Osaka/Hirano

HIrano (平野) is a city district of Osaka.

On the southeast side of Osaka, Hirano used to be independent from Osaka. It was a moated, commercial city, nationally known as Cotton City. Today, the Hirano Old City (平野旧市街), also called as Hirano-gō (平野郷) area is known as one of the oldest urban areas in Osaka, and preserved old townscape. The city name of Hirano originates from Sakanoe no Hironomaro (坂上広野麻呂), a nobleman who developed the area.

Now Hirano is also known as the festival city. Hirano-gō Summer Festival (平野郷夏まつり) which was begun over 1,300 years ago, is the second largest summer festival in Osaka (the first is Tenjin Festival), so it attracts as many as 300,000 visitors from across Osaka.

Osaka Metro Hirano Station is in the newer part of city south-west of the old city. Along Nankō-dōri, the ward office, banks and high-rise apartments make it the administrative centre of Hirano Ward, taking over that role from the old city. Most visitors from the metro station pass through it on the way to the old city.

Like many European cities, Hirano has a distinct old city and a new city beside it.

Tanimachi Line and Yamatoji Line cross through this district. Osaka Metro Hirano Station and JR Hirano Station are completely separate stations about 1.2 kilometers apart.

From Kansai International Airport, please take a JR Haruka or Kansai Airport Rapid service to Tennoji, and change to either of the two lines via Hirano. The routes from Shin-Osaka Station are shown below.

The total journey takes approximately 35 to 40 minutes and costs ¥340.

• (Via Tennoji Station) Stay on the Midosuji Line until Tennoji Station (22 minutes), then transfer to the Tanimachi Line bound for Yao-minami and ride to Metro Hirano Station (9 minutes). This transfer is entirely within the same station complex and less confusing for first-time visitors than navigating Umeda.
• (Via Umeda) Ride the Midosuji Line to Umeda Station (7 minutes). From there, you must exit the gates and walk through the underground shopping complex for approximately 10 minutes to reach Higashi-Umeda Station on the Tanimachi Line. Take the train bound for Yao-minami to Metro Hirano Station (18 minutes).

From Shin-Osaka Station, two primary routes are available and the total travel time ranges from 35 to 45 minutes, and the standard fare is ¥320.

• (Via JR Osaka Higashi Line) Take the JR Osaka Higashi Line directly from Shin-Osaka to Kyuhoji Station (30 minutes). At Kyuhoji, switch to a JR Yamatoji Line local train bound for JR Namba and ride just one stop back to Hirano Station (3 minutes).
• (Via JR Yamatoji Line) Take the JR Kyoto Line to Osaka Station (4 minutes), transfer to the Osaka Loop Line (or a Yamatoji Rapid Service) to Tennoji Station (15 minutes), and then transfer to a local train on the JR Yamatoji Line to Hirano Station (6 minutes).

• 34.623698135.5548771 Hirano Old City (平野旧市街). A rare surviving example of a medieval moated city that was rebuilt in the early Edo period with a grid-patterned layout. While most of the moats were filled in during modern urban development, the district preserves its historical atmosphere through its orderly grid of streets lined with traditional Edo-period machiya and numerous historic temples and shrines.  
• 34.61258135.554172 Kire Moated Settlement (喜連環濠集落). Explore Osaka City's best-preserved moated settlement. This townscape retains the traditional form of a moated settlement dating back to the Middle Ages.  
• Hirano "Machigurumi" Museum (平野町ぐるみ博物館). Town-wide ecomuseum network started in 1993; the walk between the 16 museums is part of the experience. Internationally recognized as one of Japan's pioneering ecomuseum initiatives, it is organized entirely by local residents, with no government involvement.  
  • 34.625123135.5544473 Katana Museum (かたなの博物館). Small sword museum attached to Masumian, with displays and sword polishing demonstrations. Free.  
  • 34.622521135.5572724 Cotton City Museum (綿とくらし博物館). Museum in the kura of the registered Ebisui House, showing tools used in yarn production. Free.  

