Osaka-jo Castle
Osaka, Japan
Of all the many castles I saw in Japan, this one struck me as the most Japanese. Maybe it is the cascading curved roofs that seem to pile up to the sky, or else the way it seems to want to hide in plain sight, or maybe it's the way it resembles a samurai on horseback; I can't tell, but I think "old Japan" when I see it.
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Ben Schiendelman writes:
Foreigners living in Japan are very receptive to visitors. It was dusk, and I was trying to get my last few photos of Osaka-jo. It'd been days since I had heard any English. A man walked by, and told me he thought it was too dark now. I realized he was right and started walking back toward the station - but did a double take. He was speaking English. He was standing there smiling as I made my realization, and insisted that he buy me a meal and show me some of the town. We were a strange sight - a teacher from Papua New Guinea and a blonde American taking in the night life in Osaka.
JM writes:
I have visited this place a few times. I was teaching English in Osaka for about 15 months. I took a class of about 15 or 20 young Japanese kids on a field trip there where we basically just hung out in giant park surrounding the castle, playing games and eating lunch. The last time that I vistited the castle however, me, my brother, and some friends had a "hanami party" which is a party under the blossoming cherry trees. Well the end result of a drink off with some local Japanese folk, was me passing out on the edge of the castle wall which surrounds the moat, and my brother losing his back pack with 2 pairs of really expensive sunglasses in it.
kazu writes:
I am Japanese who lived in Osaka. Osaka-jo Castle is the place I often visited in my childfood. 2 weeks ago, my sons and wife visited there. My wife was surprised at finding many Koreans visited. As you know, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who built this catsle about 400 years ago, tried to invade Korea, but in vain. Hideyoshi is still a hero for Japanese, but for Koreans, he is just a hateful invader. By the way, my sons were most intersted in the ' Road Train ' going around the castle. My youngest son only talked about the train, never about the catsle.