(CONTENTS)
1 Ikeda Food Omotenashi Project
1-1 Ikeda City Tourist Information Center
1-2 Salmon and Shrimp Fresh Fish Seasonal Vegetables “Norabar”

2 Recommended Sightseeing Spots in Ikeda City
2-1 Ikeda Castle Ruins Park
2-2 Rakugo Museum

In order for all people to enjoy “food” in Ikeda City, Osaka, we are identifying and disseminating information about stores that offer vegetarian and vegan menus and “Muslim-friendly” stores that accommodate Muslims to the greatest extent possible.

*This sticker is displayed in the storefront of the target store.

In this issue, we will introduce two such restaurants in Ikeda City that offer vegetarian and vegan menus, and two “Muslim Friendly” restaurants that accommodate Muslims to the best of their ability!

The first store is the Ikeda City Tourist Information Center!

Here, you can enjoy not only tourist information about Ikeda City, but also creative dishes made with Chicken Ramen. Premium local taste ramen using Banshu Hyakka Chicken soup and excellent soft-serve ice cream covered with Chicken Ramen and caramel sauce are also available.

We also have many souvenirs related to Ikeda City, such as cute wombat goods!

The interior of the restaurant is stylish and the signage of the popular hamburger menu whet your appetite!

Vegetarian menu: Veggie Burger
Price: 900 yen
Healthy veggie burgers made with local ingredients.
A vegetarian burger made with vegetables from Smile Farm in Hosokawa, Ikeda, on a whole grain bun from the long-established Taro Bread, which has been in business for 90 years. The exquisite homemade tartar sauce is to die for!
(Tartar sauce can be changed to salsa sauce.)

(Extra Info)
The Ikeda Tourist Information Center also had a foreign currency exchange machine where you could exchange foreign currencies into Japanese yen!

Currency can be exchanged from 14 different currencies into Japanese yen.
For more information, click here.

There is also Osaka Ikeda Guest Information right outside the Hankyu Ikeda Station ticket gates.

You can get a chick card here at Guest Information!

In front of Hankyu Ikeda Station, there is a manhole with a chick on it! Why don’t you take a picture with her? The illustration changes with the seasons, so be sure to check it out each season!

Business hours: 10:00-18:00 (L.O.17:30)
Closed: Tuesdays (If it is a national holiday, the following day is a holiday)

Salmon, shrimp and seasonal vegetables are the focus of this restaurant. Salmon farmed in Nagano and Aichi prefectures and fresh shrimp sashimi. The grilled whole onions from Awaji Island are exquisite. You can enjoy a variety of creative dishes made with the finest ingredients and using the best cooking methods.

The restaurant has 35 seats and is very spacious.

And the counter seating is so fancy!

Muslim-friendly menu1 : Oyakodon (Chicken and egg on rice)
Price: Single item 850 yen, set (with miso soup and salad) 950 yen
This is our most popular menu item for Muslims! Halal-certified chicken is covered with an egg and filled with grilled vegetables. Not only does it taste great, but the textures of the plump chicken, tender egg, and crunchy vegetables are a perfect match! The price is very reasonable too.

Muslim-friendly menu2 : Shrimp and salmon bowl
Price: Single item 1750 yen, set (with miso soup and salad) 1950 yen
This luxurious seafood bowl features sea-raised Norwegian salmon, Nagano Prefecture’s Shinshu salmon, red prawns and angel prawns. We offer “Halal soy sauce” for the soy sauce. If you have a hankering for good seafood, you’re in for a treat!

Muslim-friendly menu3 : Custard pudding
This one is made with alcohol-free vanilla beans. You can also have vanilla ice cream made with alcohol-free vanilla beans. When you visit Norabar, be sure to savor every last dessert!

Ikeda Ranger, Ikeda City’s local hero, also recommends Norabar.
I hope you all enjoy Japanese food at Norabar as much as I do!

Business hours:
Morning: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. weekdays
Lunch Weekdays 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (LO 2:00 p.m.) *Closes early when sold out.
Dinner and Pub 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. daily (LO 10:00 p.m.)
Closed: Unscheduled holidays

Ikeda Castle Ruins Park is located about a 15-minute walk from Hankyu Ikeda Station. The former site of Ikeda Castle, the residence of the Ikeda clan, a powerful local family that ruled the Ikeda area from the Muromachi Period to the Warring States Period, has been developed into a park, which opened in April 2000.

