Traveling to Namba Yasaka Shrine and Osaka’s Most Aesthetic Cafes

*The Lion’s head at Namba Yasaka Shrine is a sight that you won’t soon forget!*

After spending two days seeing Ginkakuji and eating aesthetic food in Kyoto, I decided to make my way to Osaka for the final leg of the trip. Osaka is another iconic city that I’ve been to countless times, but there are always new things to experience there. This time I made a reservation to a planetarium-themed bar that I had always wanted to go to, and also discovered the wonders of pizza takoyaki at Takotako King. I also stumbled upon a very cool shrine in the heart of Namba and made a day trip to Kobe to see friends the next day. I was happy to see that tourism was finally picking up here after the covid emergency state. If you go to Osaka, definitely be sure to check out all of the street food stalls and hidden shrines around the city!

Here is my latest article on Namba Yasaka Shrine and my top gourmet recommendations for winter 2023:

Namba Yasaka Shrine

Located in the heart of the city close to Nankai Namba Station, Namba Yasaka Shrine has a very iconic design that blends retro with modern culture. The lion-shaped head (that is actually a stage) is believed to swallow evil spirits and bestow the shrine with good luck. The shrine is small but has a lot of neat characteristics, especially considering the fact that it’s located in one of Osaka’s flashiest districts. I enjoyed seeing the lion ema with various wishes written on them hanging near the shrine’s main building, plus all of the visitors staring in awe at the lion’s head. I’ve been to Osaka many times, but never knew that this shrine existed until I researched local shrines with a map application. I would say this is one of the most unique city shrines I’ve ever visited, not to mention it has very easy access, so I would recommend it to all of my friends!

Address: 2 Chome-9-19 Motomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, 556-0016
Admission Fee: Free

Tables Coffee Bakery Diner

While searching for recommended sweets cafés in Osaka, I stumbled upon the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had in my life at Tables Coffee Bakery Diner. This restaurant has both full meals and flavorful desserts alike. I loved how the cake was coated in creamy frosting that resembled wax burning off a candle. It was thicker than most frosting I’ve eaten in the past and was definitely one of a kind. The fresh strawberries on top and strawberry syrup surrounding the cake were also fine details that enhanced the taste of this already delicious cake. I can’t stress enough how much both the sweet flavor and aesthetic appearance of this cake blew my mind!

Address: 2 Chome-9-10 Minamihorie, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0015

Star Café Spica

Star Café Spica is a planetarium-themed bar that has been on my list for quite a while, but I haven’t had the chance to visit it until this trip due to its crazy popularity. This bar requires a reservation in advance due to its timed planetarium shows that are projected on the walls to make you feel like you’re stargazing. On top of that, it also has a galaxy-themed cocktail menu and and planet lamps that create the perfect atmosphere. I ordered two meteor shower drinks that come with konpeito candies. When you drop the sugary candy in the champagne-like cocktail, it produces an effect that truly does look like a little meteor shower or falling stars! I also ordered caramel ice cream that came with a moon-shaped cookie. All of the food and drinks were great quality. It was fun learning about the galaxy in Japanese and the staff were very kind and professional. If you decided to come here, be sure to make a reservation at least a few weeks in advance.

Address: 4-18 Matsuyamachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0067

Space Station & Takotako King

Of all of the gaming bar I’ve visited in Japan, Space Station has got to be one of my all time favorites. I love the retro neon aesthetic and all of the interesting travelers I run into here. I also really enjoy talking with the owner, Matt, because he’s also from the US and has lived in Japan multiple years so we have a lot in common. This bar has an extensive collection of not only games and consoles, but also insanely rare gamer-themed alcohol. I enjoyed seeing the Pac-Man anniversary sake and the Level Beer on this visit, and ordered a lot of cocktails with Dr. Pepper in them. I also tried the cream cheese bagel for the first time since a mini blue Donkey Kong figure was advertising it! The bagel really slapped because I was hungry after wandering through the city.

Another amazing food that I tried on this trip was pizza takoyaki from Takotako King (recommended to me by Matt). This takoyaki place is conveniently located about two buildings down from the bar so it was easy to locate. I loved the tomato sauce and creamy cheese on the takoyaki because it was savory. Last time I was in Osaka, I tried takoyaki topped with egg, so I’m excited to see what the next big topping trend is here when I visit next!

