Hiraokajinja Shrine

A venerable shrine ranked first in the old Kawachi Province, said to have been founded three years before Emperor Jimmu's enthronement. Its spirit was later divided and enshrined at Nara's Kasuga Taisha, earning it the nickname 'Original Kasuga.' The autumn Akigosai festival is one of Osaka Prefecture's most spectacular, and every December 23rd, the quirky 'Laughing Ritual' has crowds hang a new sacred rope and burst into laughter together. In early spring, some 280 plum trees across 23 varieties bloom in the shrine's grove.