In the park, flowers of all seasons are in bloom. Especially in June, about 2,000 tephra lilies are in full bloom, attracting a great number of visitors.

The park is also loved by many as a spot for recreation and relaxation where visitors can experience the four seasons, with cherry blossoms in spring and cosmos blooming in October.

The view from the Yagura-style observatory in the park is breathtaking, offering a panoramic view of not only the park but also the entire Ikeda city area.

The park also has a large grassy plaza where visitors can relax and enjoy the view of the castle and beautiful flowers. Yoga and other events are also held in this plaza.

You can even feed the carp in the pond!

There were also a tea ceremony room, a karesansui (dry landscape garden), and a water bowl, making it a place of rest and relaxation where one could feel the harmony of nature.

Also, each tree was pruned very nicely, making it a very nice park.

Admission to this beautiful park is free!
If you want to feel the four seasons of Japan and enjoy nature to the fullest, go for it!

Business hours: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm (November to March: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm)
Closed: Tuesdays (the following weekday when Tuesday is a public holiday)
December 29 – January 1
Parking: Satsukiyama Green Park Parking Area (paid parking)
Admission: Free

In April 2007, “Rakugo Museum,” the first municipal museum in Japan to permanently exhibit materials on Kamigata Rakugo, opened in Ikeda, the town of Rakugo.

Rakugo is a traditional Japanese art form that is now attracting attention from around the world, but many people may feel that it is not interesting because they do not understand the content, or that they cannot enjoy it unless they are familiar with Japanese culture. Rakugo is an art form that can be enjoyed not only with the ears but also with the eyes. The performers tell comical stories, humanistic tales of failure, and stories that appeal to human emotions, while gesturing as they speak. The appeal of this entertainment is that it is easy for anyone to understand. For this reason, it has a strong Japanese fan base and is becoming increasingly popular overseas as well.

We hope you will visit Rakugo Museum and experience the fun of Rakugo!

First of all, there is a panel showing the face of Rakugo Museum on your right as soon as you exit the Hankyu Ikeda Station ticket gate. When you arrive at Ikeda Station, take a commemorative photo here first!

After that, we walked along the Sakae Machi shopping street to Rakugo Museum.
You can see many Rakugo Museum banners in the shopping arcade, indicating the close relationship between Ikeda City and rakugo.

Why are Ikeda City and Rakugo so closely related?

Did you know that there are three Kamigata Rakugo stories in which Ikeda appears? They include “Ikeda no Inoshishikai” (Buying a boar in Ikeda) “Ikeda no Ushihome” (Praising Ikeda’s Cow) and “Oni no men”(The Demon’s Mask). Ikeda City is also the setting of a classic rakugo story. The city has a strong connection with rakugo, with Bunshi Katsura VI being an honorary citizen of Ikeda City, and monuments to Harudanji I and II erected at temples in the city.

Ikeda City also holds an annual competition to determine the best rakugo storyteller in Japan for working adults.
The 14th edition of the competition attracted 295 entrants, and the competition is hotly contested every year.
<The 14th Japan’s Best Rakugo Tournament for Working People Schedule>
Preliminary Round: December 10, 2022 (Sat)
Final Round: December 11, 2022 (Sun)

Rakugo Museum has two floors.
Let’s start from the first floor.

The first thing that catches your eye when you open the door is the stage where rakugo performances are held. The stage is also used for introductory amateur rakugo classes and rakugo performances on the second Saturday of each month at 2:00 p.m. (admission fee required).

Just looking at stage is enough to give you a taste of Japanese culture!

Then we move upstairs!

On the second floor, you’ll find a rakugo storyteller’s dressing room that was actually in use!
There is also a large selection of books and DVDs on Rakugo.

You can even watch the DVDs right there on the spot!
Why not find your own favorite Rakugo?

They even have an English version of the DVD, so you can enjoy Rakugo in English!

There is also a well-stocked book corner, making it a great place for rakugo lovers.

After enjoying Rakugo Museum to the fullest, take a commemorative photo with your happy memories at the face panel outside the entrance and go home!

We hope you will visit Rakugo Museum and enjoy Rakugo to the fullest!

Business hours: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Closed: Tuesdays ,Year end and New Year’s holidays (If Tuesday is a national holiday, closed the following day)
Admission: Free (Addmission fees apply for Rakugo Association events)

How was it?
Ikeda City is a very attractive place where you can experience Japanese nature and Rakugo culture along with delicious Japanese food. If you are ever in Osaka on vacation, be sure to visit!