A Day in Osaka

We probably would have been happy to spend our entire time in Kyoto, but our flight back home was out of Osaka so we figured we might as well make a day of it in another city. Osaka is more of a modern city than Kyoto as it is a huge port and remains one of the biggest commercial cities of Japan. It's the third largest city in population size behind Tokyo and Yokohama, and is also referred to as the 'nation's kitchen' in reference to its culinary prowess. Unfortunately, we only had half a day to see the city so we weren't able to take advantage of the culinary scene :( but we did get to see some pretty neat historical sights.

Osaka Castle: this is one of the most beautiful castles I've seen thus far. You step off the subway and immediately run into an enormous baseball field and convention center, and you begin to think you got off at the wrong stop. But walk just a little further around the bend, however, and you can see the castle rising in the distance above the high stone walls. You have to cross not one but two moats that guard the castle as well, until you can reach the plateau at the top of the hill.


In front of the first moat and wall at the base of Osaka Castle

First constructed as a monastic residence in 1496, it became a large temple known as Osaka Honganji. It was burned to the ground in 1580 during a political struggle, and rebuilt by Hideyoshi Toyotomi as his residence as ruler of Japan. Toyotomi is memorialized as a kind of 'self-made man' because he was born into a peasant warrior class, and subsequently rose from servant status to become one of the great rulers of Japan. His residence, the Osaka Castle, remained a seat of power until the Summer War in Osaka in 1615. There are six stories in the Main Tower of the castle here, with each floor containing historical artifacts, full scale models of original rooms, pieces of armor, battle depictions, etc. Really fascinating historical exhibits.


Look at the view from the top of the Main Tower! You can see the castle gardens right below, and then the bustling commercial city center in the distance.

They had a sort of open clearing around the castle at the top, with the ever-present snow cone and noodle stands, souvenir shops, and then a couple of wandering artists at the base of a large tree. At least one of them was the artist, and I'm not sure if the other fellow was a friend or just bumming some shade for himself and his iguana. I was looking at the paintings when his giant iguana came waddling out. It completely freaked me out, and I think his owner had so much fun laughing at my reaction that he wanted me to hold his pet.
Angie bought a picture from the artist and he was happy to take a photo with his artwork. He was so friendly, and he insisted on wearing his little crown and holding up the peace sign for the photo

Just like New York's Empire State Building and Chicago's Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), Osaka has its own skyscraper building -- the Floating Garden Observatory. This massive structure has a 360 degree view of Osaka from 173 m above ground, and although we couldn't be there for sunset, the view was still pretty impressive during the day. It takes its name from man's continual quest for reaching 'higher and higher,' with the belief that man conceptualizes the air as a garden. Think of the Hanging Gardens of Babylons crossed with the Tower of Babel...





Escalator ride going straight up to the 40th floor where the observatory deck is located

View from the top, 173 meters above the ground