"Water City Osaka Waterside Walking Guide" Waterside Walking Guide by Area 1 "Okawa/Neyagawa Area"

[Waterside Walking Guide by Area]

Be soothed by the majestic river and abundant nature
Okawa/Neyagawa area

The Okawa River flows from the Yodo River through the Kema Locks into the center of Osaka City, and is the gateway to the city of water. It is also connected to Osaka Castle, and people have long enjoyed the four seasons on the water, from cherry blossom viewing in the spring, to enjoying the cool evening air and boat parades during the Tenjin Festival in the summer, to moon viewing in the fall.

Kema Lock

The Kema Lock was built where the Okawa River (old Yodogawa River) branches off from the Yodogawa River. The current Okawa River used to be the main stream of the downstream Yodogawa River. The Okawa River meandered greatly around Kema before flowing into Osaka City and into Osaka Bay, causing frequent flooding. In response to a major flood in 18, plans were made to excavate the downstream Yodogawa River so that it would discharge water in a straight line into Osaka Bay. The Yodogawa River Improvement Project was completed in 1885, and the current Yodogawa River became the main stream. In response to this, the Kema Lock (First Lock) was built in 42 to adjust the difference in water levels between the main stream Yodogawa River and the Okawa River so that they could be navigated, and the Second Lock was added in 1909.

Kema First Lock (Important Cultural Property)

After that, when the current No. 49 Lock was built in 1974, the No. XNUMX Lock was developed as a park facility on land and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. It is a unique and popular spot where you can walk through the riverbed where ships once passed through the lock. The No. XNUMX Lock is used as a boat dock for anchoring and mooring small boats.

Kema Lock (Okawa side)

Column: Haiku poet Yosa Buson and "Genpachi Watashi"

Genpachi Bridge was built on the Okawa River downstream from the Kema Lock in 11. Until then, a ferry boat ran between Tenma Genpachi-cho on the right bank of the Okawa River and Nakano-mura on the left bank in this area, and it was called "Genpachi Ferry."
　Yosa Buson (1716-1783), a haiku poet born in Kemamura village in the mid-Edo period, left behind a poem about this area. "Crossing the Genpachi River, I see the plum trees growing there," he wrote as he looked from the ferry landing in Genpachicho at the famous plum grove in Nakanomura village on the opposite bank. "One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Genpachi Ferry Gate" is a painting looking in the opposite direction, from Nakanomura towards Genpachicho, depicting the cherry blossoms on the right bank of the Okawa River. In season, both banks of the river are filled with plum, cherry and rape blossoms, and pleasure boats pass back and forth for visitors to enjoy flower viewing and boating.

(Takashima)

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Genpachi Ferry" by Utagawa Kunimoto, late Edo period (Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive)

Osaka Fureai Waterfront

This artificial sandy beach was developed by utilizing the former lumberyard in Kema Sakuranomiya Park on the left bank of the Okawa River, and is approximately 140m wide and 30m deep. It is rare to find a space in the city where you can directly come into contact with a river and experience the charms of the waterside, and you can enjoy the waterside with canoes and paddle boards, nature observation on the sandy beach, beach sports, and more.

Osaka Fureai Waterfront

Sakuranomiya, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot

The Sakuranomiya area is famous for its scenic beauty, and as the name suggests, it has been bustling with people enjoying the waterside in every season: cherry blossoms in spring, cool boat rides in summer, and the moon in autumn. The cherry blossoms are especially famous in spring, when the area is in full bloom, and the rows of cherry trees drooping over the water on both sides of the Okawa River are a spectacular sight.
A distinctive feature of the famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Osaka, the city of water, is that they can be enjoyed from both land and water. During the cherry blossom season from late March to early April, the "Okawa Sakura Cruise" departs from Hachikenyahama Pier, allowing you to enjoy the cherry blossoms from a boat.

Cherry blossom trees line both banks of the Okawa River for approximately 4.2 km (viewing upstream from above Kawasaki Bridge)

Cherry blossoms stretching out towards the water

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Sakura no Miyakei" by Utagawa Kunimoto, late Edo period (Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive)

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: View of the Moon at Kawasaki's Crossing" by Nansuitei Hosetsu, late Edo period (Digital Archives of Osaka Municipal Library)

The Okawa River was also a famous spot for moon viewing.

造幣局

The Mint was established in 1871 by the new Meiji government in an effort to establish a monetary system for a modern nation, using Western-style facilities that were revolutionary at the time. The Mint is headquartered in Osaka, with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima prefectures. There are various theories as to why Osaka was chosen as the head office, but it is said that the area along the river in Osaka, where water transportation was well developed, was chosen because coins become very heavy when there are a large number of them.
The Mint is famous for its "Cherry Blossom Passage," but the cherry trees at the Mint were transplanted from the former Todo Domain storehouse (north of Senpukan) at the beginning of the Meiji era. As there were many varieties and some rare cherry trees, in 16 (Meiji 1883), the Director of the Mint at the time came up with the idea that "It would be a waste to have only the employees viewing the cherry blossoms. Why not enjoy them together with the citizens of Osaka?" and for a few days when the cherry trees were in full bloom, the riverside within the premises was opened to the public, and a one-way pass through the premises began.
The cherry blossoms at the Mint Bureau are mainly double-flowered and weeping cherry blossoms, and as they reach their peak about a week later than the Somei-Yoshino cherry blossoms along the river, the area is bustling with cherry blossom viewers for a long period from early to mid-April.
The Keihan Electric Railway opened on April 43, 1910, in anticipation of tourists passing through the Mint Bureau, and many people flocked to see the cherry blossoms and the new trains.

