Memories - 大阪 (Osaka)

One memory calls another... or that's what it seems. Since I mentioned that in my post about Shoshazan, I'll write about the "trip" to Osaka (May 3rd, 2005).

Osaka isn't exactly far enough to call it a trip. Almost one hour by shinkaisoku train. Even so, that was my first time out of Himeji. That was during the Golden Week, when Jon, Silvia and I decided to go to Osaka and visit some places. Since Jon had been here for some time, he guided our way through the stations we didn't have problems about riding the wrong train or anything. Yep. My first time in a Japanese big city.

So, the places we decided to visit were:

• Umeda Sky Building: A skyscraper with an observatory on its top. The "Floating Garden Observatory" (didn't see any garden up there though... but the view to one down below was nice). Nice panoramic view of the city (at least the north part of it), with rivers and bridges at one side and the city at the other.

"The Umeda Sky Building is a spectacular high rise building in the Kita district of Osaka, near Osaka and Umeda Stations. It is also known as the "New Umeda City".

The 173 meter tall building consists of two main towers which are connected with each other by the "Floating Garden Observatory" on the 39th floor. The observatory offers a great view of the city for a 700 yen admission fee.

The Takimi-koji restaurant mall, a replica of a Japanese street of the early Showa Period, can be found on the first basement floor. Offices occupy most of the building's other floors. "

• Osaka-jo: The area around the castle was crowded. There was an event (probably because of the Golden Week) there. So, we didn't enter the castle (well... it's said that Himeji Castle is the most beautiful in Japan anyway, and I've been in Himeji-jo already... uh... another Memories...). One interesting thing was some kind of quiz. During the quiz, some people were wearing samurai costumes and some had my family crest on it... After searching a little, I found the possible reason...

"Construction on Osaka Castle (Osakajo) started in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple, which had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga thirteen years earlier. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule.

However, a few years after Hideyoshi's death in 1615, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s, but its main castle tower was struck by lightening in 1665 and burnt down.

It was not until 1931 that the present ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle was built. Major repair works gave the castle new glamor in 1997.

Inside the castle is a museum that documents Toyotomi Hideyoshi's life and the history of the castle. "

We still went to the Panasonic Square (which is near Osaka-jo), where some interesting products can be seen, and strolled around the city. Doing that we mismanaged our time and Jon lost his last bus... That's where the post about Shoshazan starts...