About MinohOrigins of the name "Minoh"
箕面 is the kanji used for Minoh. This kanji was chosenbecause of the Minoh waterfall (one of the Top 100
Waterfalls of Japan, measuring 33 meters in height). It issaid that the surface (面) of the water cascading down fromthe cliff top resembled a traditional farming tool called awinnow (箕). As a result, the waterfall was named "Minoh"and following that, the surrounding area as well.

The person who created thedrink Calpis was from Minoh!
Mishima Kaiun was born to the family of
the chief monk of Kyogakuji Temple inMinoh and went on to become the founderof Calpis, a drink beloved by all. When hewent to Inner Mongolia as a trader hecame across the acidic milk (cow's milkfermented with lactobacillus) that thenomads were drinking. He found thatdrinking it improved his physicalcondition and upon returning to Japan heused it as an idea to start manufacturing
and selling 'Calpis', Japan's first
fermented milk drink.

Lottery"Tomikuji" is a type of lottery that became popular inthe Edo Period. At the time, a showman sold tagswith numbers inscribed on them. Wooden tags withcorresponding numbers were put in a wooden box
and someone would use an awl to stab through asmall opening in the box and draw out a tag. The
person with the winning number was said to receive
good fortune. This type of lottery originated in
Minoh's Ryuanji Temple. Even now, Minoh Tomikuji
lottery is done in the same way every year on the 10thof October.
The original Benzaiten
Deified in the main temple building of Ryuanji Temple,
Benzaiten is a god of water, just like the ancient Hindu goddess
Sarasvati. Benzaiten of Ryuanji Temple is known as one of thefour Bentzaiten along with those of Chikubushima, Enoshima
and Itsukushima (commonly referred to as Miyajima) but is theolder of the four and is only unveiled once every 60 years.

The space between the spiritualand secular world
The Naka no Saka slope was the only path that
led to Ryuanji Temple until the path to thewaterfall was created. It demarcated theboundary between the spiritual world inhabitedby the gods and the secular world inhabited byhumans. "Minoh is ahead, Kyoto to the right, Nakayama to the left" is inscribed on the south face ofthe guidepost at the intersection below the Naka no Saka. Opposite is the Ooizeki water distribution
channels (the water utilization association). The four large characters written there are Hirao,
Nishishoji, Sakura, Makiochi, the four areas that the water was divided between. A long time ago it
was also used to wash seed rice.
Minoh was the homeof Japan's 3rd zoo
In 1910 the 3rd zoo in Japanwas opened in Minoh alongwith the establishment of thetrain line. It was a top class zoo
that covered about 24.5 acres ofground (2.5 times the size of theKoshien Baseball stadium) witha 5km esplanade viewing platform. Dotted around were rare animals such as lions, elephants, tigersand Australian cassowaries. At the entrance was a gate called the Furomon (Gate of EverlastingYouth) which was modelled after Ryugu Castle (a dragon's undersea castle in Japanese folklore). The
grounds within the gates were dotted with gazebos and the year after it was established, in 1911, alarge ferris wheel was constructed (the name of which directly translates to 'Sky Rotator'). Famousauthor Kawabata Yasunari visited the Minoh Zoo on a school trip and later wrote about it in his literarywork Shonen (Boy).
In 1916 the zoo was closed and the large animals such as elephants and tigers were taken toTakarazuka Zoo and Tennoji Zoo. The Oedo Onsen Monogatari 'Minoh Kanko Hotel' 'Minoh Onsen
Spa Garden' is located on the former site of the zoo. You can no longer go to see the animals, but you
can go and see other things instead. The long passageway up to the Minoh Onsen Spa Garden building
follows the same path as when the zoo was there. Around the vicinity of the high rise elevator you cansee what remains of the red brick monkey enclosure that was excavated into the mountain.

Horse carriages in Minoh
Sight seeing carriages used to run froma famous traditional Japanese stylerestaurant that is currentlｚy a mansion
building called Tsuruya about a 3
minute walk from Minoh Station. The
sightseeing carriages were pulled by horses up to the bridge overlooking the Minoh Waterfall. The
carriages were filled with customers and the drivers whipped the horses with a switch to get them up
the slope past the Shigenokoba rest stop, sparks flying from their horseshoes. Sometimes there wereso many sightseers on the weekends that the carriages didn't pass through the waterfall path. If thishappened they would go from in front of the station to the Dainichi car park instead. Use of thecarriages was abolished in 1983 due to animal welfare and hygiene concerns. Harking back to theold days, the trough close to the waterfall that the horses used to drink from still remains.