Osaka Castle

After a two day delay in Tokyo Harbor, we finally got underway and sailed to the port of Kobe. The delay was caused by high waves and winds that would not allow for the safe transfer of the harbor pilot from our ship back to his smaller craft. These pilots navigate ships through the shallow waters of the harbor … then a much smaller ship comes alongside and the pilot half steps and half jumps onto his pilot ship. I’ve seen these transfers a couple times and it can be downright dangerous. But we have never experienced a delay when the entire harbor was shut down because these transfers couldn’t be made. We missed our next port of call, Shimidu, and went on to Kobe where we were scheduled to spend two days. A reduction to one day got us back on track

The problem with reducing our stay in Kobe was that it is the port city for both Osaka and Kyoto, two very desirable visits. We had to choose one and selected a visit to Osaka Castle.

A few words about Kobe. It is bounded by the sea and tall mountains, East and West, so it is very thin but long North to South. We have encountered other cities that had this combination of sea coastline and mountain boundaries… Dubrovnik, Croatia came to mind first, followed by Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They are all stunningly beautiful.

Here is a photo looking towards Kobe’s mountains from our ship that doesn’t do it justice. Another thing I noticed in Kobe, as well as Tokyo was a pattern in road construction. The local roads are on ground level, and the express toll roads are suspended above the local roads. So most of Japan’s roadways are double decked. I asked our guide about this, and she confirmed my observation, stating that space is such a premium in Japan … which also makes it more of a challenge to build their road systems and tall buildings safe from their many earthquakes.

Before driving to Osaka’s Castle, we stopped at their local Buddhist Temple. It was much quieter than the Tokyo Temple that we had visited a couple days prior. I asked our guide about the manicured gravel around all of the buildings… I had guessed that the gravel represented the oceans that surround the Japanese islands. But the actual reason is that the walking on the gravel and the crunching sound it makes is considered a purifying act. There are a number of ways that we can purify ourselves at the Temples, and the act of purifying is considered very important!!

The effort to maintain the beauty and purification was mind boggeling… And it all leads up to entering the various worship sites in the Temple. Below is a photo of one site … photography is not allowed so I downloaded this one from their brochure

To reach Okedo Castle, one must walk around the two moats that surround it. The outer grounds and fortifications are enormous.

This also allows a good look at the stonework that made of these initial fortifications of the Castle. The Castle was initially constructed around 1600, and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. The current Castle building was built in the 1930s and survived the WWII bombings.
Once inside, the challenge becomes to climb the steps to the top. There are nine levels, and there is an elevator that will take you to the fifth level.

We finally made it to the main gate and got our first glimpse of the castle.

Somehow it seemed that we got in the Fast Pass lane as we entered the castle, which turned out to be the “Walking All The Steps” line. So we sucked it up and walked to the top.

Looking down at the moat from the observation ledge …

You would have to command quite an army to beat these defenses !! And some tried, but I’m not sure if any succeeded.

Osaka Castle is strikingly beautiful, has a history of unifying the country in the 16th century, and being one of Japan’s most popular tourist attractions.