One day in Tennoji, parkland, animals and art

Just fifteen minutes’ walk from Tennoji Station you stroll through parkland, visit koalas and other animals at the zoo, and admire over 8,000 works of art at Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts.

Tennoji station is a main hub for rail travel, and it’s easy to get to. From Showacho (Osaka) station join the Osaka City Subway Midosuji Line for the two minute journey to Tennoji Station. The park, zoo and art museum are all located to the north of the station. The journey will cost you ¥180.

Take a walk around Tennoji Park
Like many large city parks, some areas of Tennoji Park are in better condition than others. The park is huge, so give yourself plenty of time to navigate around it. One of the most attractive parts of Tennoji Park is Keitakuen Garden; a recreation of a traditional Japanese garden. It’s a tranquil, green oasis with benches where you can sit and relax after your walk. The areas of the garden represent the nature of Japan throughout the four seasons.

In the summer it’s best to visit the park in the morning, before the temperature is very warm. It’s also worth noting that if you visit the park in the evening you may encounter people who make their home in the park grounds.

Tennoji Park is open every day except Monday, from 9:30-17:00. In July and August the park is open until 20:00, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on national holidays. Entrance to that park costs ¥150, with children of junior high school age or younger admitted free of charge.

Admire the animals at Tennoji Zoo

Within Tennoji Park is Tennoji Zoo, which is an especially great place to take children. The zoo isn’t huge, and the number of animals is limited to approximately 1,000, but you still get the opportunity to see species such as polar bears, eagles and koalas. One of the more impressive features of the zoo is the vast aviary at the south end, where the birds have a huge amount of space in which to fly around.

It has to be said that some of the enclosures in the zoo may seem small or confining, but building work is taking place so, soon, animals such as the wolves and polar bears will have more have more space and more appropriate habitats.

Tennoji Zoo is open weekdays, except Monday from 9:30-17:00, with the last admission at 16:00. On the weekend, the zoo is open until 18:00, with the last admission at 17:00. The cost of admission is ¥500, with children aged 15 and under admitted free of charge.

Discover the collection at Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts

As an alternative, or an addition, to the zoo visit, visit the Osaka City Museum One of Fine Arts, which is also located at Tennoji Park. The venue opened in 1936, and is home to around 8,000 individual pieces of art. The museum is most famed for its collection of superb examples of Japanese and Chinese art, including sculpture, calligraphy and lacquerware. If you want to glimpse a little of the history of Kansai area, the Sumitomo collection is an interesting group of 20 works which were painted by some of areas most famous artists for the 1943 exhibition “Japanese Paintings from Kansai Area”. The paintings were donated to the museum by the Sumitomo family.

The museum is open from 9:30-17:00 each day except Monday; last admission is at 16:30. The normal entrance fee for adults is ¥300; high school and college students are charged ¥200, and younger children are admitted free of charge. Special exhibits may require additional fees.

Once you have visited the museum you are just 400 meters away from the number 5 exit of Tennoji Station, for your return journey.

Directions

Tennoji Park can be reached in an 11-minute walk from Tennoji Station.

Please access Hyperdia.com by clicking on the following: http://kfixer.com/getting_to. 

In the FROM field, please type in your departure station (for example SHOWACHO, TEMMA, YAMASHINA, KINTETSUNARA).

In the TO field, please copy/paste or type in TENNOJI.

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