Date I went: 04/02/2020
Youtube video:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oritabi808/
Welcome to the land of Osaka! It's a pretty wild place... I started off my time exploring Osaka with a basic castle viewing though.
Osaka is a part of this region in Japan called Kansai; this region also includes Kobe and Kyoto. Osaka is definitely the biggest city you can find in this region and like Tokyo it would be hard to run out of things to do and see here.
Osaka (大阪市)
Osaka Zoomed Out
Kyoto to Osaka by Train
I was coming from Kyoto to visit Osaka, which took me about one hour by public transportation; this included walking, train connections, etc. I'd budget about this much time to commute from the two cities. There is a train called the thunderbird that leaves from Kyoto Station to Osaka Station and takes just under 30 minutes! But going to different areas within Kyoto or Osaka will of course take some extra time.
Osaka Castle (大阪城天守閣)
Of course the first most basic thing you need to do when visiting Osaka is visit the castle! Don't get me wrong though, it's not a boring or tiresome place. It's probably one of the most formidable castles I visited while in Japan. You can learn more about the castle on their website as they have ticket prices, tour guides, and other helpful info.
Osaka Castle Website: https://www.osakacastle.net/
The castle walls are steep going up from the moat that leads around the castle. I guess after Hideyoshi unified Japan and constructed Osaka castle where he resided he was still worried about the haters out there.
The castle grounds were practically empty when I arrived in April, 2020 due to the covid pandemic just beginning to take hold of Japan. Definitely provided for some nice photographs though.
A Funny Story at the Castle Grounds:
I remember while i was walking around the castle grounds there were these two seemingly innocent looking older ladies standing by the entrance to the castle. As I passed by they came up to talk with me about what I was doing here as a foreigner (since Japan was just starting to close their borders). I thought it was a bit surprising in the moment since Japanese never go up to people to start conversations, but I welcome the opportunity to practice some of my baby level Japanese. I explained to them that I was here to sightsee for a bit and visit a couple friends in Japan, and they seemed quite intrigued by this very mundane story I told. After about a couple minutes of my backstory that's when they launched into their true mission for swooping in on me... They first asked me to watch this animated video that had very heavy Christianity themes in it, and then bombarded me with questions about my thoughts on God and how I felt about joining them in prayer sometime. I politely declined and proceeded on my way, but found the interaction intriguing. My take away... Japanese will come to talk to you when it concerns something that they want you to join or are selling something most of the time. I think there was only a couple other occasions where a Japanese person chatted me up out of the blue purely because they were friendly.
Osaka Castle stands proud and mighty overlooking the city. It is 8 stories high and you can go up until the 5th floor where there is also a museum inside.
I found this ninja guy posted in the Landmark Square building next to the castle. Apparently you can become a ninja through this company and take pictures in a ninja outfit around Osaka Castle
This is one of the pathways around the castle area. It's a really cool view seeing modern Japan buildings rising around the area contrasted with the castle.
After the Castle I made a couple more stops in Osaka before heading back to Kyoto.
Shinsekai (新世界本通商店街)
I didn't explore Shinsekai too much, but in a later blog post I will detail some of the sights I found in the area. It's a great area to check out some local Osaka Izakaya (bars). There's plenty of shops as well and a huge onsen called Spa World!
Spa World: https://www.spaworld.co.jp/english/
Dotonbori (道頓堀)
The last stop I made before heading back to Kyoto was Dotonburi. It's another very popular Izakaya and shopping area. During covid it was completely empty during the middle of the day.
Comments