Living in the Kansai area for almost four years, I would say I kinda bored with the mainstream-and-crowded tourist attractions. Thus, when I found that Amagasaki city has something to offer, I was curious to explore it!
I went to Amagasaki city with Hanshin Railway. It was the first time I used the Hanshin Line from Osaka's Umeda Station, and I was surprised because the trip to Amagasaki only took 7 minutes with the rapid service. Here are the places that I and my friends went to during our visit to Amagasaki.
Imura Food Sample Making Experience
Our first destination was Imura Food Sample Making Experience. I knew Japanese often display food replica in front of the restaurant, but I didn't know that we can actually try to make one! At Imura's, we got to pick which food we would like to make - the choices are parfait, okonomiyaki, pizza, tempura, sushi, and latte art. I was not sure which one to pick so I followed Rizky's pick: tempura. Turns out, it was the easiest sample to do - which gave me an advantage of the time to capture other's doing their samples.
Ebisu Shrine
The second destination was Ebisu Shrine. Here, we were greeted by a maiko (shrine maiden) who told us the history of Shinto religion. After that, the ladies in the group might try to wear a maiko dress. Unfortunately, women who wear hijab will not be allowed to join the maiko experience. As hijab is a religious identity symbol, so does the maiko's kimono. Thus, it will be weird to wear both together. However, the shrine's maiden lends us a happi, a Japanese vest, for us to take pictures with. Meanwhile, my friend Aya got to experience the full costume shrine maiden.
The second destination was Ebisu Shrine. Here, we were greeted by a maiko (shrine maiden) who told us the history of Shinto religion. After that, the ladies in the group might try to wear a maiko dress. Unfortunately, women who wear hijab will not be allowed to join the maiko experience. As hijab is a religious identity symbol, so does the maiko's kimono. Thus, it will be weird to wear both together. However, the shrine's maiden lends us a happi, a Japanese vest, for us to take pictures with. Meanwhile, my friend Aya got to experience the full costume shrine maiden.
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| Paw, Aya-the-shrine-maiden, Rizky and I at Ebisu Shrine |
Matsuba Sushi
I've known Matsuba Sushi when they brought their sushi to PPI Kyoto-Shiga's welcome party in 2017. They provide delivery of Muslim-friendly sushi in the Kansai area, and this time I got the chance to visit their store in Amagasaki. Okamoto-san, the third generation leader of the restaurant, re-introduced us with the restaurant through his slide presentation. We then got to sit at the table and made three pieces of sushi by ourselves. The restaurant also introduced us with a new menu of mini-udon and mini-ramen. All are delicious! I would say the sushi that I made was not as good as the one that prepared by the restaurant though. Apparently I put too much rice, so the airiness of the rice is decreased and thus affect the tastiness of the sushi. But the fish itself is really fresh! Furthermore, the wasabi here is grated freshly from the plant's roots, and it surprised me that it didn't taste as spicy as the packaged wasabi that I usually have at other sushi restaurants.
Chikamatsu Museum
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was the Shakespeare of Japan who wrote drama for a Japanese puppet show named joruri. Joruri is later known as bunraku and then developed as a live-actor drama known as kabuki. The museum keeps some of the writer's belonging, his scripts, as well as the joruri puppet that used to play for his drama. We also got to watch the joruri performance in the video - with an explanation about the story beforehand (because the way joruri singer telling you the story in Japanese would be too abstract to be understood). I was surprised that I enjoyed the video of joruri performance so much! At first, I thought it is not my thing to watch a puppet show with several men playing it on the back. But then as I got to watch the performance, somehow I focus on the joruri puppet and I was amazed by the detail of the puppet move that reflects the story.
Miyako Hotel New Archaic
After exploring the city in a -1°C kind of weather, I was relieved to finally be able to take a rest. We stayed in Miyako Hotel New Archaic, which located in a 5 minutes walking distance to Hanshin Amagasaki Station.
We had dinner and breakfast in a special room on the 22nd floor with a special halal menu provided. This hotel also received halal certification from Kyoto Council for Sharia and Halal Affairs Japan - so as a Muslim I feel safe to eat here. The dinner menu varied from lamb, chicken, and beef - they even provided us Indonesian sweet soy sauce and spicy sauce to eat with. Meanwhile, the breakfast menu is similar with the dinner, but without the lamb and with an additional variation of bread.
