno ホテルトラスティ大阪阿倍野, close to Tennōji Station 天王寺駅) well before dinner time. In the days prior to my departure stories had been circulating on social media of foreigners canceling their visits to Japan because of a devastating earthquake prediction made in an obscure graphic novel twenty-six years ago, but unfortunately all I could see during my short stay in Ōsaka 大阪 were the continuing signs of the record-breaking numbers to tourists traveling Japan's golden route. To which I have to reluctantly admit is a problem I was now a part of.
For my first meal in-country I treated myself to some Naniwa pork tonkatsu なにわポークロースとんかつ at a restaurant in the nearby Abeno Q's MALL あべのキューズモール:
And then after dinner I did something that I hadn't done in more than twenty-five years - have a beer at a
HUB. Years ago the HUB chain was the cheap pub of choice for legions of yen-pinching Eikaiwa 英会話 teachers like myself looking to meet up with friends (usually fellow
gaijin 外人) while eyeing the young women also out enjoying an evening refreshment. Either times have changed or HUB has revamped its image, because at the Abeno branch at least there were few obvious English teachers in attendance:
After dinner and the digestif I went for a short walk in the area around the hotel. From one of the pedestrian overpasses I spied the
Tsūten-kaku 通天閣 off in the distance, which I'd visited back before the dawn of civilization, otherwise known as the winter of 1991-2. Going for a walk in the neighborhood around the tower, Shin-Sekai 新世界, was (and remains) the only time I've ever felt uncomfortable in Japan. At that time the streets around Shin-Sekai were still areas of flophouses and seedy businesses catering to a floating population of day laborers. While I wasn't overtly threatened, the looks I was being given by the rough-looking men drinking cheap sake 日本酒 on the street corners made it clear I wasn't welcome. Since then it's apparently become a
"must-visit" area, which is all the more the pity:
This particular Japanese journey began in earnest the following day, with a train trip from Tennoji Station to Asuka 飛鳥, a semi-rural village in Nara Prefecture 奈良県 that was once
a cultural and political center of the emerging Yamato 大和 polity. Asuka is home to some of Japan's best-preserved
kofun 古墳, tombs built for emperors and high-ranking nobles between the 3rd and 7th centuries. Asuka is also the site of the country's first Buddhist temple. The best way to take in these sights is on a bicycle, so I rented a bike for the day from a shop outside the train station:
My first stop was at the
Takamatsuzuka Mural Hall 高松塚壁画館, where visitors can see reproductions of the frescoes that were found on the walls of the nearby tomb when it was excavated in the 1970's:
Replicas of goods found in the tomb, such as this mirror, are also on display:
The actual
Takamatsuzuka-kofun 高松塚古墳 is a short walk from the mural hall. The images that had been found within bear many similarities to murals discovered in ancient Chinese and Korean burial mounds, suggesting close connections at that time between the Japanese and the Asian mainland. The occupant of the burial tomb remains unknown:
The view from the area around the kofun and the mural museum:
Moving on from the
kofun it was time to seek out a lunch locale, eventually settling on Yumeichi-chaya 夢市茶屋, a
shokudō 食堂 where I ordered the black rice curry:
From the restaurant it was a short walk to the
Ishibutai-kofun 石舞台古墳, Japan's largest stone burial chamber and one of the few visitors can step inside. The tomb was looted long ago and it isn't clear who the occupant was, though according to my guidebook a likely candidate is
Soga no Umako 蘇我馬子, a member of the then-powerful Soga clan who died in 626:
A concrete replica of a sarcophagus:
Taking time to enjoy a local craft beer, one of the modern-day pleasures of traveling in Japan:
After the beer I walked away from the Ishibutai-kofun, following signs leading uphill to a lookout point:
This was the idyllically rural view from the East observatory 東展望台:
It was very relaxing cycling among the rice paddies:
Herons are a common sight in farming villages:
My last destination on the cycling tour was the aforementioned
Asuka-dera 飛鳥寺. Founded in 596, it's considered the first Buddhist temple in Japan:
While the original temple was long ago damaged and lost to fire, with rebuilding taking place in 1632 and 1826, the Asuka Daibutsu 飛鳥大仏, Japan's oldest existing Buddhist statue, has remained in place since 609:
The 15-tonne/16.5 ton, seated bronze image of the historic Buddha is flanked by
Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来...:
After returning the bike but before heading back to Osaka, I relaxed at the
Matsuyama Cafe with a slice of carrot cake and an ice chocolate latte:
Watching the trains on the Kintetsu Line 近鉄線 go by:
Feeling a little tired after a day of cycling and sightseeing I splurged a bit for the limited express to take me back to Osaka:
Back at the hotel (pictured below), and the plan for the evening was to see the view from the Harukas 300 observation deck. However, it was still light outside and I was getting hungry, so first things first:
Dinner was an omu-rice オムライス with beef tongue set meal at the charmingly retro-looking Grill Maruyoshi グリルマルヨシ:
And then I was ready to take in the scenery from the
Harukas 300 observation deck, with 360-degree views of the surrounding region from the high glass windows:
And I had timed the visit just right, as dusk segued into night:
I'd long wanted to visit Asuka, and the historical sights and furusato ふるさと landscapes were a winning combination that lived up to expectations. The next day the heart of the journey would begin as I left Osaka to travel to Shikoku 四国, the smallest of Japan's four major islands and the one region of the country I had yet to explore in depth. That would soon change.
Stay tuned...
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