Today, was our first full day in Osaka.  When we woke up we had breakfast and then started out to our first destination today.  The forecast was calling for rain, but we were hopeful it would be light and scattered. Nambayasaka Shrine: Our first stop was the Shinto shrine Nambayasaka Shrine, which was only a few minutes walk from Namba Station.  The shrine is famous for its modern architecture infused on the grounds of a traditional shrine.  The new part is used for spiritual performances and is believed that the open mouth swallows evil spirits, thus promoting good fortune and luck: If you look carefully in the center of the mouth you will see a golden object.  During prayer, it is believed spirits will come down to the shrine and be embodied in this object whilst one prays. After we walked around the shrine a bit we headed to our next stop. Shitennoji Temple: Shitennoji is a Buddhist temple and a beautiful sight to see.  It even included a five-story pagoda you could enter and climb: We have never been in a pagoda before and wondered what was in it.  Inside there was a spiral stairway we could enter, after […]
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