Osaka and Osaka Castle

August 25, 2023 - from the itinerary:

The tour continues to Osaka. Explore one of the largest cities in Japan today. It is worth visiting Osaka Castle, which is one of the most famous castles in Japan and makes a wonderful photo motif. The Umeda Sky Building, which lives up to its name, offers an impressive view over the city.

In the evening, it's worth visiting the Dotonbori area, which is known for its neon signs, waterways, and good street food. Osaka is also considered a gourmet metropolis, so be sure to try the city's specialities here, especially takoyaki (octopus balls) and Okonomiyaki, a type of pizza cooked on a hot plate in front of you. My hotel was Hotel Resol Trinity Osaka.

Osaka was a necessary stop over to get to the start of the Kumano Kodo trail which starts further down the Kii Peninsula.

Had a quiet mediocre breakfast and saw a kite soaring over hills. It was cooler and a bit less humid this morning and I decided to walk down to train station because it was all downhill.

It was interesting to find out that they have less than 5 minutes between bullet trains on the same track. Also, those trains run through the station at over 100mph. Not sure that would be the same timing in the UK….

I had 2 hours on another n700 bullet train- really cool! And finally got a green car amenity - a hand towel....

This journey took me out of the mountains and along the coast, through lush green countryside to Osaka. This is also a picture of my Hakone Freepass from yesterday.

and here's the toilet going 150 miles/hour

When I reached Osaka I had to take a local train. In Osaka there are "women only" train cars.

A nice hotel with a western bed. Not a very nice view out the window

Mochi dihookoo is now my favorite dessert - green tea mochi with red bean filling. No pictures because I eat them too fast.

Walking over to the Castle I saw a couple interesting things. A combo laboratory and cafe and a bevy of knomes

I was surprised that there were so many canals in Osaka.

Osaka Castle- began as a monastic residence in 1496. 100 years later was burned down. After old ruler Oda died, The new ruler Toyotami began rebuilding in 1583 and royal family lived there. After his death, the castle fell in 1615 to the tokugawa family who became shogun. A mass rebuilding began in 1620 and took 10 years. Various parts burned at different times due to lightning or wars. After the Meiji period the site was used by the army and much of it was destroyed during ww2. Since then excavation, the reconstruction continues. Here are a bunch of photos. I like that the manhole covers reflect the local attraction:)

Some of the walls of the Castle use really big rocks in the walls - not sure if you can see in the above photos.

I walked to the Dotonbori area in order to see the city and am exhausted. I saw some pretty things along the way and a bizarre building that seemed totally out of place. It would have looked much better in the US or Greece....

I stopped for dinner in Dotonbori for some street food. I tried okonomiyaki - mine included bacon, cheese, mochi, spivey sauce and mayonnaise. It tasted much better than it sounds. Here's the Google definition: Okonomiyaki (Japanese: お好み焼き, (listeni)) is a Japanese teppanyaki, savoury pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a teppan (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include okonomiyaki sauce (made with Worcestershire sauce), aonori (dried seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger. I did not try the octopus balls; however they were certainly available....

The lights in this district are quite beautiful after dark.

For dessert I had a green tea/vanilla ice cream