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Shimada Ruins Osaka 2026: worth visiting?
Shimada is a Yayoi settlement site, not a kofun, so the ceramics crowd cares way more than tourists do.
Dotaku bronze bells, if that's your thing.
Agreed, and the pottery is mostly plain Yayoi sueki, not the flashy stuff.
open excavation days in spring, i think
Usually late April, weekends only, and they book up
Bookings open about a month ahead through the city's bunkazai page, which is Japanese-only and fills fast.
Do they still cap it at 20 people per slot? Heard that from a bunkazai volunteer last year.
Right, they run them but only a handful of days and you have to register in advance. I'd double check the city site closer to the date since dates shift.
Checked last time i was there, it's fenced off with no English signage, so honestly skippable unless you're deep into kofun stuff.
yeah unless u read japanese the signs wont help anyway
Shimada Ruins Osaka 2026: is ¥1,500 entry normal?
¥1,500 for an hour at a minor kofun site does sound steep. Many municipal ruins in Osaka are free or charge ¥200-300, so check whether your quote bundles a guide. If it's just entry, ask the operator for a breakdown before booking.
Yeah the guide is usually the whole cost.
Guides run ¥3,000-5,000 flat, so per person it shrinks fast.
Agree, prob bundling a guided tour then.
Ask for the breakdown in writing, that usually settles it.
and get it itemised per person not per group
Shimada is a kofun cluster, not ruins proper.
Fair point on the terminology, though the cluster is usually filed under Habikino rather than the city proper. Worth checking which mound the tour actually covers, since some operators lump several into one walk.
tbh the free and ¥200-300 places are mostly city-run parks and open-air sites. A fenced kofun with an actual keeper on site usually runs a bit more, so ¥1,500 isn't crazy if a person is unlocking gates and walking you round.
Most free ones are just open grass, nothing to unlock.