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Osaka's Dotonbori Canal, Japanese things & tea ceremony museums

The key accessories for the subtle Japanese tea ceremony.

Hanami cherry blossom season is upon Japan again. And this year, 2025, will likely exceed all levels of madness for overtourism, which is when demand far exceeds supply. Of course, the very nature of cherry blossom crazy crowds and roads that are in gridlock for hours, can be avoided if you stay away from only a few locations in Japan. Obviously, Kyoto & Nara. Although, Kyoto is not that difficult to manage if you get up really early, use only walking and a bit of public transportation. Lake Kawaguchi Mount Fuji and Hakone Mount Fuji and Kamakura and Kanazawa can also be challenging in peak season. Especially on weekends and especially especially on Sundays and national holidays.

The smart way to avoid all this is to visit Japan after the silly season or before. Or if you are in Japan during super peak hanami cherry blossom season then be sure to stay just a bit off the beaten track. Most of Japan is "normal" and has always been normal during peak cherry blossom and peak maple leaf seasons. Unfortunately, the travel trends of this decade strongly favor Japan and it will only get crazier . The Japanese government only needs to layer a surcharge on all visitors: coming by train and by car. It's not that difficult. Venice did it but they make the entry charge too low. Make it high and the problem just goes away. Think about it! You don't have overcrowding in the places where gorillas can be viewed. That's because it costs a small fortune for that privilege. Kyoto and all the best places in Japan just have to learn to literally sell entry to their entire landscape. Obviously if you are a business person visiting a popular travel destination you get an a free pass. Not so difficult to do. New York City just did it with cars coming into the city and already they are making a fortune to invest back into public infrastructure. Japan can and will learn from this but it does seem to take them longer to understand . . .

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Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Osaka’s exotic, colorful Dotonbori canal district

If you haven’t been to seen the night life areas of Osaka when the night is in full swing or just coming to an end in the wee hour of morning, then you’ve been missing a slice of life that is forever interesting and these days slowly fading away. Mizu shobai or the water business is a part of Japan that has been around for a very long time. A business of the night that flows high and low along with the economy and indeed is very much part of the larger economy, since so many decisions and deals are clinched between drinks and small talk in the semi-darkness of an expensive club. But in recent years the business has suffered badly under the double influence of the recession and the severe cutback in business expenses. And then too, because of younger generations of salarymen, who tend to spend more time with their families and less with the guys from the office. At one time you had nearly no choice as a salaryman but to go: it was literally a part of the job, as well as being a way of letting off steam before going home. These days the clubs are changing their ways and trying their best to stay in fashion with the business crowd, but it seems they’re fighting a losing battle that only a very few smart clubs will win in the end.

Osaka, like any other big city in Japan, has its fair share of mizu shobai areas. The best known are Kita Shinchi just south of Umeda and the Namba or Minami area, where things are cheaper and a lot more varied. The fact that Namba is cheaper probably has something to do with history of Osaka’s development after the war. In the late sixties and seventies with the increasing importance of Itami airport and the expansion of housing along Hankyu’s railway lines, the southern part of Osaka was lost in the swirl of progress and development that gave rise to Umeda and all its glitz. All the same the area around Dotonbori still has its original charm and a following of business people and nighttime revelers that makes Kita Shinchi look narrow and somehow ridiculous.

One particular area that continues to pull in the crowd is Soemoncho, a one-and-a-half-kilometer stretch running east west between Sakaisuji and Midosuji. What makes Soemoncho interesting is that it is dated : things looked older and less flashy, and day or night one gets the distinct feeling that the clientele who come here are more than likely the prosperous owners of the thousands of businesses that spill onto the streets of Shinsaibashi and Namba. If Kita Shinchi has a eighties and nineties feel, then Soemoncho is most definitely of the fifties and sixties when Japan’s economy was like a run away train on a downhill slope.

