Inside the Osaka Castle 大阪城

Ok, so you’ve made it till here and finally you get inside the Osaka Castle but first you need to get the ticket to get in.

I mentioned this on my first post and I’ll repeat it once again:

“do not rely on cards neither debit nor credit. Always carry cash with you at all times”.

Japan is not card friendly so be aware of that and also remember that you can’t withdraw money from every single atm. I learnt that the hard way, because I could only withdraw money from 7-eleven convenient stores……say what? I know, it sounds mad but that how it is.

When buying the ticket, if you happen to have the Kansai Pass, let them know. You should get a discount for the entrance ticket. I can remember how much, it’s not too much, but it’s ok.

Once you get inside the actual castle you have to take the lift all the way up, but it won’t take you to the top (where I recorded the video), you’ll have to walk up one more floor to go out to the observation deck. There's nothing else apart from the observation deck though, so once you're finished with it you will have to go downstairs. If you like to buy in every souvenir shop available, then there's one on the top floor just before stairs going downstairs.

You have many places in Osaka where you can have a 360 degree view but in my personal opinion the feeling of looking at the city from the Castle is like no other. There reason is that, even though there are many skyscrapers It’s true you can go to the Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル) [Umeda Sukai Biru], which I’m going to write about later, but it’s not the same.

As you start walking down the tower you’ll ask two things ; 1. Why haven’t they got things translated into English and 2. Why can’t I take pics? Having said that I’m warning you that there are not many places inside the castle where you can take pics but then again you’re there to enjoy the experience not to take picture of everything. Aren't you? 

There floor below the top floor is kind of a waste of time if you don’t understand a word of Japanese. They have the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It looks very interesting but sadly you don’t have the English translation which is a bit disappointing to the people who are very interested in the history of Japan.

Going one floor down you’ll have the Summer War Screen description – and an English translation is available so it’s perfect if you do not have a clue of the Summer War(like me). If you like history and you have the time to stay there for almost 30 mins then please stay because it’s very informative and you’ll  learn many interesting facts about the Summer War. By some reason, on this floor you're allowed to take pictures, yes, as many as you want.. That was the place where I recorded the miniature representation of the Summer War in Osaka.

The following floors have a lot of artefacts and objects from Hideyoshi and if you like to dress up like a shogun, samurai, daimyo, geisha or a ninja that is the place to do it.

Osaka Castle - Summer War 

Osaka Castle - Clans List