Heaven & Hell at Osaka’s Senko-ji

Backyard Tourism Vol. 2

Not too long ago, I found myself yet again in the vicinity of Osaka. Alas, this time, I was not traveling for pleasure as I usually do. Instead, I had made the trek down from Tokyo with a couple of coworkers to handle a series of media interviews for a world famous Japanese tennis player. While I’ll have to leave her unnamed due to an NDA clause, astute readers can likely guess the athlete’s identity with only the few clues I’ve mentioned here (Update: She is now my client). Following the closure of the second day of media interviews, I found myself with a bit of free time on my hands. Not wanting to waste a rare opportunity to source content on someone else’s dime, I decided to hit up an obscure attraction that I had recently seen pop-up on social media.

Now, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have an ongoing series that I’ve titled Backyard Tourism. In this collection of articles, I try to prove that just about anywhere in Japan can be attractive to overseas tourists if those in charge do due justice to their storytelling and marketing. While many locals fail to see it, this country is an endless reservoir when it comes to tourism. So, for the second installment, we’re going to be taking a look at a little known temple in Osaka known as Senko-ji. Located on the outskirts of the city in what can…