造幣局

Water Seller

Because Osaka was once a land that had been converted from the sea, the groundwater often contained salt and was not suitable for drinking. Until the early Meiji period, there was a profession called "water sellers" who would draw pure water from the upper reaches of the Okawa River, carry it on a pole, and sell it for drinking.
In particular, the area opposite the Mint Bureau is a complex bay, filled with cool, clear, delicious water. It is said that this area is also suitable for the tea ceremony, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi had water from the rivers around here brought to his tea ceremonies. Today, drinking water is thought of as something that you "buy," but it may have been the "water sellers" of Osaka who were the pioneers of selling water.

Water Seller

Additionally, Tanomura Chokunyu, a literati painter active from the Edo to Meiji periods who had a deep knowledge of sencha tea, established a residence here called "Seiwan Saryo" where he held large-scale sencha ceremonies that became the model for modern sencha ceremonies. The "Seiwan" stone monument that remains in Kema Sakuranomiya Park today was erected in 2, and on the back is written about the history of sencha tea in Osaka, as well as an explanation of how the waters of Seiwan are ideal for sencha tea.

"Blue Bay" Monument

Fujita Museum of Art

The museum has a collection of about 2,000 pieces of ancient Oriental art by the Meiji era businessman Fujita Denzaburo and his son. Among them, nine pieces are national treasures, including the Yohen Tenmoku tea bowl, and 53 pieces are important cultural properties. It boasts one of the largest collections among private facilities, and the entire building was rebuilt and reopened in April 4. You can enjoy tea and dango at Amijima Teahouse inside the museum (admission fee is 2022 yen).

Fujita Museum of Art

Boat procession in the city of water

The gods enshrined in the shrines make a procession around their local area once a year to ensure the safety and peace of their parishioners. Most of these processions are overland, but in Osaka, the city of water, boat processions using the rivers that flow close to the shrines were also popular. Unfortunately, the only boat processions that remain today are the Tenjin Festival and Boat Procession at Osaka Temmangu Shrine, which has been held since the Heian period, and the Summer Festival and Boat Procession at Naniwa Yasaka Shrine, which was revived in 13 for the first time in 2001 years.
The Tenjin Festival Funatogyo takes place on the main festival day (Honmiya) on July 7th every year, with a total of 25 boats traveling up and down the Okawa River, including one going up from Tenjinbashi Bridge and another going down from Hishobashi Bridge upstream, while votive fireworks are launched into the sky and 100 million spectators gather on the riverbank and bridges. The Summer Festival Funatogyo takes place on the eve of July 130th, when 7 gorgeously outfitted boats sail between Ebisubashi Bridge and Nipponbashi Bridge in Dotonbori. The midsummer night "Funatogyo" is a festival that reminds us that Osaka is a "City of Water."

"Naniwa Tenman Festival" by Utagawa Sadahide, 1859 (National Diet Library Digital Collection)

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Evening Scenes of the Tenjin Festival" by Utagawa Kunimitsu, late Edo period (Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive)

Osaka Castle

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the castle, the Tokugawa built a second castle tower, and the current castle tower is the third, rebuilt in 1931 with donations from citizens. The interior is a museum, where the history of the castle is displayed (admission fee: 1,200 yen for adults).

Osaka castle tower

Aqua Liner

Since 58, the Aqualiner Osaka Castle and Nakanoshima Tour, a standard water sightseeing cruise in Osaka, has been departing from Osaka Castle Port. It was the first sightseeing boat to revive water sightseeing, which had been completely lost during the period of high economic growth. Even today, you can take a 1983-minute tour around Osaka Castle, the Mint Bureau, Osaka City Central Public Hall, and other attractions that change with the seasons.

Aqua Liner

Kyobashi

This is a public bridge over the Neyagawa River that flows north of Osaka Castle, and was named "Kyobashi" because it is located at the starting point of the Kyo-kaido road leading to Kyoto. Today, it is more commonly known as the name of the downtown area around Kyobashi Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line and Keihan Electric Railway, which is about 55.1 km east of "Kyobashi." The current Kyobashi is 100 meters long, but at its widest point, it was over XNUMX meters wide.

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Kyobashi" by Nansuitei Hosetsu, late Edo period (Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive)

Osaka Municipal University Morinomiya Campus

In September 7, Osaka Prefectural University will open its main campus in Morinomiya, close to the Second Neyagawa River, which joins the Okawa River. The 2025-story building will be multifunctional, with classrooms, laboratories, and other facilities, as well as a cafeteria, a convenience store, a library, and a sports arena and sub-arena, making it easy to move around regardless of the weather. First-year students from all faculties and departments will receive their first-year education here. The plazas, pilotis, and courtyards along the main roads and within the university facilities will enable interaction between a diverse range of people, including students and local residents, and these plazas can also be used as temporary evacuation shelters in the event of a disaster, contributing to improving the disaster prevention capabilities of the region.