A temple town "Osu" in Nagoya

I read in the book that no fewer than 36 of the capital cities of Japan’s 47 prefectures were originally castle towns. Today they are popular sightseeing spots through out the years. We have the Nagoya Castle in our city.

When talking of a castle, we can’t ignore the development of a town around a castle. One of the most popular towns in Nagoya and one that has been developed as a temple town is called Osu. In those days of warriors many temples were relocated from other places or constructed to prevent outside invasions from coming straight into the castle.

Well it is a historical story. Nowadays Osu is one of the exciting areas for visitors of any kinds with huge covered shopping arcades which only pedestrians are allowed. You will be surprised to see the numbers of shops being small and big of different kinds. It is indeed a hodgepodge of over 1000 shops of every size and style. You’ll never see fancy brand boutiques here. Rather you will see shops run by young owners to provide fashionable outfits with reasonable prices for the young, or the second-hand stores for kimonos, even street side food stalls to cafes to restaurants of international cuisines, discount grocery shops, and of course there are some well-known traditional shops and restaurants that are run by the families for generations. Besides them, Osu has been famous for the area where many computer freaks love to visit to find the items they’re looking for while checking in and out varieties of shops there.

But more than this, it’s a temple town after all. You will see shrines and temples spread throughout Osu and its surrounding area. Osu is a historical and active town and is a must-see for visitors as well as local people.