9月最初の三連休で大阪に行ってきました。何を隠そう（特に隠してないですが）、大阪は僕の地元です。と言いつつ、ザ・観光地としてはあまりよく分かっていなかったりするのでガイドブックを買ってみたりしてある程度旅行計画を練って行きました。
まぁ、大阪と言えばですぐ想起されるのが「USJ（ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン）」や「通天閣」「海遊館」とかだったりすると思うのですが今回はそこらは外し、タイトルの通り「吉本新喜劇」「太陽の塔」「サクヤルミナ」に行った記録です。
なんばグランド花月・吉本新喜劇へ
大阪人としてはお馴染みの吉本新喜劇。毎週土曜昼にテレビで放映されていて自分の世代は午前中までの学校終わりに家で昼メシ食べながらゆるーく見る番組の一つでありました。
そう言えばちゃんと舞台を観に行ったことなかったなあ、と思い今回ええ機会やと思って行ってきました。（座長は日によって変わりますが、この時は川畑さん！）
基本的に平日は2回公演、土日が3回公演らしいですが三連休は稼ぎ時という事もあり朝・昼・夕方・夜の4回公演で構成されています。一回の公演で、前説–漫才–落語–新喜劇が楽しめます。当日見ることが出来た演者さん達は次の通り。
久しぶりにキングコングの漫才を見ましたがやっぱり面白い！その後も今や東京でも見ない日はない和牛、ゆりやんにごっつ笑かされました。一緒に行った彼女は特に村上ショージさんで腹を抱えて笑っていました。（その後笑い疲れたのか、肝心の新喜劇での笑いが少なかったですが…笑）
建造から何と50年！太陽の塔の中へ潜入
岡本太郎の代表作と言われる「太陽の塔」。1970年の大阪万博で建造されて以来、その後も万博記念公園のオブジェとして堂々と来園者を待ち構えております。来年2020年で建造から50年！半世紀を迎えようとしてるんですね。
自分は大阪の豊中市という街出身ですが、北摂エリア（豊中市・吹田市・茨木市など）の人間としてはやはりそこに有って当たり前のイメージを持っています。
そんな太陽の塔が昨年3月から内部公開をしているとのことで事前予約をして内部潜入をしてきました。
そんな思い入れも相まって「うわぁ、すげえ。」と言うのが中に入っての感想。生物の進化をテーマに「生命の樹」というどでかい展示物を下から上に見て回ります。上がってから見れる両腕の内部構造にも感動。大阪行く際にはぜひ立ち寄ってもらいたい場所の一つです。
夜の大阪城公園でデジタルアートを楽しむ「サクヤルミナ」へ
夜は「歩いて、笑って、冒険しよう。」をキャッチフレーズに昨年末から展開しているサクヤルミナ（SAKUYA LUMINA）というナイトウォークアクティビティへ。
未来の大阪に住む少女・アキヨが現代にタイムスリップしてきてしまい、来場者がアクティビティを行いながらアキヨを未来に帰すお手伝いをするというストーリー。幻想的な光と音楽に包まれながら、カップル・ファミリーはもちろん、老若男女楽しめる仕掛けが目白押しでした。こちらも機会あれば是非行ってみてください。
大阪記録はこんなところで。
*July 2023 English text added
Title: Osaka Travelogue (Yoshimoto Shinki Geki, Tower of the Sun, Sakuyarmina)
Body text:
I went to Osaka for the first three weekends in September. I don’t know what I’m hiding (I’m not hiding anything in particular), but Osaka is my hometown. However, I was not familiar with Osaka as a tourist destination, so I bought a guidebook and planned my trip to some extent.
Well, when you think of Osaka, you may immediately think of “USJ (Universal Studios Japan),” “Tsutenkaku Tower,” or “Kaiyukan,” but this time, I have left those out of the list, and as the title suggests, this is a record of my visits to “Yoshimoto Shinkigeki,” “Tower of the Sun,” and “Sakuyarumina.
To Namba Grand Kagetsu and Yoshimoto Shinki Geki
As an Osaka people, I am familiar with Yoshimoto Shinki Geki. It is aired every Saturday afternoon on TV, and for my generation, it was one of the shows we would watch while eating lunch at home after school until mid-morning.
I thought to myself, “I’ve never been to see a play properly,” so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and went to see it. (The leader of the show changes every day, but this time it was Mr. Kawabata!)
Basically, there are two performances on weekdays and three performances on Saturdays and Sundays, but on three consecutive holidays, there are four performances in the morning, noon, evening, and night because it is the best time to earn money. In one performance, you can enjoy a prelude, comic storytelling, rakugo, and shinkigeki. The performers I was able to see on the day were as follows.
It had been a while since I saw King Kong’s manzai, but it was still very funny! After that, Wagyu and Yuriyan, who you can’t miss even in Tokyo, made me laugh a lot. My girlfriend, who went with me, laughed especially at Shoji Murakami. (I guess she was tired of laughing afterwards, but she didn’t laugh much at the Shinkigeki performance…)
It has been 50 years since it was built! Sneaking into the Tower of the Sun
The Tower of the Sun, one of Taro Okamoto’s masterpieces, was built for the 1970 Osaka Expo and has stood proudly as an object of art in the Expo Park ever since. Next year, 2020, will mark 50 years since its construction! That’s almost half a century!
I am from Toyonaka City in Osaka, and as a person living in the Hokusetsu area (Toyonaka City, Suita City, Ibaraki City, etc.), I have an image that it should be there.
I was told that the Tower of the Sun has been open to the public since last March, so I made a reservation in advance and went inside.
I was so impressed by the Tower of the Sun that I made a reservation in advance to go inside. was my impression upon entering the tower. You can look around the huge exhibit called “Tree of Life” from the bottom to the top under the theme of biological evolution. I was also impressed by the internal structure of the arms, which you can see after going up. This is one of the places you should definitely stop by when you are in Osaka.
Visit “Sakuyarumina” to enjoy digital art in Osaka Castle Park at night.
At night, “Let’s walk, laugh, and have adventures! The catchphrase for this nighttime activity is “Sakuya lumina,” which has been developed since the end of last year under the slogan “Let’s walk, laugh, and have adventures.
The story is about a girl, Akiyo, who lives in Osaka in the future, who slips back in time to the present day, and visitors help bring Akiyo back to the future by performing activities. The event was filled with fantastic lights and music, and was fun for couples, families, and men and women of all ages. If you have a chance to visit this event, please do so.
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