The seaside city of Osaka is the 3rd largest city (Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka) in Japan, with a population of 2.7 million people. It is lt thought that the area was populated as far back as 7000 BCE. Osaka is considered to be the financial and economic hub of Japan. It is the headquarters of Panasonic and Sharp. I just found out that Osaka is the site for the World Expo 2025, slated to begin the day we leave (4/13/25) so we will miss it.
Our excursions today include a visit to the ultra modern Umeda Sky building, the 16th century Osaka Castle and the shopping/street food district of Dotonbori.
Today’s itinerary.
Salad bar at breakfast buffet. It is popular with the Japanese.
This was really cool! An ice cream machine as part of the breakfast buffet area. Needless to say I had ice cream as part of my breakfast!
Multiple traffic lanes in each direction in Osaka. No one uses their horn; they are patient drivers. Also the cars are clean; I never saw a dirty car (or even trucks).
Japanese love to decorate their buildings with cartoon images.
Is this the future look for SUVs- squared off back? It is a Toyota.
Dad and sons. Looks like the little guy asleep – or playing on his phone!
Unique mail box.
The twin towers of the 40 story Umeda Sky building was completed in 1993 and has become a big tourist attraction because of the great territorial views from the outdoor observation deck at the top.
The Umeda Sky building, built in 1993, now a popular tourist attraction. It is 173 meters (567ft) high with outdoor observation decks.
Fountain near the building.
A very large “living wall”.
Using a living wall to hide an otherwise ugly structure
The lady traffic director who oversees the parking or the tour buses. She also controls the flow of people to keep them safe!
Someone with a sense of humor named this location.
Outdoor garden next to the Umeda Sky building .
Riding the escalator to the top. It was surprisingly steep.
I made it, she says, posing with the traditional Japanese stance.
The outdoor observation deck.
View of the surrounding area.
The Yodo River.
Chuck, Yvonne, Sue and Gerry enjoying the view.
Going down.
You can rent traditional clothing for pictures.
Our second stop was at the Osaka Castle complex that was initially built in 1585 by Toyotomi Hidetoshi. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times since then but remnants of the original walls are still present. Unfortunately, there is a lot to see there but our limited 1.5 hour visit was simply too short to really enjoy to what the complex offers. Several of us told our tour director that it would have been better to spend less time at the Umeda building and more time at the Osaka Castle because of its relevance to the cities history.
Local cherry blossoms.
Approaching the reconstructed Osaka castle complex.
A guard station near the castle walls.
Schematic of the Osaka castle.
Noriko explaining how stone was cut to create a flat surface.
The largest one piece stone in the wall. It weighed 108 tons! It must have been quite a task bringing it here.
We were here.
View from the top of the castle.
Territorial views from the top of the castle.
The original castle burned down. The castle is shown in relation to the original one.
How the castle walls were constructed.
One of castle cannons.
Explanation of how the palace walls were constructed
Excavation of part of the reconstructed castle wall showing use of original stone.
Osaka castle and cherry blossoms.
A short video about the Osaka castle.
Our last stop was at the famed street food lovers area of Dotonbori where small restaurants and street vendors offer all the food options Osaka people love. After a brief walking introduction Noriko bought some takoyaki (octopus stuffed dough balls) for us to try (we passed as we had tried them yesterday and were not that enamored with their consistency and taste). We were then free to seek out luncheon dining and/or shopping options on our own. We were quite surprised at how busy the area was on a weekday afternoon yet Noriko said it was not that busy in her opinion. I would hate to see what it would be like when really busy! We reconvened as a group at 3:45 and returned to the hotel to rest and get ready to leave early in the morning for Hiroshima and Kyoto.
The famous Dotonbori area of Osaka and the canal that runs through it.
Typical young lady attire in Japan.
A bit outlandish but I am sure it is fashionable!
Rows of opportunities to spend money on trinkets.
I have to admit they do catch your eye and attention.
Our luncheon place. Needed a place to sit down and they offered it.
No waitresses- you need to order on line. This issue was could we do it in Japanese?
At least there were pictures to show what you would be getting.
And you can edit your order before placing it.
Soon, it was delivered to your table.
That is Yvonne, Sue and me on live TV. Gerry is off on the left in the black vest. Real time images are projected onto the large LED screen of people who are walking along the street.
Watching her make a new batch of takoyaki.
Beautiful strawberries!
These are almost two inches long. Not cheap-$17!
Returned to the hotel to hear a violin. Afternoon tea.
The “mascot” for the upcoming Expo. It looks like a mochi donut to me.
