- 7-Day Central Japan Itinerary inc Kanazawa, Takayama and Shirakawa-go - 9 October 2025
- Where to Eat in Kanazawa - 8 October 2025
- Does USJ Offer Priority Seating? - 4 October 2025
It doesn’t matter how tall you are, if you stand in front of the giant lion’s head at Osaka’s Namba Yasaka shrine, you’ll feel tiny – here’s why it should be on your Osaka itinerary, and what to look out for once you’re there.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
The Giant Lion’s Head
The Lion’s Head, the main attraction at Namba Yasaka Shrine, is 12 metres high and 11 metres wide. It’s said that its mouth can swallow misfortune and bad luck, so, even though the Namba Yasaka precinct has another prayer hall, you’ll often find people standing in front of the lion to ask for help.
However, the main job of the lion’s head is actually a performance venue – look carefully. You’ll see a stage inside its mouth, and dances, including lion dances, are performed here.
If you visit, make sure you also look up inside the lion’s mouth at the ceiling.
The Legend Behind Namba Yasaka Shrine
The god that Namba Yaska Shrine is dedicated to is Susanoo no Mikoto. One of the three noble gods, he is also the god of storms and the sea. It sounds like Susanoo was a bit of a whiny child, and while there are a few versions as to why this might be, his crying and wailing caused damage to the land, triggering rivers to dry up, and so he was banished.
Various tales of magic, myths and misadventure follow, but let us get to the relevant one. At some point during his banishment, Susanoo ended up in a part of Japan called Izumo, where he met an old couple who had eight daughters – had being the operative word, as seven of them had already been eaten by an eight-headed dragon. Daughter number eight was looking a bit nervous as the date for dragon munchies was looming – but, Susanoo decided to save her in return for her hand in marriage.
He suggested that the old couple get the dragon drunk by laying out eight barrels of sake, one for each of the heads of the dragon. As predicted, each head drank one, and, when the dragon passed out, awaiting the mother of all hangovers, Susanoo swooped in and killed it. But the legend doesn’t end there.
While killing the dragon, Susanoo experienced some resistance to his knife – and, looking closer, he found an amazing sword lodged in the dragon’s body. He donated it to another god to make up for all the damage he’d caused in the past. That sword is now one of the Imperial Treasures of Japan, and Susanoo is now a god thought to ward off misfortune and epidemics. People also pray to him for success in business and agriculture.
The shrine also celebrates Kushinadahime, the eighth daughter whom Susanoo saved and married. She is associated with happy marriages, good matches and safe childbirth.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Susanoo’s escapades, you’ll find more here.
Tsunahiki Shingi – The Tug of War Ritual
If you’re lucky enough to be in Osaka on the third Sunday in January, you’ll be able to see this ritual based on Susanoo’s vanquishing of the dragon.
A thick rope is created to represent the dragon of the myth. Once completed, this is 30 metres long and weighs around 300kg. The number of people involved in making it is huge – there’s a fascinating video below if you want to see it.
Once the rope is completed, two teams line up and aim to pull the knot of the rope (which reflects the dragon’s body) past the central line.
Once the challenge is completed, the rope is paraded around the streets surrounding the shrine. It’s then stored back at Namba Yasaka. It’s believed that this ritual helps refuel Susanoo’s powers to aid worshippers in the year to come.
The Summer Festival
Six months after the tug of war, the Namba Yasaka shrine has another festival. This takes place on July 13th and 14th. At the shrine itself, you can witness lion dances on the stage – it’s also one of the times of the year when the lion’s eyes shine – but you’ll also find a boat procession along the Dotonbori canal and shrines and celebrations in the streets around the shrine.
Namba Yasaka Shrine is also pretty during the cherry blossom season.
What Else is at the Shrine?
While the giant lion is going to be the thing that grabs your attention, there are a couple of other interesting things not to miss when wandering around the shrine.
The Birthplace of Namba Negi
Namba Negi is a type of Japanese leek/spring onion. It’s unusual as it’s much sweeter than normal onions – in summer, it can even taste sweeter than tomatoes. It’s believed that the area where the shrine was built was the first place they ever grew in Japan.
They’ve fallen out of a favour a bit in recent years as they have quite a slimy texture that makes them hard to harvest by machine – but they’re also time consuming to harvest by hand as they are very thick, but, they have been designated a traditional vegetable of Osaka and farmers are now growing them on specialist farms. Look out for them if you’re dining at some of Osaka’s more upscale restaurants.
The Tampion of the Battleship Mutsu
A tampion is the cover placed over the muzzle of a cannon, and the one here comes from a famous Japanese warship, the Mutsu, which exploded while in safe harbour in 1943.
What exactly happened to the ship has never been revealed, but over 1100 sailors, visiting cadets and the ship’s captain lost their lives in the explosion.
It’s believed that the souls of the captain and crew who went down with the ship are enshrined in the tampion. You’ll find parts of the Mutsu in museums around Japan, but the majority of the artefacts can be found in the Mutsu Memorial Museum in Yamaguchi prefecture.
Lions Head Ema, Fortune Telling Carp and Goshuin
The prayer plaques at the shrine, not surprisingly, include pictures of lions’ heads, but so does the goshuin (the collectible temple stamp at many shrines). Annoyingly, I’ve been here at least twice (possibly three times), and I haven’t had my goshuin book with me either time. Next time!
Related Read: If you’re not familiar with goshuin, read our guide to collecting them.
You’ll also find cute fortune-telling koi carp models to buy. These come with a love fortune attached – so, should you wish to find out what your romantic future holds, make sure you pick up one of these.
The shrine precinct is open 24 hours, but if you want to get a goshuin, or buy a prayer plaque, you’ll need to come during office hours. The shrine website doesn’t specifically list these, but if you visit between 10 am and 4 pm, you should be okay.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. You might like our First-Timers Japan Planner, which will help you plan your trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka step-by-step, including tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing and dining. Or our super-duper Tokyo Disney Planner makes arranging your park trip MUCH easier. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
How to Get To Namba Yasaka Shrine
The closest station(s) to the shrine are those that come under the Namba umbrella. There are four of these, with multiple lines leading to them and many, many exits!
When I went, I was on my way back from a trip to Nara, on the Kansai line which meant I came into the JR Namba Station which is a fairly easy walk – but if you do decide to come in via Namba, make sure you know where the line you’re taking will bring you out – some walks will be shorter than others.
If you want to keep things simple, you could also go via the Midsouji line to Daikokucho Station. From here it’s an eight-minute walk through the backstreets to the shrine.
The Namba Yasaka shrine makes a good stopping off point if you’re walking between Dotonbori/Den Den Town and Shinsekai. See more in our three-day guide to Osaka.
Note: There is another shrine in Osaka called the Namba Shrine; do not confuse it with this one. Make sure the one you are visiting is close to Namba Station and the Namba Parks shopping complex, not the one in north Shinsaibashi.