OSAKA GU DE

2015
1 OSAKA GU DE
ASIAN GATEWAY OSAKA
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Monthly Event
Calendar of Osaka
The Spots To See The First Sunrise Of The New Year.
Jan.1
（Thu）
Jan.1（Thu）
Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden
New Year Sunrise
at Mt. Kongo
See the year's first rays of
golden sun pouring through the
hills at Mt. Kongo, a natural
area of astounding beauty a
short drive from Osaka. A
lottery will be held for passengers with the day's ropeway
t i c k e t , in f r o n t o f t h e L o g
House Rest House in Chihaya Park from 5:30am. To warm up on this cold
new year's morning, sake will be given out to the first 200 people, and
sweet zenzai soup to the first 1,000 people.
P Mt. Kongo Ropeway T Time: 5:00 - 17:00 Estimated time of sunrise:
7:00 ∼ 7:05 ￥Ropeway roundtrip fare / Adult :1,340yen child :670 yen
View the first sunrise of
the year from the
U m e d a S k y B u il d i n g
Floating Garden Observatory. From the openair 360-degree observatory, you can view the
sun rising over the
Ikoma mountains while
173m above ground. Do
not miss seeing the skyscrapers gradually turning rosy-tinted orange.
P Floating Garden Observatory (Umeda Sky Building) T 5:00-21:30
Estimated time of sunrise: 7:00 ∼ 7:05 ￥Admission free (Admission
charged for Floating Garden)
Traditional New year’
s Events
Jan.1
（Thu）
Jan.7
（Wed）
Hatsumode at
Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine
Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the most visited
shrines for hatsumode (first visit to a shrine
on New Year) in the country. More than 2
million visitors fill this temple over the first
few days of the new year. you can experience a festive atmosphere with food stands and many people lining up for a
prayer at the main hall, purchasing lucky charms for a fortunate new year and
disposing their lucky charms of the past year.
P Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine T Dec.31(Wed) 22:00 - Jan. 1(Thu) 22:00、Jan.2
(Fri), 3(Sat) 6:00 ‒ 21:00 ￥Free
Jan.3
（Sat）- Jan.7（Wed）
※Closed
on Jan.6
Hatsumode at Osaka
Museum of Housing & Living
Come and join Japanese traditional games in a
town modelled on the olden days. Refreshments (a
warm drink made with rice called amazake) will be
served to the first 200 visitors on Jan 3.
P Osaka Museum of Housing & Living T 10:00 ‒
17:00(Entry permitted until 4:30 p.m.) ￥Adult :
White Horse
Shinto ritual
A ritual held at Sumiyoshitaisha
whereby a sacred horse, Shirayuki, runs around the shrine
ground after worshipping at
each main shrine. This animal is
a rare white horse, a purebred
Dosanko horse with red eyes. It is said you can rid yourself of evil
spirits if you see a white horse at the beginning of the year.
P Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine T Start at 11:00am ￥Free
Jan.2
（Fri）‒Jan.3（Sat） 1000 times rice cake pounding
Young men with upright pestles pound rice cake
to expel evil spirits in time to the music. The
freshly pounded rice cake is given out as evil
expelling rice cake to the worshippers.
P Mizuma-dera Temple ￥Free
T Rice cake pounding: 10:00-15:00, rice cake
distribution: 14:00
600yen University / high schol student : 300yen
Jan. 14（Wed）
Doyadoya
A ritual held on Jan 14, the wish summation (last)
day of Shushoe (a Buddhist ritual to pray for good
luck in the year). A solemn ritual is conducted in
Shitennoji's temple hall, while young men clad only
in loincloths and headbands struggle for banknotes
in front of the hall. As they struggle, they shout
"doya-doya," and water is poured on them.
P Shitennoji Temple T 14:30 ￥Free
Jan.3（Sat）
Shimenawa-age Ritual
The Danjiri in
charge of carrying portable
shrines on this
year's summer
festival- it
brings Shimenawa(Shinto
straw festoon)
for hung on
main Torii gate
f o r ne w y e ar .
Every year, many worshippers visit to
seeing this ritual has been held over 300
years.
P Mizumadera Temple T 10:00 - 11：00
￥ Free
Key to symbols P=Place T=Time ￥=Fee ☎=Inquiries
Jan.9
（Fri）‒ Jan.11
（Sun）
Ten-day Ebisu
A ritual is held at Imamiya Ebisu Shrine for
two days to pray for prosperity in the New
Year. The Purple Lantern Homa Rite is held
on the 10th, marking the peak of the festival. An exciting ceremony where people walk
over burning charcoal to pray for good
health, is open to worshippers of every age.
