Various Things I Love About My Town

I have mentioned the neighborhood where I live a few times in the past, but I have never clearly stated exactly where it is.

As I plan to write articles about visiting local temples and shrines in the future, I will introduce it beforehand since it will come out anyway.

It is Matsubara City, which is minor on a national level even within Osaka Prefecture.
I doubt anyone could tell just from the top image (lol).

Actually, I started living here when I married my husband, but even though I knew the name, I had never been there and it was an unfamiliar city, so I set up my new home without knowing at all where it was in Osaka or what kind of place it was.

The good points of Matsubara City that I realized after living here

Matsubara City is located at the entrance of the "Minamikawachi" region, almost in the center of Osaka Prefecture, and although it is a small city with a mostly flat area of about 16.66 square kilometers, it is a developed residential city with a population of about 120,000.

✅ Access is too convenient

Above all, the number one reason it is easy to live in is that it is adjacent to major cities like Osaka City and Sakai City, and it has excellent access to all directions.

Four expressways pass through: the Kinki Expressway, Nishi-Meihan Expressway, Hanwa Expressway, and Hanshin Expressway Route 14 Matsubara Line, and it also has the Matsubara Junction, so you can easily go to any part of the country.

The Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line runs through the city, and you can arrive at "Tennoji Station (Abenobashi Station)," one of the gateways to the south of Osaka, in just about 10 minutes by taking a semi-express train for only one stop.

In short, it is in a convenient location to go anywhere.

✅ Are prices low?

Initially, because I moved from the Hankyu Kobe Line, I thought prices felt low, but it seems that is not the only reason.

The reason seems to be that strict Matsubara citizens only buy cheap things.
Because of that, price competition is fierce, and there is a phenomenon where even major supermarkets go out of business.
Even now, there is a supermarket that looks like it might disappear 💦

On the other hand, we are currently in the middle of a construction rush for large shopping malls, which can be reached in a short time via National Route 309 or the Central Circular Route that pass through the city, and they are within a range that can be greatly utilized.
Even though they are major shopping malls, their tenants are not just movie theaters and fancy shops, but also super-cheap grocery stores, which have firmly captured the hearts of Matsubara citizens.

✅ Many restaurant chains

Major restaurants are lined up along the national highway, so I never have any trouble eating out when the need arises.
There are many restaurants so close that I can walk to them without taking the car, and on my days out, if I issue a "decree" to my family saying "Dinner is on your own!", everyone can get a meal without any trouble.

✅ A downtown-like personality

While it is moderately urban as mentioned above, it also has a downtown-like atmosphere, and compared to the "Hankyu Kobe Line," I was initially confused by the very different atmosphere of the people living here, but now I feel that this actually suits me better.

For example, when I was waiting at a traffic light, a total stranger of an older lady suddenly said to me,
"Hey girl, mackerel was cheap at XX today."
and I was taken aback.

イヤイヤその前に、あんた誰やねん💦

The members of "Rekijokuru" are also people I met in this area, and I think many of them have an unpretentious and friendly personality.

Now, I feel like I have a better grasp of the social circles and the lay of the land than my husband, who lived here originally.

A City of History

🌿 Ancient development visible from the streets

There are seven former streets running east-west and north-south in the city, which shows that people have been coming and going and developing the area since ancient times.

🔵 Shimo-Takano Kaido (Left, North-South)
🟤 Naka-Takano Kaido (Center, North-South)
🔵 Furuichi Kaido (Upper Right, North-South Diagonal)
🟠 Nagao Kaido (Center, East-West)
🟣 Sumiyoshi Kaido (Center, slightly lower diagonal)
🔵 |Shakodo| (Leading to Sumiyoshi Kaido)
🔴 Takenouchi Kaido (Lower part, East-West)

Matsubara City proposes walking courses that visit famous spots along each street.

🌿 Discovery of the "Naniwa Daido"

The road was about 18 meters wide with two ditches on the east and west for drainage, and it was clearly a road leveled by human hands.

It extended north, passing through
Nagai Park → East side of Shitennoji Temple → South side of Osaka Castle"Naniwa Palace"
, and it became clear that it was once the main street leading to the capital at that time.

This road was once the border between "Kawachi Province" and "Settsu Province," and it still serves as the boundary between Matsubara City and "Sakai City, Osaka City" today.

🌿 Kawachi Otsukayama Kofun

Located from Nishi-Otsuka, Matsubara City to Minami-Eganosho, Habikino City, the "Otsukayama Kofun" boasts the 5th largest size in the country among the huge burial mounds, including the Daisen Kofun in Sakai City, which became a World Heritage site.

Because there are many burial mounds named "Otsuka" throughout the country, "Kawachi" is added to the beginning to distinguish it.
・ "Hirui Otsuka Kofun" in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture
・ "Itoi Otsuka Kofun" in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture
・ "Antoku Otsuka Kofun" in Chikushi District, Fukuoka Prefecture
・ "Kuroda Otsuka Kofun" in Shiki District, Nara Prefecture
・ "Karani Otsuka Kofun" in Kimotsuki District, Kagoshima Prefecture
・ "Toyota Otsuka Kofun" in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture
and so on, there are many "Otsuka Kofun" in existence.
It just goes to show that the place name "Otsuka" is common throughout the country.

Let's return to the subject of the Kawachi Otsuka Kofun.

Since this is also under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Agency, excavation surveys have not been allowed to proceed, and the details are completely unknown. However, I once read an article stating that it was excluded from the World Heritage list because it is about a century newer than the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group built in the 4th to 5th centuries.
(I tried looking for it again this time, but I couldn't find it.)

I used to use this road for my daily bicycle commute, and as it is selected as one of the "100 Best Green Spots in Osaka", the seasonal scenery is quite wonderful. Because it is an "untouched forest," I often saw people bringing in elaborate equipment to enjoy "birdwatching" from across the fence. I have no knowledge of birds, so I have no idea what kind of birds they were looking for, but it must be a bit of a famous spot in that world.

A well-balanced and livable city

To summarize the good points of Matsubara City that I recommend, they are as follows:

☝️It is a moderately urban area with excellent transportation access
☝️There are many large stores, making shopping and dining convenient
☝️It has a traditional, human touch
☝️There are many historical attractions such as old roads and cultural properties
☝️There is a moderate amount of greenery

It is a convenient and livable city with a quite high standard.

Introduction of the mascot character

The mascot character of Matsubara City is"Mackey".
Since it is "Matsu" (pine) and "Bara" (rose), it is a girl designed with a pine tree and a rose, and she was born in 2010 to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the municipal government.

安易なネーミングですが💦

It seems to have disappeared now, but in the past, every time a child was born, parents were presented with a "pine" or "rose" sapling.
I was happy to receive one, but I think now that people who were not interested in plants probably didn't want one.

Wow! Looking at it now,"Matsubara-kun" has also been born!

This one is even simpler; it's in the shape of the Matsubara City map, and it's just called "Matsubara-kun"!

By the way, many roses are planted at the Matsubara City Hall, and it is a masterpiece, especially when the climbing roses are in full bloom.

I also learned for the first time that Matsubara City has an official note account.

This is the Matsubara City I love.

[Reference Sites]
・Matsubara City Tourism Association
・Matsubara City Website