iv. Nagarabashi Bridge (長柄橋) and Daigan-ji Temple (大願寺) Part 2

Getting to Nagarabashi Bridge

The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Umeda Stn. Our destination is Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome Stn., also on the subway line.

The Osaka subway system is a crisscross of spaghetti like many subway networks around the world. Where one line intersects with another it's possible to get off and change lines without exiting the station and voiding your ticket. Umeda Stn. is a little unique in this respect. Within walking distance are Nishi-Umeda Stn. (Yotsubashi Line) and Higashi-Umeda Stn. (Tanimachi Line). However, there are no tunnels or passageways within the stations connecting them and you need to physically exit one to enter the other. Unfortunately for us though, the quickest way to get to Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome Stn. is to travel a few minutes from Higashi-Umeda Stn. This would normally involve having to exit the station and buy another ticket.

If you are in the Osaka Station/Umeda area, but not stuck inside subway Umeda Stn., of course it's no problem. Follow the signs to the Tanimachi Line and/or Higashi-Umeda Stn. and you're good to go. If you have a ticket to get you to Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome you may be able exit subway Umeda Stn. with your ticket in hand to enter back into Higashi-Umeda, but you need to be quick about it. First, go to the ticket gate of Umeda Stn., but don't put your ticket through the ticket wicket because it will eat it up and you'll never get it back. Instead, show it to the attendant at the window and in your most overbearing accented Japanese say "Higashi-Umeda, Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome." If it worked, you'll be allowed to leave the station with your ticket in hand. Now follow the signs and go straight to Higashi-Umeda Stn., show your ticket to the attendant there and again say "Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome." If that works, he'll wave you through and you can be on your merry way. However, be careful. If too much time has elapsed since you bought the ticket, you may not be allowed though.

The Tanimachi Line also has a direct connection in the south with Tennoji Stn. It takes longer, but you can jump on the subway there and go straight to Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome Stn. in a little under 20 minutes.

Getting Your Bearings at Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome Station

This should be easy enough. Follow the signs and go out Exit 11. This exit comes out on kind of a diagonal so you want to go straight ahead slightly to your left down the main street. Keep walking and you'll come to the bridge.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Map courtesy of Google Maps

At the north end of the bridge you can do one of two things. One is walk back the way you came. The other is continue just a little further north and jump on one of two Hankyu lines. The closest is Kunijima Stn., useful for heading south back to Tenjinbashisuji-Rokuchome Stn. if you don't feel like walking. Just a little further on is Sozenji Stn. on the Hankyu Kyoto Main Line. This will get you to Ibaraki-shi Stn., which we visited in a previous post here:

http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/ii-ibarakidoji-sugatami-bridge-or.html

Sozenji Stn. is a local station that is accessed by underground passages. It can take you further east toward Kyoto or back to Umeda.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Getting to Daiganji Temple

The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Shin-Osaka Stn. Our destination is Higashi-Yodogawa Stn. on the JR Line. Higashi-Yodogawa Stn. is a big fat one minute by train from Shin-Osaka. If you prefer, you can do a Google map search for the temple or Higashi-Yodogawa Stn. and walk about six blocks or so north from Shin-Osaka if it's a fine day.

Shin-Osaka Stn. itself is a very long station complex with the subway station on one end, Shinkasen (or bullet train) in the middle, and the regular JR station on the other. The Shinkansen is also operated by JR, but which is which will be clearly marked. You're probably not going to "just" accidentally get on a bullet train, so in any case you should be fine.

At Shin-Osaka, follow the signs to the JR lines. If coming via the subway this will take a good five minutes. Higashi-Yodogawa Stn. is just one stop, and anything faster than a local train will shoot right past it. If you get on the train and the next stop is Osaka Stn., you've gone in the opposite direction. If you find yourself traveling for more than one minute and end up at Ibaraki Stn. or Takatsuki Stn., you've accidentally taken a faster service.

Getting Your Bearings at Higashi Yodogawa Station

Go out the West Exit. West will be on your left if you're traveling up from Shin-Osaka Stn. It is then a short walk to the temple.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Behind the temple on a different block is the Nagara Human Sacrifice Monument.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Image courtesy of Google Maps

If you are feeling super keen, you can walk about another five minutes north along the railway tracks up to the only bridge on or near the site of the original Nagarabashi. This bridge is called the Ofukibashi Bridge and the river it spans is the Kanzakigawa River.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

In case you missed it, here is the link to Part 1:
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/09/iv-nagarabashi-bridge-and-daigan-ji.html


Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Osaka)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-the-master-list-osaka.html

(historical) "Human Pillar" Human Sacrifice (人柱 or "Hitobashira")
Site: Daigan-ji Temple (大願寺)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Higashi-Yodogawa Stn. (東淀川駅)
Google Map Search: "Daigan-ji Temple Yodogawa" or  "Daigan-ji Temple Osaka" - There are several temples named "Daigan-ji" in Japan, so perhaps cross reference the location with Higashi-Yodogawa Stn.

(yokai/historical) Hashihime (橋姫), local variant; "Human Pillar" Human Sacrifice (人柱 or "Hitobashira")
Site: Nagarabashi Bridge (長柄橋)
Nearest Station: (Subway) Tenjinbashisujirokuchome Stn. (天神橋筋六丁目駅) coming from the south; or (Hankyu Line) Sozenji Stn. (崇禅寺駅) coming from the north. Kunijima Stn. (柴島駅), on a different Hankyu Line, lies more-or-less next to Sozenji Stn., but you will probably find it less convenient if you plan to travel back to Umeda or onward into Kyoto.
Google Map Search: Try "Eneos Nagarabashi SS," which is a service station south of the bridge. If you follow the road the service station is situated on (Tenjinbashisuji), the river you come to is the Yodogawa River and the bridge is the Nagarabashi Bridge.