Oh, what a treasure trove I walked into completely unawares! I adore antique and flea markets, well any type of market really. And completely by accident, I stumbled onto this one, located in a 1,000-year-old Japanese temple! The best flea market at Shitennoji Temple in Osaka is a wonderland of goods, food and ambience.
Deets
Only held once a month, on the 21st and 22nd, this market is open from 8am until 4pm. I visited in the late winter/early spring, and I thought there was a lot of stalls. However, I have read that in the summer they can number as many as 300!
Head to the Shitenno-ji temple, google maps here, and you will soon stumble upon these vendors, selling their wares up every path, garden trail, nook and cranny of this complex.
Antique/Vintage
Wow, I was in heaven, these beautiful old Japanese items, and so many of them to see! Incredible wooden dolls both massive and small, boxes upon boxes of treasures waiting to be dug through and found.
Racks of vintage clothing including Kimonos for only 500 yen! That is $5…..WHAT????
The coolest Japanese games, robots, records, china, kitchenware, jewellery and glassware….I mean you name it and you can find it here. Absolute heaven.
New
Along with the overwhelming number of vintage stalls, were others selling new products. Not too many, but some with kitchenware, linens, household goods and the likes. I did not see much clothing which was actually refreshing.
Food
Don’t worry if you want to spend hours here, perusing the amazing finds, there is food should your tummy start to grumble. I sampled these warm fish shaped waffle things stuffed with gooey custard cream. Oh my, they were so delicious I don’t even have words. Not overly sweet, just really flavourful and comforting.
Other items I saw were takoyaki (octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (dying to try this pizza type thing).
Not only was there cooked and ready to eat food, but also farm market groceries! A few fruits and veg, lots of dried goods, nuts and such, one vendor selling bulk tea and so much more. I was completely enthralled by the dried goods and purchased a whole selection to take back to my Airbnb and munch on over the next few days.
If you are a market lover like me, you will not want to miss this flea market. What better place to find a unique souvenir of your trip to Osaka and Japan, perhaps an antique wooden doll, vintage key-chain or beautiful kimono. Its at these times I wish I was rich or a buyer for a brand, and could afford to purchase these beautiful goods. 😁😁😁
