Minoo Park

Hello again everyone! If you are a nature lover, this is a place you must go to. Or even if you just want to empty your mind as you walk, hearing nothing but the chirping of birds and the sound of the water flowing from the brook below will soothe your soul.

I am talking about Minoo Park (also called Minoh) and falls, which is located on the outskirts of Osaka. Since we were in Japan for 8 days, our days were divided into busy and relaxing days. This was one of the latter, and we went to Minoo on our second to the last day we were there.

Even if the park is located on the outskirts of the city, going there isn't a problem as it is accessible by train. I guess there is not a place in Japan that cannot be reached by train. This picture was taken right outside the train station.

As you get out of the train station, there is ample signage that lets you know which direction to take. The Hankyu train line services Minoo, so from Umeda, you can take the Hankyu Takarasuka Line on platform 4-6 and get off at Ishibasi. Take note that the Takarasuka line is an express train so this is a bit more expensive, and there is a local train that stops at Ishibashi as well, so if you are not in a rush, you can take the local train instead. From Ishibashi, take the train that goes to Minoo, and it will be the last stop. It is only 3 stations from Ishibashi by the way.

The walk from the train station to the falls takes about 20 minutes if you walk a little bit fast, but in a place like this you want to take time ans experience nature at its fullest. I was fascinated by this outdoor elevator that takes you to the hotel lobby on top of the mountain. Cool, eh?

At the start of the path, you see shops that sell souvenirs, some restaurants, but as you go deeper, all you see are trees, photographers, and fellow hikers. On this day there was a light drizzle, so visitors were scant. The whole path is paved, and there are no steep inclines, which makes it a leisurely walk.

There is a brook on one side, and there are trees all around, so it is just you and nature. My friend who was traveling with me kept thanking me for including this in our itinerary. It is indeed a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city and you just get in touch with nature.

Somewhere in the middle there a few buildings, some are restaurants, some are temples, and some are private residences, but not a lot. So if you are hiking alone, you might get a bit scared. It is best to enjoy it with a companion, although we did see some lone hikers, even a lone woman asked us for directions.

There was just this peaceful atmosphere in the area and I was wondering how the place would look like in autumn when all the leaves are orange and golden and yellow. I could only imagine.

Along the way there are picnic tables and benches, and during the summer the place may get busy. I wonder if people swim there as well. The water was very clean, so it must be nice to just play in the water when it is warmer.

We certainly  took our time appreciating the beauty all around us, and even more taking pictures. We could not get enough. The place was just gorgeous!

Imagine living in a house located in an area like this. You wake up to the sound of birds chirping, the sound of the flowing brook as your lullaby when you go to sleep at night. Ah....

The contrasting colors were so nice, I kept clicking my phone to take pictures.

I took this picture to highlight the fallen cherry blossoms on the pavement. The rain made it more visible.

Loved this area as well, the road was curvy, we can see the brook below and the buildings with the lights on looked so inviting. They were like workshops. These were the few buildings we saw in the middle of the walk.

We also passed a couple of temples along the way, and we just took some pictures as we were more interested in the nature surrounding us.

This could be a nice place to take a dip during the summer time. There is a minifalls and an area where the water is deep enough for anyone to submerge themselves in. There are benches in this area as well as a picnic table.

The benches littered with fallen petals looked so serene, wet with the rain, it looked surreal.

I kept picturing the place in my mind what colors they would be during autumn.

             Wouldn't it be super nice to just have a picnic here? I must go back. :-)

We even passed some tulips along the way.

And all that beauty led to the highlight of the walk, which is the Minoo waterfalls.

We must have walked for around 40 minutes on our way, since we really took our time, but we never got tired, and we did not sweat at all because it was quite cold that day.

And since this is located on the outskirts of the city, not a lot of tourists go, so this is really a place where you can relax and you can take your time and not worry about other people.

When we got to the falls, there were only two other people, so we practically had the place to ourselves and so we took all the pictures and videos we wanted.

I would have loved to swim here like I did in another falls we visited in New York one time.

We did not stay long in the area as the drizzle was not letting up, so after taking our pictures, we decided to walk back, and by then it was already half past five in the afternoon.

The walk back was a lot faster, probably in just under 20 minutes, and by the time we got to the train station, it was already starting to get dark.

Last but not least, we also saw a very healthy looking cat near the train station outside one of the already closed shops by then.

So if you want to experience nature, get away from the touristy places, this is definitely the place to go to. And if I do go back, this time it will be in the autumn, just to see the contrast. Stay tuned for more!