The iconic Osaka Castle

One of the most picture-worthy spots to take amazing photos in Osaka is the Osaka Castle. Like other palaces and castles built around the world, Osaka Castle was built to show the power and wealth of the owner, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. It is a symbol of the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. After the death of Hideyoshi, the castle was established as the government office. It was destroyed twice either by war or natural disaster and finally in 1931, reconstructed as a military base using funds raised by the citizens.

Today, Osaka Castle sits on two square kilometres plot of land with lots of green space, big garden, sports facilities, multi-purpose arena and a shrine dedicated to its original owner.

It was a Saturday when we visited the Osaka Castle. From Namba subway, we took a train to Osaka Business Park station. Mind you, this station is not the nearest to Osaka Castle, but we did not regret walking from this station to the castle because it gave us another view of the place.

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The walk from Osaka Business Park station to the castle was quiet, probably because it was a Saturday and not a lot of people stopped at this station. On the way towards the castle, we could see the baseball field from afar. There was a baseball game on the way so we could hear occasional cheering and some players practising at the side of the field facing towards the station. Once we crossed a bridge, we reached the Osaka Castle Park.

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There was a marathon event held at the park where we saw young and old running towards the finishing line with cheers from supporters and fellow runners. So I could say that day was a memorable day watching locals spending their weekends on sports and recreation.

So you can see, if we did not walk from Osaka Business Park station, we might have miss the experience of seeing what locals do during weekends, i.e. playing baseball, running a marathon, riding bicycles etc.

Next, we saw the moat and the high wall of Osaka Castle. The moat surrounding the Osaka Castle provided tranquillity and peace to all the visitors. The only thing that could break the silence was the cheering from the locals during the marathon and baseball game.

After the moat, we were transported from local activities to touristy affairs. Here, everywhere we looked the people were snapping photos and enjoying the view.

There was a Gozabune boat carrying passengers passed by.

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One of the most photographed place in Osaka Castle was this bridge, Gokurakubashi Bridge. Mind you, there were a lot of people while we were there, taking photos of the famous bridge.

Of course, once the castle was in sight, all photo spots were taken by tourists and locals.

Some of them even wore Kimono for taking photos at this castle.

Look, someone had made the effort of making heart shaped on the ground using the autumn leaves.

If you hold the Osaka Amazing pass, you can show your card to the ticketing counters and get free entrance to the Osaka Castle Museum. If not, then you have to queue at the ticketing machines to buy admission fees. Take note, the queue was long when we were there, so you have to be patient.

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For us, we did not buy the tickets because the queue was too long. So before leaving, we took lots of photos and enjoyed winter Breeze before we headed to our next destination, the Osaka History Museum.

Name : Osaka Castle Museum

Opening hours : 9am – 5pm daily

Entrance fees : 600 Yen (free for Osaka Amazing pass holders)

Name : Osaka castle Nishinomaru Garden

Entrance fees : 200 Yen (free for Osaka Amazing pass holders)

Name : Gazabune boat

Fees : 1,500 Yen (free for Osaka Amazing pass holders)

From Kansai Airport to downtown Osaka after 9.30pm

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