As for the room itself, I and Rizky got the standard twin room, with a space of 26m2. So far, I have entered five hotel rooms in Japan, and I can say that this one is the biggest one I've ever experienced. Comparing my room with my friend's room who is single - I would say even the single room is spacious. If you ever try a hotel in Japan, you might know that most of them are tiny space cramped with an interior that leave no space for you to open luggage. But it will be not an issue for Miyako Hotel New Archaic. They have a spacious room which is very convenient for tourist with giant luggage.
Wearing Kimono and Making Old-Fashioned Japanese Toys Experience
On the second day, we went to Amagasaki City Hall. Here, there were some elders waiting to dress us in kimono. After dressed up, we went to the upper floor to join other local elderly who will give us an experience of making Japanese old-fashioned toys. There were 6 tables with 6 volunteers, and we got to choose which one we want to participate in a given time. I, Rizky and Pawpaw managed to create three toys: a rocket ball, a strap, and a 'yajirobe' (balancing toys). It's a simple but one of a kind experience for me - because even as a residence, I rarely interact with the locals. To visit a city and got the chance to learn something from the locals is really something. We even got a new toy as a bonus!
Amagasaki Castle
The next destination was Amagasaki Castle, which located in a walking distance from the Hanshin Amagasaki Station. The castle was built in 1617 by the feudal lord Ujikane Toda and at that time it acted as the western defense of Osaka Castle. The current castle has just been rebuilt and will be open for public on March 29, 2019.
Teramachi
Different from Kyoto's Teramachi that currently more famous as a shopping district instead of as its initial function as a temple street, the Teramachi in Amagasaki is still functioned as its name. The street was developed 400 years ago to support the Amagasaki Castle nearby. There are 11 temples in the area, and at the time we visited, we were lucky enough to be accompanied by local volunteers who explained to us about some of the temple's history. One interesting history is the one about 5 swords under heaven (Tenka-Goken) - which one of them kept in Honkoji Temple of Teramachi, Amagasaki.
Chuo-Sanwa Shopping Street
The last spot that we explored is Amagasaki's Shopping Street named Chuo-Sanwa that located on the back of Hanshin Amagasaki Station. When we entered from the southern part, I feel like the shopping street is very quiet - there is barely any interesting shop open. But as we move inside the street - especially when we turned right - the street became more lively and there were many interesting shops around! We enjoyed a delicious Ebi tempura from Nisshin Tempura that cost only 120yen. We also had a simple but joyful soy milk doughnut from one local shop that I forgot the name. There were many other foods and snacks along the street that worth to be explored as well!
Matsuba Sushi Halal Bento
Our last lunch in the city is again from Matsuba Sushi - but this time, it's a halal bento (lunch box)! The bento consist of two boxes of tastiness: tempura, beef, fried chicken, takoyaki, salmon sashimi - almost all of Japanese dish in one bento. And of course, because it's Matsuba Sushi's - it's all delicious!!
Closing Remarks
Amagasaki is a pleasant off-beaten-track city. It is located between Kobe and Osaka, and the distance of the city is within an hour trip to Kyoto. I would say the city is perfect for staying for those who want to explore Kansai area (Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara). As a bonus, you get to enjoy Japan city that is less crowded yet still provide interesting attractions to try. Worth to visit when you are in the Kansai area!
I've known Matsuba Sushi when they brought their sushi to PPI Kyoto-Shiga's welcome party in 2017. They provide delivery of Muslim-friendly sushi in the Kansai area, and this time I got the chance to visit their store in Amagasaki. Okamoto-san, the third generation leader of the restaurant, re-introduced us with the restaurant through his slide presentation. We then got to sit at the table and made three pieces of sushi by ourselves. The restaurant also introduced us with a new menu of mini-udon and mini-ramen. All are delicious! I would say the sushi that I made was not as good as the one that prepared by the restaurant though. Apparently I put too much rice, so the airiness of the rice is decreased and thus affect the tastiness of the sushi. But the fish itself is really fresh! Furthermore, the wasabi here is grated freshly from the plant's roots, and it surprised me that it didn't taste as spicy as the packaged wasabi that I usually have at other sushi restaurants.
