Billiken

Osaka

LoginSave

Ever-smiling (and a bit creepy looking) Billiken sits, toes out, like a golden Kewpie doll on a pedestal reading 'The God of Things as they Ought to Be' in English. He was created in the early 1900s as a good-luck charm by an art teacher in Kansas City, Missouri, USA (hence the English slogan). This is the most well-known, but there are many others around town. Billiken debuted in Osaka for the opening of the Tsūten-kaku in 1912.

A Billiken figurine is said to bring good fortune to its purchaser, and better fortune if received as a gift.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Vendors prepare chestnuts to sell at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan on 22 November 2016. 1011566827 traditional, street, asian, nutrition, priest, tourism, fruit, editorial, cooking, design, east, tradition, chinese, famous, stall, recommend, sale, asia, vendor, nut, cuisine, chef, color, people, culture, food, castanea, healthy, place, chestnut, travel, vegetable, market, business, tourist, architecture, marron, buy, furniture, decoration, colorful, merchant, city, nishiki market, japan, street food, japanese, sell, kyoto, shop

    Nishiki Market

    28.45 MILES

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • Osaka, Japan - April 30, 2017: tourists looking Osaka city at Abeno Harukas, the tallest skyscraper in Japan. The building stands on top of Kintetsu Osaka Abenobashi Station near JR Tennoji Station. 919551970 Abeno Harukas Observatory

    Abeno Harukas

    0.59 MILES

    This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…

  • Path through bamboo forest

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

    26.88 MILES

    The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…

  • Todai-ji Temple, Nara

    Tōdai-ji

    19.18 MILES

    Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

  • Horyuji Temple, Nara, Japan

    Hōryū-ji

    13.36 MILES

    Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…

  • Kiyomizu or Kiyomizu-dera temple in autum season at Kyoto Japan 391009933 architecture, asia, autumn, buddhism, buddhist, color, culture, dera, fall, heritage, japan, japanese, kiyomizu, kiyomizu-dera, kyoto, landmark, nature, red, religion, religious, shinto, shrine, temple, tourist, travel

    Kiyomizu-dera

    28.5 MILES

    A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…

  • People walking under thousands of Torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. 88375702 destination, historical, gate, cultural, oriental, approaching, red, kyoto, culture, landmark, attraction, history, thousand, walking, orange, corridor, shintoism, pathway, people, traditional, asia, tour, building, religious, tourist, historic, heritage, tradition, architecture, tourism, religion, shintoist, shinto, spot, tunnel, japanese, japan, fox, shrine, road, senbon dorii, senbon torii, fushimi, kansai, taisha, torii, senbon, inari, kinki, 1000

    Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    26.52 MILES

    With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…

  • (GERMANY OUT) The bell at the Chion-inTemple in the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Forster/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Chion-in

    29.12 MILES

    A collection of soaring buildings, spacious courtyards and gardens, Chion-in serves as the headquarters of the Jōdo sect, the largest school of Buddhism…

View more attractions

Nearby Osaka attractions

1. Tsūten-kaku

0.09 MILES

When Tsūten-kaku was first built in 1912, it was, at 63m high, the second tallest structure in Asia and the pride of Osaka. Damaged by fire in 1943, it…

2. Shin-Sekai

0.14 MILES

A century ago, Shin-Sekai ('new world') was home to an amusement park that defined cutting edge. Now this entertainment district mixes down-at-heel with…

3. Imamiya Ebisu-jinja

0.35 MILES

Nicknamed 'Ebessan', this famous shrine is said to have been founded by Japan's most revered historical figure, the priest-prince Shotoku-taishi, c AD 600…

4. Abeno Harukas Art Museum

0.59 MILES

This state-of-the art museum inside Abeno Harukas hosts temporary shows that vary wildly, including, so far, Renaissance painting and tantric Buddhist…

5. Abeno Harukas

0.59 MILES

This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…

6. Shitennō-ji

0.63 MILES

Shitennō-ji is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan, said to be founded (in 593) by priest-prince Shotoku-taishi (who first spread Buddhism in…

7. Honbō-teien

0.65 MILES

This strolling garden in the northeast corner of Shitennō-ji illustrates a Buddhist parable of overcoming earthly hell to arrive at paradise, symbolised…

8. Kuromon Ichiba

1.03 MILES

An Osaka landmark for over a century, this 600m-long market is in equal parts a functioning market and a tourist attraction. Vendors selling fresh fish,…