Mino

Mino is a popular day trip destination from Osaka. Mino is 15Km north of central Osaka. It features museums, temples and park lands. Mino is a popular day trip destination from Osaka. The official city government spelling of the city in English is “Minoh”, but the common spelling is “Mino”. Mino was formally known as Minoo. Close to the Mino Station you will find a charming trail along the Mino River. This trail leads you to many sightseeing spots including Mino Insect Museum, Ryuanji Temple, Mino Waterfall, Katsuoji Temple and Meiji-no-mori Mino Quasi-national Park (total 40 min walk). Mino Insect Museum Mino is one of the richest habitats for insects in Japan. In 1953, the Mino Insect Museum was established in this place, since then it has been renovated and extended. At the museum, you can see over 6,000 samples of insects with some of them visitors can physically touch and feel live species. There are also over 200 live butterflies of about 30 species. Visitors can learn about their year-round ecology. Address: 1-18 Minokoen, Mino-shi, Osaka Access: 15 min walk from Mino Station Admission: 270yen Opening hours: 10am - 5pm, closed on Tuesdays Ryuanji Temple (Mino Temple) Ryuanji Temple was established by the En-no-gyoja in 658 after he was enlightened through his training under the Mino Waterfall. Since then, Ryuanji Temple has been attracting many monks throughout Japan as a training centre. Among those, Gyoki, Kukai, Nichiren, Honen, Rennyo are the some of the famous monks in Japanese history. It was destroyed by fire in 16th century and rebuilt. It is also a birthplace of lottery in Japan. Address: 2-33 Minokoen, Mino-shi, Osaka Access: 15 min walk from Mino Station Mino Waterfall Mino Waterfall is one of the best 100 waterfalls in Japan. This magnificent waterfall is about 33 meter high. It shows various faces through the year and especially it shows breathtaking views in autumn attracting many visitors. Access: 30 min walk from Mino Station Katsuoji Temple Built in 727, Katsuoji Temple (勝尾寺) was formerly written as “勝王寺” (meaning “temple that surpasses any kings”) as it was said that Buddhist prayers exceeded the Imperial power of the time. Later, since “王” (king) was replaced with “尾” (a kanji character with the same sound as “王”) to show constraint, the temple has been referred to as “勝尾寺.” Supreme rulers in various periods in history had worshipped in Katsuoji Temple to pray for fortune in war and it is still known as a “temple of good luck at games”. This spirit is combined with the spirit ‘to overcome your own weakness’ and daruma (piece of folk art) is now sold as a lucky charm in the temple as a symbol of Katsuoji Temple. Access: 40 min walk from Mino Station Open hours: 8am - 5pm Admission: 400yen Meiji-no-mori Mino Quasi-national Park Meiji-no-mori Mino Quasi-national Park is a 963 ha natural beauty spreading over lower mountains around 100 to 600 meter high in Mino-shi. This park forms a habitat for 980 species of plants and over 3,000 species of insects. You can enjoy seasonal changes in the scenery, such as cherry blossoms in spring, trees covered with snow and hanging icicles in winter and especially the brilliantly coloured leaves late in autumn. This park is the western starting point of the Tokai Nature Trail which stretches 1,697 km between Tokyo and Osaka (it takes 40 to 50 days to complete the trail on foot). Mino Waterfall and Katsuoji Temple are within the park. Access: 30 min walk from Mino station Mino Access To get to Mino take a Hankyu Takarazuka line from Hankyu Umeda Station and change the train at Ishibashi Station to Hankyu Mino line. Then get off at Mino Station (25 min train trip). |