Kansai Adventures: A Tennoji Night Adventure!

Fun Times~

Recently, I’ve been looking for more life experiences. It feels like I’m on a never-ending cycle of work, school, wash, repeat. I’m very thankful to one of my new friends (shout out to Junko) for suggesting that we go to Shinsekai after we finish work. Let me tell you a little bit about Tennoji, which Is where Shinsekai is located.

Tennoji’s Past

It’s a historical place with many historical buildings, games, and activities. When I say historical, you’ll notice the atmosphere and the shops make you feel like you are transported back in time.

Back in 593AD, the construction of the first Shinto temple was established in Shi-Tennoji (translating to “4 heavenly king temples”). It is said that the deities who protect the four cardinal directions are who the temple was dedicated to. Now, Tennoji is known for its beautiful park, zoo, nightlife, entertainment districts, amazing food, and huge tower. In this adventure, we go to Shinsekai <New World> which is known as an entertainment district that was created in the previous century. It’s best known for the Tsutenkaku Tower.

Go, Go Go! But when?

We both went after work (after 5:30 PM). Despite being tired, there was something about the environment that gave us a very excited feeling and that gave us energy. I recommend going to this place if you want to drink and talk, walk around, or just be in a completely different setting. You can spend anywhere from 0 yen (by just walking around and enjoying the sights) up to hundreds of yen given that there are so many nightlife activities here. It’s really a wonderful place for all to enjoy~

Meet Me!

I’ve only been to Tennoji one other time before going to meet my friend and was completely lost haha. I recommend having a set meeting place. It took an extra 30 minutes for us to find each other since I didn’t know the area. Either meet at one of the exits at the station or use the Tsutenkaku Tower as a meeting spot since it’s easy to spot~

Tsutenkaku Tower

I had never even heard of this tower until my friend introduced it to me surprisingly enough. We were able to see so many wonderful things and I was able to learn a lot about Osaka when we walked around. As someone who has spent all of her Japan life in the Kansai area, specifically in Osaka for most of that time, I always refer to myself as an Osaka Gyaru, so I was very fascinated by the history of Tennoji.

5th Floor

The rooftop is sometimes available, though we went on one of the rainiest days last month so it was closed off. Be sure to check it out when you go if it’s sunny~~~

We were able to look at different Biliken-sans, which are deities that bring you good luck!

4th floor

The next floor was very キラキラ(sparkly) and had upbeat pop anime-sounding music that played on this floor. It was so much fun to walk around this area and take pictures.

3rd Floor

The floor was very cute as there were small games for us to play, such as pulling on the Pocky string and seeing if you can tug the same string as the person on the other end of it harder. As well as a game where you have to stop the countdown exactly at 11:11 seconds (11/11: Pocky Day).

There was also a very cute diorama display that showed the Shinsekai area over 100 years ago!

This is also the floor where you can do the power slider. It is where people slide all the way down to the first floor. We didn’t do it, but it looked very fun.

2nd Floor and 1st Floor

The remaining floors had different areas where we could take pictures, shop for souvenirs, and look at a variety of Muscle Men items from the old anime.

Food

What better way to continue our night than with some food at an awesome Izakaya?

Junko tried to take me to one kushikatsu and izakaya place that she really liked, but unfortunately, it was fully packed. Instead, we walked around the area until we found another place that was open. It had three things that I love, cheap food, yummy food, and a wonderful/light hearted atmosphere. What more could I ask for?

We drank and laughed a LOT, so it was perfect that everyone around us was just as loud and giddy haha.

Everything was reasonably priced and was pretty delicious, you can easily spend around ¥2000 on a good meal. I recommend eating here! I’ll definitely be going back.

All Fun and Games

After eating, we went to a game center where we played another version of pinball. I don’t fully understand how the game works, but you insert ¥100, shoot the balls around, and hope to get it in one of the holes marked 5, 10, 15, 20. If you do, the number listed will give you more balls based on the hole that you get the ball inside. <For example, if I hit the ball into the 10-hole, 10 more balls roll out.> The goal is to get a lot of balls in the holes in a single round. If you get a certain amount, you get a prize after.

I really wanted to win, and I ended up wasting more money than I thought I would, but I will admit I was terrible at the game. And no, I didn’t get a prize. I rarely got the balls into holes lol. Nonetheless, it was so much fun. Especially when you walk around the area and see people with hundreds of balls stacked up. I know they got a great price after~

Tennoji Night Life

I want to give a big shout-out to Junko once more for planning such a wonderful time. I had no idea there were so many fun things to do around Tennoji and I’m really grateful that she took my interests in mind and brought me to such a lovely place. I definitely want to go back, preferably when it’s not raining or if I’m in the right shoes next time (literally wore shoes that ABSORBED water, so I complained the whole time haha). Hopefully, I can update you all on the next Tennoji adventure when I go again!