It’s so cool how in the middle of Osaka City, there’s a quaint shrine that’s ritualistic performance stage is in the shape of a lion’s head!
Located in a more residential area in Osaka City lies Yasaka Namba Shrine. This shrine is only a quick 8 minute walk from the Nankai Namba Train Station. When I stopped by this shrine back in December 2021 (never too late to post about it!!) I completely walked by it, because of how unassuming the entrance is, despite using Google Maps to get there.
This shrine does attract a lot of visitors, but on the day I went it never felt overwhelming. My favorite visitors, among the crowd of people I saw that day, were a woman and her dog. The dog was dressed up in kimono and had a little stage propped up in front of the lion stage and the owner was snapping away, picture after picture, of her companion.
Sadly, I forgot to bring my goshuincho (a book to collect goshuin which are seals from a shrine) when I visited in December. But, I plan to hopefully revisit this shrine again this spring to catch a glimpse of it’s beauty in the sea of cherry blossoms and to finally add Yasaka Namba Shrine to my goshuincho.
Emma's Adventures in Japan 