Go in Osaka

[flOvermind]

Next week I'm going to the INDIN conference in Osaka, and I have a few days off, too

Does anyone have suggestions what you can do in Osaka?
I'm interested in both go related and general "touristy" things

[oren]

Kansai Kiin is worth a visit. You can get there by subway line.
Nihon Niin Osaka is also nice. It's right by JR Osaka and Umeda station but can be tricky to find.

For touristy stuff, take the train over to Kyoto. Almost anywhere you can go is nice. Big places to visit are Ginkakuji, Kiyomizu, Nijo, and many many others. Find a tour book for Kyoto and find what interests you.

[GoCat]

I was in Osaka a couple times may years ago. I didn't play Go there (although I play in Nara, where I usually stayed), but I did make a couple nice purchases while there. At one point I found (in the English-version phone book maybe?) a supplier of Go stones, and picked up a nice set for a friend. And one of the bookstores had the large fuseki dictionary -- a phone-book sized single volume. (Of course, this was before we had goodies like GoGoD and SmartGo, etc.) My suitcase was a bit heavy on that return trip.

Touristy stuff abounds, of course. Osaka Castle is a standard stop. And you are not far by train from either Kyoto or Nara, both worth visiting if time permits. Kyoto has so many old palaces and gardens (see the Golden Pavilion), and Nara has the Deer Park with its giant Buddha and lots of other temples.

You will probably find too much to do! Enjoy your trip.

[unkx80]

As GoCat says, there's so many things to do in the Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe/Nara area. I think 3 or 4 days isn't quite enough to explore this region even without Go-related activities.

In addition to what has been suggested, the Sagano scenic railway and one of its stops Arashiyama is worth a visit. There's also a Universal Studios, but it is difficult to say whether it is worth visiting or not.

[gowan]

The Japan National Tourist Organization (http://www.jnto.go.jp/) is very helpful. They have offices in most cities of interest to tourists, with multilingual staff.

You can't go wrong with Kyoto and Nara. You might also consider Himeji Castle, and Miyajima ( a bit farther from Osaka), one of the officially most beautiful places in Japan.

This online travel guide seems good, too: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623.html

[flOvermind]

So here I am in Osaka, sitting at the hotel at 23:15, wondering what to do (damn jetlag, it's supposed to be 16:15 right now ). I guess I'll start with trying to sleep

Thanks for all the replies. Kyoto indeed looks interesting, a lot too interesting for the few days I have off.

Does anyone know places where you can play go as a foreigner? In my own web search, I only found this: http://kurt.sauer.us/2009/01/tennoji-go-center-intro/ . But that's not really the most recent article, and "In any event, the players are quite strong and, by and large, are tolerant of foreigners in their midst." does not sound that encouraging

[oren]

I'm guessing anywhere you go, there won't be much English help.

You can play at either Nihon Kiin Osaka or Kansai Kiin.

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~osakaigo/akusesu ... usesu.html

I'm trying to find an access page for Kansai Kiin. It's midosuji line to Yodoyabashi.

http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&sourc ... 27165&z=15

I went to a Go Salon as a 6k, and there were enough players around there. I wouldn't worry too much about that as much as the language issues.

[gowan]

So here I am in Osaka, sitting at the hotel at 23:15, wondering what to do (damn jetlag, it's supposed to be 16:15 right now ). I guess I'll start with trying to sleep

Thanks for all the replies. Kyoto indeed looks interesting, a lot too interesting for the few days I have off.

Does anyone know places where you can play go as a foreigner? In my own web search, I only found this: http://kurt.sauer.us/2009/01/tennoji-go-center-intro/ . But that's not really the most recent article, and "In any event, the players are quite strong and, by and large, are tolerant of foreigners in their midst." does not sound that encouraging

Tha Kansai Kiin (http://www.kansaikiin.jp/) and the Nihon Kiin Kansai Branch (http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~osakaigo/) would have playing rooms and, no doubt, would welcome foreign visitors. Someone at your hotel can probably help with reading the web sites and even talking on the phone for you.

[lolcat]

Hahaha, well I wrote that article and didn't mean for it to read so severely. The Tennoji Go Center is where I started playing Go, and I was learning Japanese at the same time, so maybe I was a bit over-sensitive about whether I'd be accepted at the time. I've since moved back to Tokyo, but from time to time I still come back and play at Mizutani 2p's Go center and she's as sweet as ever!

[shapenaji]

Huh... why is this off-topic? this seems like something that most go players traveling to Osaka would like to know...

[singular]

I went to the Nihon Kiin Kansai branch and left about five minutes later because the people at the "reception" didn't speak English and didn't understand my Japanese. A man who had been playing followed me out and explained the payment system, and even offered to play a game the next day, but my schedule was full so I had to decline.