Address: 2 Chome-13-3 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0086

CBD Cafe 4:20

CBD Café 4:20 is a small café that I visited during a previous trip, but I decided to revisit it with some friends to see what new products they had in stock. Unfortunately unlike last time, this time they removed their food menu and only had shisha and CBD smoothies on their side menu. However, I was delighted to see that they had CBD suckers and “Green Crack” with a hilarious design that resembled kush. Though these products are more expensive than what you’d find in other countries, they have a sense of originality and novelty to them making them unique to Japan. I enjoy visiting CBD shops just for the meme and seeing what crazy products they have. My CBD sucker definitely relaxed me and I felt a sense of ease while walking through Namba and Shinsaibashi. I would say this is still one of the best centrally located CBD places in Osaka even without its full menu.

Address: 3 Chome-2-15 Minamikyuhojimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 541-0058

Dining Bar Shape Beach (aka the Sand Bar)

Dining Bar Shape Beach is a beach-themed bar with real sand in it, so you are prompted to take your shoes off before entering to preserve the “beach”. Like Space Station, I really enjoyed the neon retro aesthetic of this bar, not to mention the the all-you-can-drink menu you can have access to for a cheap price. The cocktails at this bar are fruity and light, so you can drink a lot while feeling like you’re on vacation in Hawaii or Okinawa. You can also choose to order stronger drinks with vodka and tequila in them to your liking. The bartenders are pretty chill and laidback here. I went here with one of my Japanese friends for a quick drink, but coming here with a group and smoking shisha together would be a more ideal choice for this bar. In the future I hope to come back with friends because as a beach girl, I really like this place’s atmosphere.

Address: 2-2-8 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan

Day Trip to Kobe

Before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo, I decided to stop at Kobe to see some friends. First I went to the Harborland and took a nap under a palm tree in the bright sun, the I wandered over to Greenery for a fresh mermaid-themed smoothie bowl. The mermaid tail and shells look real, but they’re actually made out of white chocolate! I would recommend trying this place to everyone because they have the best smoothies in Kobe. Afterwards I wandered around Kobe Tower, which was sadly under construction, but there was some awesome graffiti art drawn by children that I really enjoyed. Though this was my third time to Kobe, I am happy that I was able to discover new things!

If you are interested in more in-depth activities that you can do in Kobe, please see my previous Kobe article.

Thank you for reading my latest three part article series on Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka! This was an amazing trip since I got to spend it with so many people that I love. At this moment I don’t have any further travel plans as I am going to Europe for a month in April, but I may decide to cover small events and cafes in Tokyo in the meantime.

I appreciate you all for reading and hope that I stumble upon more aesthetic food in my travels so I can write about it. Hope that everyone is having a fantastic new year, and thank you once again for supporting my writing.

Exploring Fukuoka’s Frog Temple: Nyoirinji (Kaeru-dera)

Last week I decided to go on a spontaneous backpacking trip starting in Fukuoka and ending in Shimane Prefecture. The purpose of this trip was to explore 2 prefectures I had never seen before–Yamaguchi and Shimane–and also see some shrines, islands, and monuments in other prefectures that I had previously missed or not known about until earlier this year. Since Japan is gradually easing its entry restrictions for international students and business travel, my goal is to knock out as many destinations on my travel list between now and when tourists are allowed in again. When exactly that will be is currently unknown, but as long as covid cases don’t spike again like they did earlier in January, I think it could be possible later this year!

In this article series, I will be talking about some rare and little-known places in the 5 prefectures I visited in under 4 days. This trip went at an extremely fast pace since I had already been to some of these areas before, but it was extremely rewarding because I learned a lot about southern Tohoku and met up with friends along the way.

For information on how to get to Fukuoka from Tokyo and my recommended sightseeing points, please see my previous Fukuoka article from last year. I decided to start in Fukuoka just because there are a lot of discount flights there from Narita Airport, and it was convenient to take the shinkansen from Hakata Station to travel to other places on my list.

When I landed at Fukuoka Airport around noon, my best friend here came to pick me up in her car and we decided to go to Nyoirinji, aka the frog temple, which might be one of the most elaborate temples in the entire prefecture. Upon entering the grounds of this temple, over 5,000 frogs will welcome you!

