SAKAI JAPAN is one of the 33 cities that make up Osaka Prefecture. Sakai is home to ancient cultural heritage and where Chanoyu tea ceremony began. To be honest, I have no idea there was a place as charming as Sakai in Kansai region, apart from Kyoto. Having explored Sakai on my recent food trip, I personally think Sakai deserves to be visited by anyone coming to Kansai for the reasons I will share below. I highly recommend Sakai to anyone who loves the Japanese culture and want to escape the mass tourism of Kyoto.
1. Ancient Tomb of Mozu Kofungun
Starting from the fifth century, the Sakai people had been building ancient tombs in keyhole, round and square shape. Originally numbered at 100 tombs, the present day Mozu Kofungun consists of only 44 tombs. The largest of the tombs is Nintoku-tenno-ryo Kofun having a mound length of 486m. It is also one of the grandest tombs in the world alongside the Great Pyramid of Giza and China’s Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. The ancient tombs are currently on the tentative list for inscription as UNESCO World Heritage.
As the ancient mounds are protected and restricted to public access, you can learn more about kofun and the history of Sakai at Sakai City Museum. In the Mozu Kofungun Theatre, the VR (virtual reality) technology provided the opportunity to ‘fly over’ the tumulus and view the ancient and current appearance of the major tumuli and obtain explanation of artifacts related to each tumulus.
Address: 2 Mozusekiun-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: 500m from Mozu Station on the JR Hanwa Line / 280m from Sakaishi Hakubutsukan-mae bus stop on the Nankai Bus Line
2. Lunch at Ginshariya Geko-Tei
As economy rice is common in Malaysia and Indonesia, I did not expect to be enjoying my economy rice luncheon in Japan. When I walked into Ginshariya Geko-tei, I was brimming with excitement seeing trays of cooked tempura, sashimi, grilled fishes, vegetables and Japanese-styled omelette. Here, I learned about the well-known Japan’s wizard of rice, Tsutomu Murashima who opened Ginshariya Geko Tei in 1963. He cooked rice with water soaked with oyster shells and charcoal to improve its quality. The glossy aromatic sticky rice was delicious and what keeps Ginshariya Geko-Tei to be patroned by many even after 25 years since opening its door.
Address: 1-1-30 Shinzaikechonishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
3. Enjoying Walnut Mochi at Kanbukuro
Just across the street from Ginshariya Geko-Tei, an extremely old dessert shop established in 1329 known as Kanbukuro, is located. Kanbukuro only sells their signature items, which are walnut mochi, a small rice cake covered with sweet green bean paste and shaved ice walnut mochi. The shop closes when all items are sold out.
Address: 1-2-1, Shinzaikecho-higashi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: 3-minutes walk from “Terajicho” bus/10 minutes-walk from Mikunigaoka Station on JR Hanwa Line
4. Chanoyu Tea Ceremony at Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko
Sakai Plaza of Rikyu comprises of Sen No Rikyu Chanayo Museum, Yosano Akiko Museum, Chanoyu Experience Rooms and Tourist Information Space.
No place is better to learn about the tea ceremony (wabicha) than the Sakai city itself, which is the birthplace of the great tea master, Sen no Rikyu. Sen no Rikyu is credited for studying and perfecting chanayo tea ceremony. There are also reproductions of two tea rooms in which Rikyu spent his final years.
For a genuine chashitsu tea room experience, do experience the authentic chanoyu at Chanoyu Experience Room. We tried the casual ‘Ryurei” tea ceremony, on which we sat on stools while enjoying matcha green tea and Japanese sweets. Throughout the tea ceremony, we were taught chanoyu etiquette such as how to accept the sweets and tea and how to greet the host of the tea ceremony with gratitude.
Address: 2-1-1 Shukuin-Cho Nishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: 1 min on foot from Shukuin Sta. Hankai Line/ Approx. 10 minutes-walk from Sakai Sta, Nankai Main Line
5. Enjoying Matcha Dessert at Tsubouchi Tea House
Hankai Tramway
We hopped on the Hankai Tramway and later walked along the street lined with old buildings. I found the Sakai City very nostalgic apart from it being highly cultured. Out of the sudden, our tour guide signaled to enter an old shophouse which looked empty from the outside. Little did we know, the 340 years old building was Tsubouchi Tea House where the Premium Matcha Parfait made of green tea ice cream, handmade red bean paste, milk and jellies, and shaved ice with matcha syrup and red bean paste must be tried. On normal days, there is a long queue forming in front of the Tsubouchi Tea House before you can be seated.
Address: 4-2-23 Kainocho Higashi Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: Take the Hankai tramway Hankai Line, it is within walking distance from Ayanocho Station or Myokokuji-Mae Station.
6. Learning Sakai Traditional Craft at Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum
We also visited the Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum which was only 5-minutes walk from Tsubouchi Tea House. The Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum exhibits the traditional craft skill of the Sakai people namely, the art of knife making, incense, traditional dyeing cloth, cloth weaving and the culture of Japanese confectionary. Sakai was known for its production of iron tools, which was believed to begin in the fifth century during the Kofun Period for construction of the tombs, which then prospered as a place for arms production and cutlery.
In the present day, Sakai is known for its high-quality Sakai knives, the majority of which are used by professional chefs all over Japan and internationally. On the first floor, the showroom exhibits knives for variety of purposes such as filleting and slicing fishes or sushi cutting. On the ground floor, Sakai’s other traditional crafts are displayed for sale.
Address: 1-11-30 Zaimoku-cho Nishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: Sakai Higashi Station on the Nankai Koya Line
7. Knives making craft at Mizuno Tanrenjo
From the showroom at Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum, we went to Mizuno Tanrenjo to see for ourselves the ancient traditional Japanese sword making technique which has been handed down generation to generation as demonstrated by Atsushi Mizuno, the 5th generation of Mizuno family. Mr Mizuno used a spring hammer to bang out knives from the steel and traditional charcoal fire and straw ash in the forging process. The Mizuno Tanrenjo is famous for producing the traditional Japanese kitchen knives called “Sakai Uchi”.
Address: 1-1-27, Sakurano-cho-nishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
8. 21st floor observatory deck at Sakai City Hall
Standing at the height of 80m above ground level, the 21st floor observatory deck at Sakai City Hall is the best place to see whole of Sakai City and the Kofun tumulus. It is best viewed during the day time where you can even see Abeno Harukas, which is Japan’s tallest skyscraper, which houses a train station, hotel, museum, department store and offices.
Address: 3-1 Minamikawara-machi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
9. Enjoying Conger Eel Full Course Dinner at City Hotel Seiunso
We concluded our 5D4N Kansai Food Trip by having another exotic cuisine, which was conger ell full course dinner at City Hotel Seiunso, Sakai. The conger eel is a seawater eel, locally known as anago. Unlike unagi, the conger eel is caught wild from its natural habitat. With a starter of crispy fried eel bones, we feasted on a range of food prepared from a medium-size conger eel such as the anago sushi, a hot pot anago simmered with mushroom, tofu and other vegetables, pickled vegetables, thin-sliced anago and salad with anago dressing and bonito flakes as well as grilled anago. The succulent lean meat of the conger eel left a light taste in the mouth, a sweet yet mild taste if compared to the unagi.
Address: 2-4-14, Dejima Kaigandori, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture
Access: 3-minutes walk from Minato Station on Nankai Rail Line; advanced booking is required.