In Soemoncho you can find everything and anything and see anyone and everyone. There are nightclubs with big facades of neon and tuxedoed staff waiting to take your car and park it. Cabarets for the old fashioned (of which there are many!). For the pampered and well-heeled stomach, there is a Korean restaurant the size of a medium-sized warehouse. For the more elegant and sophisticated, there are glassed-in private gardens, long curving wooden counters and high-backed swivel stools covered in fresh linen. Here a polite but authoritative bar tender/waiter will serve drinks of your preference along with top quality steaks, as if you were a gentleman of note and property. And then there’s every manner and kind of high class Japanese joints, that the food loving people of Osaka are famed for from Hokkaido to Kyushu. There are also strip joints and the like, with their more suspicious and questionable attendants out front beside the glossy pictures trying to get you to come inside and see the action.

Where but Japan can you buy a silk tie at 1 am or a priceless pot of blooming orchids at 2 am? Soemoncho and the surrounding streets are spotted with tiny boutiques that sell expensive evening wear, lingerie, perfume and jewelry, neckties and belts, along with high-class fruit vendors. And for the distinguished older clientele there are shops selling selected antiques and kimono accessories. These shops cater to the sufficiently rich and usually slightly drunk customers who buy something for that special lady-friend on their arm or in appreciation for a mama-san’s (the proprietress of a bar or club) tactful way of making an evening with clients go very, very smoothly.

If you happen to find the doorways of Soemoncho too expensive or imposing, then all you have to do is cross the Dotonbori canal a few meters away and you’ve entered the poor man’s paradise of excitement and pleasure. Suddenly the colors are brighter and the restaurants smaller, no longer serving the best fish and meat on the market. Now itﾕs okonomiyaki, yakisoba and the like. But all the same it is always busy here at night and even in the daytime. A kind of consumer’s paradise that forever serves the idle masses in search of amusement.

And yet it's not all fun and games. Just fifty meters off the Sennichimae shopping mall, you find yourself next to a small temple, incense clouds constantly billowing up and filling the surrounding air, and water flowing melodiously and constantly out of a natural spring. This temple is famous in Osaka and absolutely worth a visit. Hozenji dates back to 1597 and has been a popular place for women to wish for a healthy and successful childbirth. Tiny as the temple may be, there always seems to be someone there lighting incense or praying to the thick and wet moss-covered Amida Buddha statue, flanked by his two equally moss covered protectors and surrounded in a halo of purifying flames.

Walk the streets of around Soemoncho and Hozenji, and experience Japan’s circus of the night.

Trad things from rain gear & brooms to buckets & incense holders

Traditional Rain Gear: June to mid July is the rainy season in Japan. Since it can rain a lot during this period, an umbrella is the perfect companion on your strolls through the city. Why not get a really nice umbrella that you can use at home as a reminder of Kyoto? Nothing can be more beautiful than the handmade umbrellas of Japan, a skilled tradition that goes all the way back to the dawn of civilization. Though the umbrella was undoubtedly an invention that came from the genius of Chinese civilization, Japanese umbrellas have over the centuries taken on a design and style all of their own. And what stunning colors to choose from!! For that perfect umbrella that will last forever and makes the perfect gift, pay a visit to Kasagen in the Gion area. Since 1861, Kasagen has been selling the finest quality handmade paper umbrellas - large ones (bangasa), delicate ones for the ladies (janome), and, for later in the season, hand-painted sun parasols (higasa). Kasagen (H-8 on map pg. 12) sells excellent wax paper umbrellas. Open 9:30-21:00, closed on national holidays. Tel: 561-2832. To go with your umbrella, consider a pair of geta or Japanese raised wooden sandals. They will definitely keep you above the water, and they are supposed be good for your feet. Light, strong, and beautifully-grained, kiri (paulownia) is still the wood of choice for making geta. Good geta can cost as much as ¥60,000, however, the following shops sell geta for around ¥3,500: Kyoto Handicraft Center, Tel: 761-5080; Sanjo Tanaka, Tel: 221-1011; Rakumi, Tel: 231-2924.

