Photo: Asturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA 4.0Osu Kannon is a Shingon temple, formally Kitano-san Shinpukuji Hoshoin. Tokugawa Ieyasu moved it here in 1612, from Osu village in what is now Hashima, Gifu, as he built Nagoya. Its library holds about 15,000 volumes of old texts, among them the oldest surviving manuscript of the Kojiki, a National Treasure. The main hall burned in 1892 and again in 1945, and the present one is a concrete rebuild of 1970.
Around it are the Osu shopping streets, which Visit Nagoya puts at more than 1,200 shops and restaurants: electrical goods, second-hand clothes, cafes and food. Yamamotoya Sohonke was founded here in 1925 and Yabaton's main shop is nearby. It is the best place in the city to eat your way through an afternoon, and on the 28th there is an antique market at the temple.
Five things the plaques won't tell you
- Come on Saturday 28 November if you can: it is the 28th, antique market day.
- Kamimaezu Station, Exits 8 and 12, is 2 minutes from the shopping streets; Osu Kannon Station Exit 2 is at the temple gate.
- A 2-hour Osu street-food walk meets at the 7-Eleven by Osu Kannon (Viator listing).
- Yamamotoya Sohonke's Honke in Sakae is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so on 10 November eat miso-nikomi at its Matsuzakaya or Towers branch instead.
- Shops set their own hours and days off. Do not leave your one souvenir errand to the last half hour.
It is the best place in the city to eat your way through an afternoon, and on the 28th there is an antique market at the temple.
Guided days from Nagoya
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Open the guide →Questions people ask here
When is the Osu Kannon antique market?
On the 18th and 28th of every month. In November 2026 that includes Saturday 28 November, when the Norwegian Jade is in port 08:30–19:00.
Is Osu Kannon free?
Yes. The main hall is open 6:00–19:00 with no closing days and no admission charge.
How do I get to Osu from the cruise port?
Aonami Line to Nagoya (24 min, ¥360), then the Higashiyama Line to Fushimi and the Tsurumai Line to Osu Kannon, about 10–12 minutes in a route planner. The temple is right outside Exit 2. A taxi from the berth is about 16.4 km, roughly ¥7,300 by our estimate.