Traditional industry is a central facet of Senshu-region culture and history. In addition to viewing artisans at work and buying their products, there are numerous spots where you can try making products for yourself.
Furthermore, Senshu is home to a number of art museums exhibiting Japanese and world art dating back to ancient times, the Kishiwada Danjiri Hall which contains Japan's oldest extant danjiri festival float, and other fascinating cultural facilities.
If you want to take a breather after all of that excitement, why not try making your own haniwa traditional terracotta figurine or spend some time virtual-stargazing at the local planetarium?
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Mizuno Tanrenjo
Tour a Knife and Sword Forging Workshop
Senshu is famous for its swords and other bladed products. This workshop was founded in 1872, and visitors can view their traditional-style knife and Japanese-sword forging process which uses bellows.
After viewing impressive forging skills for yourself in the workshop, you can buy a knife of your own to take home!Information
Address: 大阪府堺市堺区桜之町西1-1-27 Tel: 072-229-3253 Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends/holidays Facility Holidays non-fixed (irregular) (Please call for further details)
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Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum
See, Experience and Take Home the Traditional Crafts of Sakai
Experience Sakai's traditional industries and their products all in one museum. These encompass swords and other blades, incense, chusen-wazarashi dyeing, kelp, bicycles, and rugs and mats. The museum has exhibits for products from each category as well as a shop selling some of them.
Moreover, you can try making various different product types for yourselves through museum-hosted workshops.Information
Address: 大阪府堺市堺区材木町西1丁1-30 Tel: 072-227-1001 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Facility Holidays Facility Holidays: 3rd Tue. of each month (or the following day instead if Tue. is a nat'l holiday),
during the New Year holiday period (Dec. 29–Jan. 3), and other unscheduled days(Please call for further details)
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Nishikawa Yoshisomesarashi Workshop
Hands-on Chusen Tie-Dyeing Experiences
Founded in 1946, this workshop is the only one in Japan today that carries out all dyed-fabric production processes, from bleaching through to dyeing. Here at this historical facility, you can easily create your own unique, handkerchief-sized, chusen style (stencil-based dye application) tie-dyed products.
The process is incredibly simple—parents can even bring their children along to try it out!Information
Address: 大阪府堺市中区毛穴町334 Tel: 072-271-0918 Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Facility Holidays weekends and nat'l holidays (Please call for further details)
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Isaka Glass Works
Hands-on Glass Crafting
Glassmaking is a long-established industry in the Senshu region. At Isaka Glass Works, you can craft two different types of objects: glass animals and glass beads. Try the glass beads if you want to try something relatively quick and easy, or give glass animals a shot if you're up for something more challenging.
Both individuals and groups (of up to four people) can take part in workshops.Information
Address: 大阪府和泉市上町689 Tel: 0725-41-0145 Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Facility Holidays weekends and nat'l holidays (Please call for further details)
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Kobayashi Museum of Art
Museum Centering on Nihonga Paintings by Artists Honored with the Imperial Order of Culture
This museum houses approximately 400 works in its archives, featuring works by celebrated contemporary artists—including Nihonga (Japanese painting) artists honored with the Imperial Order of Culture in the Nihonga genre—as well as artists in the Western painting and print genres such as Ryohei Koiso and Tsuguharu Fujita. Exhibit content is changed up every three months, and explanations of the pieces are provided by the museum's curator.
In addition, the museum garden provides a place to relax amidst the changing flowers of the four seasons.Information
Address: 大阪府高石市羽衣2-2-30 Tel: 072-262-2600 Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) Facility Holidays Mon. (or the following day instead if Mon. is a nat'l holiday) (The museum may close temporarily for exhibit changes)
(Please call for further details) -
Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi
Widely Varied, Famous Artwork from Both East and West
This museum boasts a wide range of art including both Japanese and Chinese paintings, texts, and pottery along with other ancient Eastern art; ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints; ancient maps; and even modern Western art. Their collection even includes 2 national treasures and 29 officially designated Important Cultural Properties. This wide-reaching collection can be viewed online via the museum's website; we recommend taking a look at the pieces in advance before coming to view them in person, as this will further deepen your appreciation and understanding.