Chikamatsu Museum
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was the Shakespeare of Japan who wrote drama for a Japanese puppet show named joruri. Joruri is later known as bunraku and then developed as a live-actor drama known as kabuki. The museum keeps some of the writer's belonging, his scripts, as well as the joruri puppet that used to play for his drama. We also got to watch the joruri performance in the video - with an explanation about the story beforehand (because the way joruri singer telling you the story in Japanese would be too abstract to be understood). I was surprised that I enjoyed the video of joruri performance so much! At first, I thought it is not my thing to watch a puppet show with several men playing it on the back. But then as I got to watch the performance, somehow I focus on the joruri puppet and I was amazed by the detail of the puppet move that reflects the story.
Miyako Hotel New Archaic
After exploring the city in a -1°C kind of weather, I was relieved to finally be able to take a rest. We stayed in Miyako Hotel New Archaic, which located in a 5 minutes walking distance to Hanshin Amagasaki Station.
We had dinner and breakfast in a special room on the 22nd floor with a special halal menu provided. This hotel also received halal certification from Kyoto Council for Sharia and Halal Affairs Japan - so as a Muslim I feel safe to eat here. The dinner menu varied from lamb, chicken, and beef - they even provided us Indonesian sweet soy sauce and spicy sauce to eat with. Meanwhile, the breakfast menu is similar with the dinner, but without the lamb and with an additional variation of bread.
As for the room itself, I and Rizky got the standard twin room, with a space of 26m2. So far, I have entered five hotel rooms in Japan, and I can say that this one is the biggest one I've ever experienced. Comparing my room with my friend's room who is single - I would say even the single room is spacious. If you ever try a hotel in Japan, you might know that most of them are tiny space cramped with an interior that leave no space for you to open luggage. But it will be not an issue for Miyako Hotel New Archaic. They have a spacious room which is very convenient for tourist with giant luggage.
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| Standard Twin Room |
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| Halal food buffet |
On the second day, we went to Amagasaki City Hall. Here, there were some elders waiting to dress us in kimono. After dressed up, we went to the upper floor to join other local elderly who will give us an experience of making Japanese old-fashioned toys. There were 6 tables with 6 volunteers, and we got to choose which one we want to participate in a given time. I, Rizky and Pawpaw managed to create three toys: a rocket ball, a strap, and a 'yajirobe' (balancing toys). It's a simple but one of a kind experience for me - because even as a residence, I rarely interact with the locals. To visit a city and got the chance to learn something from the locals is really something. We even got a new toy as a bonus!
Amagasaki Castle
The next destination was Amagasaki Castle, which located in a walking distance from the Hanshin Amagasaki Station. The castle was built in 1617 by the feudal lord Ujikane Toda and at that time it acted as the western defense of Osaka Castle. The current castle has just been rebuilt and will be open for public on March 29, 2019.
Teramachi
Different from Kyoto's Teramachi that currently more famous as a shopping district instead of as its initial function as a temple street, the Teramachi in Amagasaki is still functioned as its name. The street was developed 400 years ago to support the Amagasaki Castle nearby. There are 11 temples in the area, and at the time we visited, we were lucky enough to be accompanied by local volunteers who explained to us about some of the temple's history. One interesting history is the one about 5 swords under heaven (Tenka-Goken) - which one of them kept in Honkoji Temple of Teramachi, Amagasaki.
The last spot that we explored is Amagasaki's Shopping Street named Chuo-Sanwa that located on the back of Hanshin Amagasaki Station. When we entered from the southern part, I feel like the shopping street is very quiet - there is barely any interesting shop open. But as we move inside the street - especially when we turned right - the street became more lively and there were many interesting shops around! We enjoyed a delicious Ebi tempura from Nisshin Tempura that cost only 120yen. We also had a simple but joyful soy milk doughnut from one local shop that I forgot the name. There were many other foods and snacks along the street that worth to be explored as well!
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| Strolling around the shopping street in kimono |
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| Doughnut and Ebi tempura! |
Our last lunch in the city is again from Matsuba Sushi - but this time, it's a halal bento (lunch box)! The bento consist of two boxes of tastiness: tempura, beef, fried chicken, takoyaki, salmon sashimi - almost all of Japanese dish in one bento. And of course, because it's Matsuba Sushi's - it's all delicious!!
Closing Remarks
Amagasaki is a pleasant off-beaten-track city. It is located between Kobe and Osaka, and the distance of the city is within an hour trip to Kyoto. I would say the city is perfect for staying for those who want to explore Kansai area (Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara). As a bonus, you get to enjoy Japan city that is less crowded yet still provide interesting attractions to try. Worth to visit when you are in the Kansai area!
