“Hirano Station” is actually two stations, both JR and Osaka Metro Tanimachi Lines.
The Tanimachi line station is right at the main road,
while the JR station is a few blocks back from the main road.
While there is not a whole lot of things directly attached to the station,
just a short walk from JR Hirano is the Aeon Town Hirano shopping center.
Plenty of parking (442 spaces, we counted) .
MaxValue Supermarket, Daiso 100yen store, Nitori (Home Center) Saizeriya (Italian Restaurant)
KFC among 30+ other name-brand stores.
The entrance to the shopping centre is only a short walk.
As you would expect from Osaka’s most populated ward, it’s always pretty lively here.
A great spot for kids and parents to come and enjoy.
The park was built over the place where a lake/pond (Matsuyama Lake) that existed here was drained and filled in.
It’s a little hard to imagine now that there was a lake here before…
Even though it’s only a small one, this “Taiko-bashi” adds to the ambience.
This was once a bridge over part of the original Matsuyama pond.
It’s like a miniature version of the Taiko-bashi at Sumiyoshi Taisha!!
According to the signposts, this is “Mt. Satsuki”, really not much more than a mound…
but there are benches here at the top of the hill where you can take a break and enjoy the surroundings.
This is known as the “Golden Well of Hirano”
A long time ago, when most water was not drinkable,
sources of clean water such as this well were considered highly valuable.
From that time forward this well was named for it’s value to the Hirano area. .
Wide open spaces for playing sports such a baseball etc.
This wealthy farmer’s house daties back to the early Edo period,
and is a designated national heritage property.
The home retains it’s original structure and is divided into the main house, a “zashiki” (guest/reception room) , a “nagayamon” (gate house), and a barn.
Here you can get a feel for the size of the home.
From the size, it’s easy to understand that it belonged to a wealthy farming family at the time.
The condition of the property is so good, it’s almost hard to believe it was built during the Edo period.
There are tours of the property between 10am ~ 4pm on the 4th Sunday of every month.
Reservations are required, but the cost is only 300yen per person and well worth the experience of viewing the orriginal architecture from this period.
This magnificent comprehensive craft museum-like facility operated by Osaka City
is the only one of it’s the kind in Japan.
There are workshops for woodworking, metalworking, dyeing, weaving, glassblowing,
stained glassmaking, pottery and kilnwork.
A great facility for enjoying the process of learning and creating.
There are classes available for the various crafts, but please note these are not free classes
so please check the website for details:
https://www.craftpark.net/
Area：15.28k㎡ Rank: 3rd
Population：approx. 192,000人 Rank: 1st
Population density：12562people/k㎡ Rank: 18th
Ward flower：Cotton Flower