In addition, the museum holds unique special exhibitions four to five times per year using their archived works.Information
Address: 大阪府和泉市内田町三丁目6番12号 Tel: 0725-54-0001 Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) Facility Holidays Mon. (or the following day instead if Mon. is a nat'l holiday),on days used for changing exhibits, and during the New Year Holiday period (Please call for further details)
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Masaki Art Museum
A Shining Cultural Beacon for the Entire World
The archives of this ancient-Eastern-art museum include approximately 1,300 pieces, including 3 national treasures and 13 officially designated Important Cultural Properties. Their prestigious ink wash paintings, handwritten pieces and other works dating back to Japan's Kamakura and Muromachi Periods (1185–1573) and China's Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties (early 7th through latter 14th centuries) have earned the museum widespread praise in Japan and abroad as an important center for the preservation of medieval Zen Buddhist culture.
Information
Address: 大阪府泉北郡忠岡町忠岡中2-9-26 Tel: 0725-21-6000 Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (last admission at 4:00 p.m.) Facility Holidays Mon., New Year holiday period (Please call for further details)
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Kishiwada Danjiri Hall
Kishiwada is the home of Japan's original danjiri festival, and the Kishiwada Danjiri Hall exhibits happi coats from the various neighborhoods which participate in the festival as well as woodcarving art and more. A huge screen next to an actual danjiri float shows videos of the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival using realistic, awe-inspiring visuals and sounds Visitors can purchase danjiri-related products, the famous Senshu confection Murasame, and more from the museum shop.
Information
Address: 大阪府岸和田市本町11-23 Tel: 072-436-0914 Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) Facility Holidays Mon. (but open if Mon. is a nat'l holiday) (Please call for further details)
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Harvest Hills
Create Your Own Adorable Haniwa, A Type of Terracotta Figure Found in Senshu's Tumuli
Large numbers of terracotta figures known as haniwa have been excavated from the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, a cluster of ancient tumuli in Senshu which are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, At Sakai Green Museum Harvest Hill, visitors can make their very own haniwa figurines by hand through a 20-minute pottery workshop!
In addition to this, the facility offers herbarium and other plant-based crafting workshops, woodworking workshops, cooking workshops including bread-making, and various other fun activities to enjoy.
The overall park and its facilities are spacious and varied with plenty of fun activities to try, so come down for a visit and see all there is to see!Information
Address: 大阪府堺市南区鉢ヶ峯寺2405-1 Tel: 072-296-9911 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission at 4 p.m.) Facility Holidays every Wed. in June, July, Dec., Jan. and Feb. (does not apply during summer and winter breaks), and Jan. 1 (Please call for further details)
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Sophia Sakai
Sen-no-yume Kirameku Sakai Hoshizorakan Planetarium
Using digital imaging equipment to project top-quality images around the entire dome interior and audio equipment that delivers stunning theater-quality sound, Sophia Sakai reproduces the stars in the sky, the Milky Way and other impressive sights. Various programs are available for both adults and children alike. Furthermore, the giant telescope on the building's roof can be used by visitors during nighttime stargazing sessions and other events.
Information
Address: 大阪府堺市中区深井清水町1426 Tel: 072-270-8110 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission at 4 p.m.) Facility Holidays Mon. (but open if Mon. is a nat'l holiday), (Please call for further details)
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Children's Museum Big Bang
Look For the Spaceship-shaped Building!
This museum, geared primarily toward families, serves as your center for fun. The unusual interior design, inspired by Leiji Matsumoto's original work Visitors from Outer Space: Bearu and Mero's Daring Journey, provides a unique narrative backdrop to the experience.
The most popular attraction here is the 53-meter (174-foot) play tower: a massive, maze-like jungle gym divided into 17 different sections with varying designs.
If you're visiting the Sakai area as a family, make sure to include this exciting attraction in your itinerary!Information
Address: 大阪府堺市南区茶山台1丁9番1号 Tel: 072-294-0999 Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) Facility Holidays Facility Holidays: Mon. (or the following day instead if Mon. is a nat'l holiday),but open on Mon. during spring break, in May, during summer break, and in Oct. (Please call for further details)