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  Ichinomon-suji Street in Hirano Old City
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  Yashiki-kōji Street in Kire Moated Settlement
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  Cotton City Museum

• 34.628944135.5549441 Kumata Shrine (杭全神社) (approximately 5 minutes on foot south-east from JR Hirano Station), ☏ +81-6-6791-0446. Open daily, daytime hours for the main shrine grounds.. Established in 861 (Jogan 3), this ancient Shinto shrine serves as the guardian of the Hirano Old City. It is also famous for its dynamic summer festival called Hirano-gō Summer Festival held annually in July, featuring traditional Danjiri float processions. Free.  
  • 34.628944135.5549442 Hirano-gō Summer Festival (平野郷夏祭り). Held July 11–14. The largest danjiri festival in Osaka, and among summer festivals it ranks second only to the Tenjin Festival in scale. Rooted in the Heian-period “Gion-e” tradition, which shares its origins with Kyoto’s Gion Festival, it attracts as many as 300,000 visitors from across Osaka to experience the raw energy of the danjiri floats and the sacred dignity of the mikoshi procession.
    The main events are the joint procession of all nine danjiri along Nankō-dōri near Metro Hirano Station on the night of 12 July (from about 21:00), and the miya-iri entries at Kumata Shrine on 13 July (from about 19:00 until after midnight). On the third or fourth Sunday of June, all nine danjiri line up on Hommachi-dōri for a pre-festival event.  
• 34.6234135.55533 Senkō-ji Temple (全興寺), ☏ +81-6-6791-2680. 09:00-17:00. A temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect, traditionally said to have been founded by Prince Shotoku in the early 7th century. It is widely renowned for its interactive "Jigoku-do" (Hell Hall), which provides a vivid, visual depiction of Buddhist purgatory and judgment to teach the consequences of bad actions. The temple grounds also feature a small museum dedicated to retro snacks and toys from the Showa era. Free for the main temple grounds (¥100 entry fee for the Hell Hall).  
• 34.62725135.5504974 Dainenbutsu-ji Temple (大念佛寺), ☏ +81 6-6791-0026. Temple grounds/gate: 06:00–17:00; main hall viewing: 09:30–16:30 (closes 17:00). Free admission.. The head templesōhonzan of the Yūzū-Nembutsu sect (融通念佛宗). Its massive wooden main hall (hondō) is the largest wooden building in Osaka Prefecture and a registered tangible cultural property.It is famous for the spectacular Manbu Onenri (万部おねり) festival (early May 1–5), featuring a grand procession of 25 bodhisattvas, music, and dance — designated an Osaka City Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Free.   ^{[dead link]}

• Hommachi-dōri (本町通), Hirano-hommachi / Hirano-higashi. The main street of the old city, running about 880 m east–west from near the former Nankai Hirano tram terminus (a few hundred metres north-east of Metro Hirano Station) to Hirano Park and Akahirume Shrine. It was laid out in 1616 when the town was rebuilt after the Siege of Osaka, and in the Edo period it was lined with cotton wholesalers. Until the tram closed in 1980 it was one of south Osaka's main downtowns.
  Today it is a string of shopping-street associations, mostly under covered arcades and largely closed to cars. Many shops have closed, but fabric, futon and kimono shops still stand among cafés and restaurants. The Kobayashi Shinbunpo building (see the News Dealer Museum under Machigurumi Museum) and the supermarket complex Bis Hirano are on the street, and its west end meets the Promenade Hirano walkway. On the third or fourth Sunday of June, all nine danjiri line up along the arcade for the festival's pre-festival event.  
• 34.608167135.5519171 AEON Kire-Uriwari (イオン喜連瓜破). The largest shopping centre in Southeast Osaka (in the past, also Western Japan), at Kire-Uriwari Station, with a supermarket, specialty shops, and food court.  

• 34.626444135.5661671 Ganko Hirano-gō Yashiki (がんこ平野郷屋敷), 1-3-19 Kamikuratsukuri, Hirano-ku. Japanese restaurant in a 400-year-old merchant house, with a garden and a small living-culture museum attached.