Thirty minutes outside Osaka, Katsuo-ji sits deep in the mountains. Shoguns and warlords used to climb up here before battle, praying for victory, which is how it earned its nickname: the Winner's Temple.
Now the grounds are covered in thousands of small red daruma dolls, stacked on shelves and tucked along the paths, left by everyone since who wanted a little luck of their own.

A hiking brings you to the trailhead for Minoh Falls. The path follows a river through a valley thick with trees, and after about an hour of walking, the forest opens up to a 33-meter waterfall. It's been a spot for quiet reflection since Japan's early monks used it for training, and it's still one of the prettiest short hikes near Osaka.

The last stop is a village that shouldn't still exist, but does. The Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses relocated real houses here from across rural Japan, some more than 300 years old, thatched roofs and all. You can walk straight into the kitchens, the sleeping rooms, the storehouses, and see exactly how families lived before electricity reached the countryside.