Today we explored some places of touristic interest in Osaka.
We started off our morning with breakfast in the little cafe attached to the hotel we’re staying in. Eggs and toast, fruit, yogurt, and some juice. We headed out by train to Shitennoji Temple for our first stop. It’s a Buddhist temple established some 1400 years ago. It was a lovely experience. The standout was the statues in the shrines. Intricately detailed and probably some 30 feet tall.
Our next stop was the Osaka Museum of History. We opted to walk there, as Evans google maps had offered an 20 minute walk vs a train ride and an 18 minute walk. We did, however, pass several subway stations which proved his directions wrong, as Rachel was more than happy to point out. We also passed a smaller shrine on the way and stopped in to admire the well tended plants and statues there. The museum was interesting but of limited educational value to those of us who can’t read the native language. There was little signage in english, but enough that we knew about what things were and what period in time they were from. Some of the older relics were very cool, and a display of old paintings caught my attention for a while.
We grabbed lunch next at a small restaurant a short walk away. The food was scrumptious and the service very accommodating for our limited grasp of Japanese. I had a crab gratin, served with a salad. It was cheesy, crabby deliciousness served in the shell of, presumably, the crab that donated it.
A short walk landed us at Osaka Castle. The moats surrounding this building were nothing short of impressive. It left no doubt that, in it’s time, it was a formidable challenge to anyone who would dare to attack the structure. The grounds around the castle complex are effectively a large park. The cherry blossoms are in bloom and it was gorgeous to walk around the perimeter of the wall and look out over the city. It was clear that it was a popular spot. The line to take us up to the castle was, unfortunately, long enough to deter us from visiting. But we were able to get a good view from where we were. We had a brief run-in with some rowdy local boys, one of which kicked a bottle that nearly nailed Rachel in the leg. He was polite, however, apologized in English, and promptly threw the bottle back at one of his friends. As we circled the wall, we also overheard a group performing on the street. In hindsight, it might have been pertinent to bring the gig bag for my ukulele. I might have been able to find a spot to play, and maybe even paid for my lunch had I sat down in the castle grounds for an hour.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the hotel to take a rest and regroup. Short of shopping, there wasn’t a whole lot else planned for the day. We opted instead to head to one of the nearby restaurants for dinner. Our first stop in that endeavor proved a poor choice, as they were busy and, at a glance, appeared to have no pictures nor English on their menus. We ducked out and walked a bit further, where Evan spotted some delicious looking pictures. We headed up the steps to this place, and shared cold sake and miscellaneous foods. I let Evan and Rachel pick the fare, and we had quite the good meal. They were less crowded, which might be because it was a chain. But it was more than adequate for us.
After dinner, we retired to the hotel. Tomorrow, we will be shipping off to Kyoto via train for more adventures. Stay tuned!