First of all, I should note that this temple has influences from not only from Japan but other East Asian countries as well. It reminded me of some of the temples I had seen in Thailand and Vietnam long ago because it had a lot of foreign architecture. What I liked about it most was that it was very hands-on and had an amazing atmosphere being nestled in the countryside. You can crawl through and write messages on the metal frogs near the entrance which was very fun and interactive to me. There is also a giant frog that spits bubbles near the main entrance to the temple. How amazing is that!? If you walk through the gift shop and towards the back window, you will see a large variety of frogs from around the world. I spotted more than one Kermit plus a Beanie Baby from my childhood. I was not expecting to reconnect with my past like this, but I am so happy I did because these frogs brought back a lot of memories!

If you exit and keep walking around towards the back of this building, you can go downstairs to an area with neon lighting and hundreds of tiny Shinto statues. I thought this hidden part was so unique. I also recommend walking through the moss garden and up to the pagoda for a stunning view. This shrine truly has a lot for visitors to discover and that’s what makes it a special destination.

Address: 1728 Yokoguma, Ogori, Fukuoka 838-0105

Please note that you can get here by local train/taxi but traveling by car is the most efficient way.

Admission Fee: Free

Special Frogs & Monuments

While walking around the premises of Nyoirinji, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for special frogs and monuments! We spotted 2 Pikachu, a frog holding a 5 yen coin, Kumamon, and some lowkey frogs with their genitalia hanging out. These are just a few of many crazy but awesome things that you can see here!

Meet Nyoirinji’s Cat

When I was looking at pictures of this temple online, I saw this cat come up a lot and was very happy I had the chance to meet him in the flesh! He reminded me a lot of my own cat because he was very charming and cuddly. He seemed to enjoy all of the people coming to pet him at Nyoirinji while he basked in the sunlight. I’m quite envious of his lifestyle!

Fresh Eats in Fukuoka

While heading back to my accommodation, we decided to stop at some delicious shops on the way. Our first stop was at Kaisen Donburi Hanabi in Ropponmatsu, which is a really cool neighborhood just outside of central Fukuoka with a number of small coffee shops and music cafes. At Hanabi we ate mouthwatering seafood rice bowls that were probably the best I’ve ever had in this prefecture. I ordered shrimp topped with salmon roe and egg and couldn’t believe how huge the shrimp were! My friend and I joked that they must massage the shrimp here like they do the cows in Kobe to produce their famous beef!

For dessert we stopped at a CBD cafe called Green Life and had some really sweet CBD smoothies. CBD became really popular in Japan last year when the government restricted alcohol being sold at bars in efforts to stop covid from spreading. I don’t take it often but when I do, I definitely feel a bit more relaxed. The chocolate banana smoothie I had was blended very smoothly and I appreciate the large amount of chocolate sauce they used in their recipe too.

The next morning I stopped at a food truck called MEETS which sells coffee, bread, and delicious dessert waffles shaped like the moon. I absolutely loved the design of my moon waffle because not only did it have caramel, nuts, and chocolate on it, but also an oatmeal cookie! I thought this idea was so creative. On this trip I noticed a number of new food trucks have started popping up around the city and I’m excited to see what other delicious foods and desserts are sold in the future.

Spot the Cherry Blossoms

On my way to Hakata Station the next morning, I saw cherry blossoms blooming at Tochoji Temple! Unfortunately I didn’t have time to check out all of the major cherry blossom viewing spots, but please see Fukuoka Now’s Guide for more information on them.

In my next article, I will be exploring all the major sights of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Please look forward to it!

Botanist Cafe: Very Aesthetic Smoothies

Continuing the sunflower theme from the last post, here is a very aesthetic sunflower smoothie I had at the newly opened Botanist Cafe in Tokyo:

I had originally walked by this cafe in Omotesando, and watched a video from Red Duck Post that claimed that these smoothies were “anti-aging” and and figured that this was just another big marketing ploy for this shop to sell their beauty products, but I was pleasantly surprised. This smoothie was absolutely delicious!

Composed with pineapple, tiny pieces of crushed cookies, a surprise layer of caramel chips, and what appeared to be some type of whipped cream–I truly enjoyed eating it!

It was a bit expensive (maybe around 1000円) but fun just for the experience, and the service was fantastic too. I’m naturally drawn to aesthetic things, so I’m happy I tried this!