Stairs, stairs and more stairs. I think I’ve worked out one of the secrets to the health and longevity of Japanese people… incidental exercise. I’m sure we’ve done at least a couple of km every day in the underground tunnels of the railway system, always with a mountain of stairs. There are some escalators and lifts, but if you want to exit in the right location then it’s generally up the stairs. This crossing in the centre of Osaka is the ultimate celebration of the stair!
Osaka is only about 40km from Kyoto, so with the prospect of a rainy day we figured a trip to Osaka to see the Castle and markets was a good option. It’s also the opening day of Expo 2025 in Osaka and you could see that the transport teams were ready for big crowds with extra staff and great signage everywhere.
The theme for this expo is ‘Design of the future society’, with a little mascot called Myaku-Myaku represents the pulse, and a flexibility to change shape like water. He seems very cute and loved, so I wonder if he was as controversial as our Olympic one will be!
The castle is surrounded by gardens filled with cherry blossoms, a moat, and a number of ‘megaliths’. The most significant is the Octopus stone, with a face of 5.5m x 11.7m and weighing 120 tonnes. No idea what technology was used to put it in place in the 1600s!
The Castle was first established over 14 years in the late 16th Century by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Over the years it’s been burned, destroyed and run down many times, and the current building is a concrete replica built in the late 1990s. Today it contains a 7 storey museum sharing the history of the site and families that lived here.
Thanks to my limited (but rapidly expanding) knowledge of Japanese I was able to buy tickets online as we walked up to the ridiculously long queue. Winning!
The top of the Castle gave great views the castle gardens showing the lines of cherry blossoms and over Osaka. The ‘shack-hoko’ are mythical tiger-headed fish said to protect the castle and ward off fire. They don’t ward off tourists with mobile phone cameras 😉
Osaka is also known for markets and its local food. Shellfish and squid feature heavily in this area – there isn’t much that you can’t buy on a skewer from a ‘supervised by a Michelin restaurant’ market stall. There’s also been a big focus on strawberries everywhere we’ve been, apparently they’re considered a luxurious delight. A bit like the $20 tray of cherry tomatoes!
Osaka also has kitchen street… think crockery, pots, and knives everywhere you turn. The knives feature so much innovation and detail in every blade, and the knife shops are high-end, beautifully presented and lit. Retail is alive and well here!
We couldn’t escape the cold and wet forever, and it’s not ideal to enjoy a city while dodging umbrellas! A few little Osaka delicacy donut-like cinnamon treats make everything more tolerable. Heading to the Shinkesai district you can’t miss the Tsutenkaku tower, whose lighting is said to reflect the seasons and the weather forecast. It’s sponsored by Hitachi – remember they also had the weather tower in Brisbane?
The rain forced us to find somewhere local for dinner, and we uncovered a hidden gem! A non-descript door around the corner opened to a little wine bar and fish restaurant. One person, Tatsuya, was chef, waiter, sommelier, and dishy producing an amazing menu of French inspired Japanese food for about 10 seats. Absolutely outstanding!
The walls were a filled with notes from other customers, and of course I was very happy when he passed the pen over. I don’t know if he was more excited by my little people, Japanese characters, or the fact that he made our 30 year celebration as memorable as the day we met 🙂
Love M & A xx
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