My time in Japan was coming to an end in Osaka, my last stop before flying back home. On the train from Kyoto, there was a strange sadness taking over my overall mood. I didn’t want my holiday to end. Certainly I didn’t feel like I was done with Japan – in fact, on my first day in Tokyo I was already sure that I had to go back.
Yet, Osaka was so bright and welcoming that upon my arrival that sadness had quickly dissipated. Especially as I didn’t have any expectations of this city. I was going to fly out from here, and had planned only 2 nights. I left my suitcase – at that point much heavier already than what had been – at the Hotel Noum a wonderful and affordable place that I recommended. Clean rooms and facilites, welcoming staff. There was breakfast included, made to order, which is a different sort of nice to a buffet.
It was warm, but the receptionist advised me to take my jacket with me. It gets chilly at night, he said. With my jacket in my daypack, I walked all the way to my first stop – Osaka Castle. I didn’t go in – I don’t think it’s worth it as, similar to Hiroshima’s, there is nothing apart from exhibition about samurai history (which isn’t of that interest to me personally.
Yet, this is one of Japan’s most famous castles. It was originally built in the 1500s by the warlord Toyotimo Hideyoshi. More than a posh residence, it was meant to be a political statement – he intended to unify Japan during his rule. The whole complex covered about one square kilometre, surrounded by massive stone walls and wide moats, which are still visible today.
But these were chaotic times. During this era – called Sengoku period – samurai warlords were constantly fighting each other. When Hideyoshi died, the castle was attacked by rival power led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, in what was known as the siege of Osaka. The castle was destroyed as Japan entered a two and half centuries of Tokugawa rule.
So of course, what we see today is partly a reconstruction. The main tower has burned, exploded, collapsed and rebuilt again and again over the centuries. The current version dates from 1931 and it was restored in the 90s.
Today the grounds are a wonderful public park, the castle its crown. It was such a beautiful warm and sunny day, so I walked around a little longer, soaking everything in. And that apparently included food. I came upon a few stalls selling Dorayaki with Doraemon’s face. I spent many hours in my childhood watching Doraemon and dorayaiki was its favourite food. I got mine with custard, as I’m not the biggest fan of red bean. Shortly after though, there was this bakery/coffee shop wut the most good looking baked goods. I ended up getting coffee and a delicious flat bread with honey. Japan really had stolen my heart, my soul and my stomach.
This was really a foodie day, as I soon found myself at the Kuromon Market – here you can get fresh produce, fish, seafood… and I got sushi. And then, as a dessert, a strawberry daifuku. I had fallen in love with these in Nara.
I ended up coming across a coffee shop/bakery and sat down for a little while eating this delicious flat bread with honey. Can Japan just do everything?
They can. And proof of that is the Namba Yasaka shrine. Japan telling the world that sacred doesn’t have to mean solemn, sober. The massive 12 metre tall lion head is exactly a loud announcement of that. In fact, when I saw it, it reminded me of the decorations that often adorn the rides in funfairs back home. In fact, this structure is called a Shishi-den – the lion hall. It’s very modern, built in 1975. In Japanese folklore, lions are guardians that eat evil spirits – and so they made it literal. The massive open mouth of the lion is meant to swallow bad luck and negative energy, so go there and feed the lion. But if you look with more attention, the head of the lion enshrines a stage, used often for performances and rituals.
Even though the lion is recent, the shrine itself has been here since the 14th century, but it was mostly destroyed during World War II.
This sort of shrine does make sense in a place like Osaka. The whole city seems to stand against taking life too seriously. I even noticed a difference in its people – at shops, employees made conversation with me, even if they needed Google Translate to do so. My tattoos were even complimented, which I was very surprised about bearing in mind how conservative the Japanese still are when it comes to tattoos – often associated with the Yasuka crime.
Speaking from my very limited experience spending two weeks only in Japan, going from Tokyo to Hiroshima, Kyoto and then Osaka, here the overall atmosphere was simply more easy going.
Now, there is something that I really wanted to buy in Japan – a pair of the famous Onitsuka Tiger trainers (black with white stripe). These are half the price in Japan but guess what… in every place I had been so far, there were queues (!!) to get into the stores. Perhaps those were in the middle of the tourist central. And I’m not someone who easily queues for such things. Nah Nah. Either way, my plan had been to get them in Osaka, being this my last destination and I had wanted to keep my luggage has light as possible till the very end. I looked at the map and noticed that I could go outside of the biggest crowd pleasers in Osaka, to an Onitsuka Tiger shop located in Abeno Q’s Mall. And the reason why that called my attention is that my visit wasn’t going to be purely shopping driven – not that far, there was yet another temple, Shitenno-ji.
In every trip, you’re likely going to make a mistake, especially in longer ones. And whilst taking the metro to this place to get my pair wasn’t a mistake at all (all of the shops in Namba were so damn crowded), pushing myself to visit yet another temple, was a mistake, no matter the importance of it.
I was tired, and didn’t absorb much of it. Stunning Pagoda. But everything else went completely over my head. Which is a shame, as Shitenno-ji is actually a pretty special Buddhist temple, likely the most important in the whole of Japan. And why? Because whilst the structure you see today is the result of many reconstructions, this temple was founded in 593 CE by prince and statesman Shotoku. He is an important figure for promoting Buddhism in Japan when it was still new. So in a way, this temple is an important milestone on the integration of Buddhism in the Japanese culture and ways of living.
Whilst the temple has been rebuilt many times, the layout is still original, and it’s considered quite special – the main structure line up in a straight axis, from Gate, to Pagoda, Main Hall and then Lecture Hall.This mirrors early Buddhist temple designs from mainland Asia and became a template for later Japanese temples.
The Pagoda was the only thing that was able to break through my temple fatigued brain. And even now, knowing the importance of this temple, there is a part of me who wished I could have just got my sneakers and moved on. But hey… curiosity is part of my star sign. As a gemini, this can often be a curse!
For the rest of the evening, I was emerged in what it felt a Osaka fever dream. As I said, this city doesn’t take itself too seriously, and in every corner there was something that made my eyes pop and the corners of my mouth turn upwards in smiles. I’ll let my pictures speak for themselves – and once again, I assure you, this isn’t a theme park. It’s just a city. Osaka being its wonderful, loud, bright, authentic self. I wandered around Namba, took a picture of the famous Glico man. It was so busy, but the atmosphere was electrifrying.
This was my first day in Osaka, and I was wishing I had at least another 2 days to explore. And I only got to eat takoyaki once! These were also so ugly when I got to eat them, I didn’t even bother to take a picture…But there was only one full day left…
Love, Nic
P.S. The below are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase or book anything through these links. None of it is sponsored. All my recommendations are based on my lived experience.
Where I stayed in Osaka: Hotel Noum OSAKA. Book here.
Truely Sim Card: Get 10% Off with code wingedbone10
The Winged Bone 