P Imamiya Ebisu Shrine ￥Free
Monthly Event Calendar of Osaka
Jan.10
（Sat）
Hoekago Parade at the Toka Ebisu Festival at
Imamiya Ebisu Shrine
Toka Ebisu is a traditional event that
originated with geisha in Nanchi
district who prayed to the Ebisu god
known as Ebessan for business success on behalf of their patrons in
Semba district. Today, people doing
business in Minami district, famous
entertainers, fuku-musume (lucky
maidens) and geisha in colorful palanquins parade through the streets to
Imamiya Ebisu Shrine. [Parade Route]
Departure Ceremony (around 09:40 at Tombori River Walk) -- Former Nanchi
Yamatoya -- WINS Dotombori -- Kadoza -- Nakaza Cui-daoré Bldg. -- Ebisubashi Hashizume -- Former Sennichimae Kokusai Gekijo -- Yoshimoto Kaikan
-- Former Japan Tobacco Inc. -- DIVE Bldg. -- Hirota Shrine -- Imamiya Ebisu
Shrine (arrive around 12:10) ￥Free
Jan.9
（Fri）‒ Jan.11（Sun）
Ibaraki Ten-day
Ebisu
At the main festival on the 10th, a
Good Luck Maiden on a Hoekago
palanquin is paraded around the
town. A Good Luck rice cak e is
offered for free on
the premises.
P Ib a r a k i Jin j y a
Shrine
￥Free
Jan.9
（Fir）
, Jan.10
Sat）（Sun）
Nov.8
（Sat）
,2014-（Feb.15
,2015
Ichi Ebisu Daikoku Festival "Ebessan"
Located in the south of
the precincts of Sumiyoshi
Grand Shrine, Ebisu
Daikoku-sha Shrine (also
known as Ebessan in
Sumiyoshi) is dedicated to
Ebisu, the guardian deity
of markets. The festival
will feature an uoichi or
fish market, fuku-nomochimaki (lucky rice cake
tossing), and an event in which kito-boku (wooden sticks on which
wishes are written) are burned. The shrine will be bustling with people
coming to buy fukusasa, or sacred bamboo branches decorated with
lucky charms, and kiccho, or lucky charms.
P Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine T 10:00 ‒ 18:00 Festival starts at 11:00
￥Free
Jan.3（Fri）- Jan.5（Mon）Jan.9
（Fri）
- Jan.12
（Mon）
OFUNE-CAMOME New Year
Cruise
OFUNE-CAMOME is a sightseeing boat like small house only
10 or less people can get onto.
It is designed and cruise courses for your cozy time in
OSAKA waterways.
Around new year's holiday time, OFUNE-CAMOME offers you
special cruise that you can enjoy the waterways in Kotatsu
on the boat to keep you warm! Also, Oshiruko( adzuki‐bean
soup with rice cake) will be served.
P Hachikenya-hama piar or Minatomachi piar T 13：20 ／
14：20 ／ 15：20 ／ 16：20 ※50min ￥Adult：2,500yen
Elementary school student：1,500（Includes tea and Oshiruko）
Notable Events
Jan.25
（Sun）
2015 Osaka
Half Marathon
Marathon enthusiasts join in and run
along Naniwa way. Start simultaneously with the runners for the Osaka
Women's International Marathon.
P Nagai Stadium, T Start at 12:10
￥ No charge for spectators viewing
along the route
Jan.25（Sun）
Osaka International
Women's Marathon
At the Osaka International Women's
Marathon, over 500 of the top Japanese and international runners race
over 42 kilometres to reach the finish
line at Nagai Stadium.
P Nagai Stadium, T Start at 12:10 ￥ No charge for spectators viewing
along the route
Dec.13
（Sat）- Feb.15（Sun）
Chocolate : The Exhibition
In 2012, this exhibition
was held in Tokyo and had
310000 visitors. Now it is
held in Osaka! Chocolate
is the one of most attractive sweets, but do we
really know about it? This
exhibition is the complete
story behind chocolate,
f r om the seeds o f the
cacao tree to the spicy
drink used in Mayan
religious ceremonies to
the sweet treat we love today.
P Knowledge Capital , Grand Front Osaka (North Building) T 10:00 - 19:00
(close at 20:00 on Friday and Saturday) (Entry permitted until 30mins before
close.) ￥ Adult / University student: 1,300yen Junior / Junior high school
student: 800yen Elementary student : 500yen
Dec. 27
（Sat）2014 - Jan.4 2015
（Sun）Jan.10
（Sat）
- Jan.12
（Mon）
Penguin Parade at Osaka Aquarium
A winter feature at
Osaka Aquarium
K ai y uk an is t h e
parading King Penguins. Watch as
some bir ds concentrate on walking, while others
just stop and look
around absentmin d e dl y . E n j o y
their adorable
appearance and
g r e a t in di v i du al
personalities.
P In front of
Kaiyukan Event Square T 13:45 ∼ /15:45 ∼（10mins）
￥ Free