Last week, I had three domestic trips.
The first one was to Osaka, one of the biggest cities in Japan.
I took some photos in Dotonbori, a tourist area of the city - at around 6:00 AM on Tuesday.
The first one was to Osaka, one of the biggest cities in Japan.
I took some photos in Dotonbori, a tourist area of the city - at around 6:00 AM on Tuesday.
This used to be a polluted and stinky little waterway, but it is now getting a nice facelift.
Dotonbori's famous neon signs - of course, it was not lit up when I was running.
This is a big moving crab of a famous seafood restaurant, Kani Doraku
Red Onis are used to advertise this tako yaki restaurant - interesting!
I also enjoyed running to and around Osaka Castle. It is one of the most famous castles in Japan and was originally built in the late 16th Century by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a samurai that unified Japan after over 100 years of constant military conflicts throughout the nation ("Sengoku Period"). Originally, the city of Osaka was built around this castle.
Whenever I make an overnight business trip, I enjoy running in the morning to learn more about the city I visit.
3 comments:
Osaka is as far North as I ever went in Japan. I traveled there by volunteering to drive a school bus of volleyball players from our base in Iwa Kuni up to an English school in the vicinity of Osaka.
I didn't have anything to do on the day of the tournament so I took the train into downtown Osaka.
I wondered randomly, eventually coming to an undeveloped strip of land which had a little brook in it. I followed that for a while and then veered back into the built-up areas again. Then I spotted Osaka Castle and I knew that is what I wanted to see.
I had been to Hiroshima castle a lot: It is small but beautifully laid out in very pleasing proportions. Osaka castle was on an entirely different scale: Here in the middle of the biggest city I had ever seen, the metropolis stretched to the horizon, were vast open areas. One would cross a moat and then climb up a level, just to see another open area with another moat and another rise. The next time I would see such an impressive grounds was when, five years later, I went to the citadel at Quebec City in Canada.
I took a lot of photographs. I should dig them out and post them sometime...
Thank you for your comment. I wish I could see you when you were in Japan.
Yes, Osaka Castle is a giant compared to that of Hiroshima. Actually, the moat you saw was the inner moat and there used to exist the outer moat that extended far beyond what you saw. It was an impossible fortress to attack.
Unfortunately, after the maker of the original Osaka Castle (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) died, Kokugawa Ieyasu who rose to the power of Shogun made Hideyoshi's son to bury the outer moat, then the inner moat before attacking and destroying the original castle.
good!!
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