Nakanoshima (modern architecture and museums)

Background

Nakanoshima is a long, narrow sandbank in Kita Ward, Osaka, between the Dojima and Tosabori rivers, about 3 km from east to west. Together with Dojima to the north and Kitahama to the south, it is one of Osaka's traditional business centers, home to Osaka City Hall and the Bank of Japan's Osaka Branch. Modern buildings are concentrated on the island: the Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library was donated by the Sumitomo family and opened in 1904, and its building is an Important Cultural Property of Japan; the Osaka City Central Public Hall originated in a donation of one million yen by stockbroker Iwamoto Einosuke in 1911, and its red-brick exterior, also an Important Cultural Property, is the symbol of Nakanoshima. The western part of the island is a cluster of cultural facilities: the National Museum of Art, Osaka moved here in 2004 into a building designed by architect César Pelli with all its galleries underground, and next door the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka collects modern and contemporary art and design.

Local customs

Nakanoshima is good for walking: Nakanoshima Park at the eastern end has a rose garden, the middle section has the Public Hall, the library and City Hall, and the western section has the museum cluster. There are many riverside paths and bridges, and taking a water bus to view the buildings from the river is another way to experience Osaka as the "City of Water".

Religion & beliefs

• Nakanoshima is dominated by secular buildings and has no particular religious rules
• the Central Public Hall and the library are public facilities still in use, so please do not make noise in reading rooms or meeting venues. When visiting nearby shrines such as Osaka Tenmangu, follow shrine etiquette for purifying your hands and bowing.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow half a day: about 1.5 hours for the Central Public Hall and the library in the eastern section, and 2–3 hours for the art museums in the western section (exhibitions extra). Take the Keihan Nakanoshima Line to Naniwabashi, Oebashi, Watanabebashi or Nakanoshima Station, or take the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line to Yodoyabashi Station and walk. Opening hours, closing days and exhibitions of the public hall, library and art museums are subject to each facility's official website
• some exhibitions require reservation or separate tickets. Combine with the modern buildings around Kitahama and Yodoyabashi and the Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, and in the evening eat around Kitashinchi or Fukushima. It is crowded during the spring rose garden bloom and the autumn foliage season, and at weekends the art museums may have queues.