Great Brooms & Brushes: In Japanese, there is an expression: “Anna otoko wa hoki de haku hodo aru (That kind of man is as common as broom sweepings; i.e., Men like him are a dime a dozen.). Broom sweepings may be easy to gather, but a good broom is getting harder to find. Kyoto’s Naito Shoten sells the real thing: the kind of brooms and brushes that last a lifetime (like good men and good marriages). The old-world storefront of brown and golden brooms and brushes remains as it was 80 years ago or more, and it somehow acts to stop foreigners and young Japanese people in their tracks, as if they have seen a friendly ghost of sweeter days and slower times. Naito Shoten built their reputation on hemp palm brooms. The bristles never fall out. They just get shorter (but very, very slowly). If treated well a broom like this can last well over 50 years! Some of their brooms are perfect for hardwood floors, others for tatami mats. Many temples buy here, as do old customers from as far away as Okinawa and Hokkaido. Some people come here to buy soft-bristle bushes to clean their computer keyboards. Some use another brush to clean their hanko (name seal or chop). Some use such a brush to clean their ashtrays. Another the corners of dusty old cabinet drawers. Others scrub their shirt collars or black kettles and pots with a Naito brush. They also have body brushes made of horse hair or soft shuro (a plant). They do all their business by telephone and do not sell to departments stores, etc. On the north side of Sanjo, just west of the Kamogawa River. Open daily 9:30-19:00. Tel: 221-3018.

Wooden Taru Buckets: Kyoto is known for its exceptionally fine handmade crafts, all of which require a level of precision associated more with machines than human hands. One Kyoto craft that offers the visitor all kinds of uses, is that of taru or oke. Oke are wooden buckets and taru are wooden containers or casks that have a close fitting lid. Both are made using the finest sugi cedar or hinoki cypress wood available (absolutely no knots). Taru and oke are specially crafted to hold liquids. Even after 50 years or more, the finest of these products do not leak. You can even find older ones at antique markets and shops. They are used especially in the sake and tsukemono pickle industry. The creation process begins by carefully shaping curved individual boards called kanna. The size of each board or stave (remember such buckets and barrels are also part of the European and American craft tradition; for example Jack Daniels and fine Scotches are kept in giant wooden barrels of a similar design) depends on the overall size of the container being created. The staves are then fitted together to make a circle. The connection between each stave is achieved with thin bamboo “nails” or dowels. Once the container has been fitted together around the wooden bottom, a hoop of cooper or bamboo is added. If the construction isn’t perfect, the water will leak out. Oke can be used as bath bucket, a fine flower vase or even a place to chill a bottle of wine. You can also use them to hold a bit of seaweed and a little bright colored fish or two. Look for them at Takashimaya Department stores.

Ceramic Incense Burners: Koro incense censers make wonderful accessories for Japanese incense, without a doubt the finest in the world. Japanese incense sticks (senko), unlike those of India and China have no bamboo stick in their center. They are, instead, pure sticks of incense. Koro that hold small quantities of ash are the best and most interesting. The smalls ones with a lid (as in the picture here) can be used a remarkable interior decoration accessory, even if you don’t burn incense. The designs and patterns of the glaze are nearly always attractive and say “Japan” with style. Kodo (The Way of Incense) cups are fine ceramic cups which one fills with ash. In the ash one can place a long stick of senko incense or a bit of charcoal upon which one can burn dashes of fragrant incense wood like pure (expensive) sandalwood or aloes wood (as Buddhist priests do during funeral rituals). Some people use a different koro for each kind of incense they regularly use. The simplest form of incense burner is nothing more than a beautiful piece of ceramic or sculpture (in the shape of animals or Buddhist images) with a hole in it. With the best burners of this kind, the plate and the holder are separate. This makes it easy to remove the last piece of senko. If the holder is joined to the plate, it can be bothersome to remove the last piece (a toothpick or pin, however, will generally do the trick).

