Toyonaka · 豊中市

If you land at Itami Airport, you often touch down within Toyonaka's city limits without realizing it – and yet few travelers know this city in northern Osaka. On a city break in Osaka, a side trip here is well worth it: Toyonaka offers a large park with historic farmhouses, quiet residential neighborhoods with charm, and a surprising role in the history of Japanese sports.

A Residential City Amid the Greenery

With the construction of the railway line from Osaka to Takarazuka in the early 20th century, Toyonaka developed into one of Japan's first garden suburbs. Kobayashi Ichizō, the founder of the Hankyū Railway, deliberately marketed plots of land along the line to families from the city, a model that was later copied throughout Japan. In the north, part of Senri New Town, the country's first large planned city, was built starting in the 1960s. Today Toyonaka is a quiet, affluent residential city with many students from Osaka University, whose campus is located here.

Sights in Toyonaka

Hattori Ryokuchi Park is one of the largest green spaces in northern Osaka, with ponds, cherry trees, a riding ground, and sports facilities. In the park you'll find the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses, the first of its kind in the country: more than a dozen farmsteads from all over Japan were relocated here, including a thatched gasshō-style house from Shirakawa-gō, a storehouse from the Amami Islands, and a farmhouse from Iwate with an integrated horse stable. In autumn, the maple leaves glow between the rooftops. On the edge of Itami Airport, watching planes land at close range is a popular pastime, and spotters gather along several riverside paths and in several parks.

Birthplace of School Sports

In 1915, the first national middle school baseball championship took place at the Toyonaka Athletic Field, a forerunner of the famous Kōshien tournament that now captivates the entire country every summer. The first school rugby championship was also held here. On the site of the old athletic field, a memorial park with an exhibition recalls these beginnings, which shaped Japan's sports culture.

Eating in Toyonaka

Toyonaka shares Osaka's cuisine: okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and kushikatsu are served in small shops around Toyonaka, Okamachi, and Shōnai stations. On the Okamachi shopping street, not far from Harada Shrine, you'll find traditional confectionery shops and bakeries, and in Senri-Chūō there is a large shopping center with restaurants. Evenings tend to be laid-back; for nightlife, you can be in Umeda in a few minutes. In return, the residential neighborhoods have plenty of small cafés, bakeries, and family restaurants where you can experience everyday life in a comfortable Osaka suburb. In spring, the riverside paths along the Senri River invite picnics under the cherry trees, and on weekends Hattori Park fills with families, joggers, and barbecue groups.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

The Hankyū Takarazuka Line takes visitors from Umeda to Toyonaka in about 15 minutes, the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway continues the Midōsuji Line northward, and the Osaka Monorail connects Itami Airport with Senri-Chūō. The best times to visit are spring, with cherry blossoms in Hattori Park, and autumn; summers are hot and humid, as everywhere in Osaka.