Japan Trip - March 31, 2012 - The Osaka Castle

Japan Trip - March 31, 2012 - The Osaka Castle

Victoria Cafe

Yummy breakfast!

A decent night’s sleep is completely under-rated.  Even if it is only 6 ½ hours. I woke up earlier than I wanted to (5:30am), however the comfort of the hotel bed really helped me rest and restore.  After getting ready for the day, I was able to Skype with the husband and kids for a little while – what a treat!  Mom and I got up and out by 9am local time and headed to the lobby where the plans were to meet the crew by 10am.  A few were already there, so we ventured out to get coffee and rejoined them as the others trickled in.  When everyone finally arrived we walked down to the mall area below the hotel to have breakfast at Victoria Café. It was a great meal to start the day – an egg salad sandwich, scone with raspberry jelly and coffee.

Vending machine

We walked down to the train station and started our next adventure – a visit to the Osaka castle. One thing I noticed were the vending machines everywhere, not unexpected in a large city like Osaka, however these were different.  In addition to the typical American vending machine which serves cold beverages and snacks, these also served warm beverages and even beer.

Mom and me

James and mom

From whatever station we stopped as we walked to the Osaka castle. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too cooperative, and we experienced chilly, and at times, rainy conditions. However that didn’t dampen the mood for anyone.  It was a bit of a walk from the train to the castle grounds and mostly up hill, but once there it was beautiful. The castle, as all good castle should be, was surrounded by extremely tall walls and a mote. It’s hard to imagine anyone (even the most skilled Ninja) trying to overcome those deterrents. 

View up to castle as we walked

Arrow slots

Fight, little guys!

We explored the grounds around the castle only a little, examining the arrow ‘slots’ on top of the walls, and the extra-extra large stones used to build the fortress – wondering exactly how those stones got there. Once in the castle we explored the numerous floors, especially enjoying the top level lookout, viewing for miles the busy Osaka city/region below us.  Each level within the busy museum explored the history of the castle, (in summary it was built in 1496 as a small temple and became Hideyoshi Tototomi’s stronghold in the mid-1500s, was involved in at least four wars over four hundred years, destroyed and rebuilt at least three times – read more about it).  I really enjoyed one particular display of miniature soldiers representing one of the wars – made me think of scene in the movie Night at the Museum.

James and Kana

Udon noodles

As the day went on, we explored the castle grounds a little more.  We were all hungry (seems like every 3 hours we were eating) so we stopped in one of the cafes near the castle.  As soon as we sat down it started to pour outside – we got lucky.  We enjoyed warm octopus balls, and I had a yummy bowl of Udon noodles.

 

Cherry blossom

Ben and Monica

This time of year the Cherry Blossoms are beginning to bloom, however since the weather has been a little chillier than usual this year for this area most of the trees were not showing any beautiful buds yet.  However, we did spy a tree or two that was trying really hard to stay on schedule.

Jessica and Seth in front of a shrine

 

Park near castle

We meandered our way back to the subway, exploring along the way.  We began to make plans for another group evening out to experience more Osaka-style cuisine.

James was clearly struggling though. He had started to show signs of being uncomfortable, rubbing his throat and coughing a lot.  By the time we got back to the hotel, he was miserable. It was decided that he and Kana should go back to her family’s home early this evening to rest; we would cancel evening plans. After our decision to split for dinner and everyone do their own thing, I acquired this shopping bug that drove me and mom both nuts!  I just HAD to find a new pair of shoes… fancy shoes… that I could possibly wear tomorrow.  What a saga… but worth it – they are beautiful! (picture coming later…)  On to bed.  Good Night!