Killer Kyoto tea ceremony art museums

Raku Museum: Raku-yaki, or Raku ware, is synonymous with exquisite tea ceremony utensils. As they are called ‘utensils’, they are of course tools you use. If you don’t know much about tea ceremony, you might wonder what makes something that is a utensil so special. With Raku ware it is partly the fact that these tea ceremony tools are created with skills inherited over 400 years, from 15 generations. Chojiro Raku, the founder of the Raku tradition was an intimate friend of Sen no Rikyu, the tea master who pioneered wabicha (Japanese tea ceremony). Before this time, tea ceremony was primarily a ritual based on Chinese ideas and not the art form it is regarded as today in Japan. Raku ceramics have their origins in the Momoyama period (1573-1615) when Chojiro Raku made exquisite pottery exclusively for Sen no Rikyu. What makes Raku-yaki different from other kinds of pottery is that it is handbuilt and specially fired. To get an idea of just how special the Raku style is, a visit to the Raku Museum is a must. Located in a quiet residential area west of the Imperial Palace, it looks like a charming old Kyoto house from the outside. From the waiting room, with its garden view, you enter a room of priceless Raku-yaki tea bowls. On the second floor, there are exhibits that show the process of Raku tea bowl making, and other tea ceremony utensils such as incense containers, vases, etc. All the exhibits deserve a close look, as they clearly show the long history of this unique ceramic tradition and the delicate care that goes into making them. On Aburanokoji, north of Nakadachiuri. Open 10:00 - 16:30. Closed Mondays. Tel: 414-0304.

Kitamura Museum: This special little museum exhibits pieces from the Kinjiro Kitamura collection — tea ceremony art, Japanese drawings, calligraphy, sculpture, etc. Unlike many museums, this one doesn’t try to overwhelm the visitor with too much art. Instead they present a small selection of superb pieces, allowing the visitor plenty of time to examine each and every piece. Among the exhibits are 13 Important Cultural Assets. To get to the museum, go south on Kawaramachi from Imadegawa, and turn east at the first corner. Open 10:00 - 16:00. Closed Mondays and days following nat’l holidays. Tel: 256-0637.

Nomura Museum: For those interested in understanding the simple and quiet Oriental world of wabi, a fundamental Japanese aesthetic concept, this museum is not to be missed. The exhibits, which belong to the illustrious Nomura family, a major force in Japanese financial markets for decades, cover three periods — Meiji (1867-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), and Showa (1926-1988). According to the will of the Nomura family, tea ceremony utensils, Noh costumes and masks are only opened to the public twice a year, in spring and autumn. Located in the Nanzen-ji area in Higashiyama, one of Kyoto’s most picturesque spots, the museum offers the visitor an education in the finer points of Japanese tea ceremony aesthetics and design, particularly wabi, over the last one hundred years. Located slightly north of Nanzen-ji Temple. Open 10:00 - 16:00, closed Mondays. Tel: 751-0374.

(Hakusansonso) Hashimoto Kansetsu Kinenkan: Located on Ginkakuji-michi, a hundred meters or so west of the narrow souvenir street leading up to Ginkaku-ji Temple, this time-worn establishment is rich in the nostalgic atmosphere of Taisho-period Japan. Here you’re quite sure to find those quiet moments you came to the Old Capital for. Hakusasonso was built by the nihonga artist, Kansetsu Hashimoto (1883-1945), when the area was still surrounded by rice fields. He lived here for 30 years creating his art. It’s easy to understand why an artist would thrive and grow in a studio/living space as tranquil and spacious as this one. One step through the gate and you’re pulled back in time 80 years (if you overlook the pay phone) to a time when Japan was alive with change and new ideas. In the lush and extensive garden around the main house a number of art pieces, including some fine works of stone sculpture, are to be found. The garden itself was built with a carefully chosen collection of rocks, trees and Buddhist images and stone sculpture from all over Japan. Here, you can order a bowl of matcha (green tea) or yudofu (boiled tofu) and relax on the artist’s studio terrace looking out on the garden. Simply knock the wooden block on the artist’s studio terrace, and an attendant will come and take your order. In the house’s interior gallery Greek pottery and Persian miniatures, and some particularly, large Japanese pots, which are mentioned in Encyclopedia Britannica, are on display. Hakusansonso is located on Ginkakuji-michi, east of Shirakawa. Open 10:00 - 17:00, daily. Tel: 751-0446.

Content by Japan travel specialist & designer Ian Martin Ropke, founder & owner of Your Japan Private Tours (YJPT, est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with all of YJPT's Japan private tour clients and have a great team behind me. I promote YJPT through this content and only advertise at www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip to save time & have a better time. Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search) is also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!