Tasmania to Tokyo – Osaka, Japan – Day 63 can be found here.
Today’s Chronicles can be found here.
“It’s the final excursion! Na na na na! Na na na na na!”
(Sung to the tune of ‘Final Countdown’ – which does not work as well as ‘final game drive’, admittedly.)
We employ our usual strategy for mornings such as these – quick breakfast at La Terrazza sans custom orders, finish prepping our kit, and then down through the cruise terminal roughly 30 minutes in advance. We’re on the Osaka Highlights tour this morning, which involves a trip to Osaka Castle and a visit to the Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine.
Our early arrival strategy pays off. We are on bus 1 and we depart roughly 10 minutes early – which is handy, because the drive to Osaka castle takes only 20 minutes instead of the 50 minutes forecast. Not sure why. Lack of traffic, mayhaps? Prime port location? We don’t question our good fortune.
It’s a beautiful day – cool and crisp. We start near one of the castle’s watch towers:
From Silversea’s promotional material:
“Built in the late-16th century, [Osaka] castle was burned down in a series of 17th-century battles. It was later reconstructed, but its donjon was destroyed by fire once again. The castle’s final reconstruction took place in the early-20th century. Upon arrival, take a guided walking tour. The first seven floors of the castle display various weapons, armour, and artefacts of a bygone era. The eighth-floor features splendid panoramic vistas and photo opportunities of the castle’s surrounds.”
Modern and ancient in one shot? Check.
We walk through the park leading up to the castle grounds. Osaka Castle soon comes into view:
We then pass by the ‘octopus stone’ on our way in, which is one of the largest megaliths with dimensions of roughly 5 by 11 metres and weighing something like 130 tons.
It’s so named because of the odd marks in the lower corner
Even the manhole covers here are special:
We pass by the Miraiza Osaka-Jo, a shopping plaza that also contains the Kaiyodo Figure Museum Miraiza Osaka-Jo.
No time to visit there today – maybe next time!
We get here so early that the castle isn’t open yet – but I enjoy having the opportunity to take photos before the upper layer is swarmed with visitors.
The drums sound promptly at 9 am, and visitors begin to move inside the castle.
As a tour group, we have our own entrance line – but it seems like there is an issue with our tickets. The guide talks to the staff, and then makes a call to try to unravel whatever difficulties she’s run into. Ah, well – it gives me time to photograph the castle once more:
And photograph a nearby cat:
Plus a passing shibu inu:
But the guide soon has it all sorted, and we’re on our way.
Elevators are availble for those who need them, but a line forms immediately. We are content to take the stairs.
As noted by Silversea, the castle is a reconstruction of the original and entirely modernized inside – we start by viewing some of the architectural elements:
And then we move on to the next floor – where there are some detailed recreations of samurai battles:
We continue on to the upper floors where photography is not permitted. Ah, well – it gives us the chance to browse the impressive samurai armour, art and artifacts. Our daughter is fascinated to learn about the various materials and pigments used to make the scrolls.
There was a time when Osaka castle was one of the main centres for military and political power in Japan. An entire floor is dedicated to the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, regarded as the second “great unifier” of Japan – despite being born as the son of a farmer.
There’s a series of hologram-type displays that show different vignettes in his life:
These holographic diorama exhibits take up most of the floor and tell the entire story from his birth to death and our children are fascinated to move between them. The commentary is only in Japanese but simply watching them move around each scene gives you a good sense of the story.
We finally reach the top of the castle. Even in the short period of time since we entered, it’s grown remarkably busy. Glad we got here early!
Lovely views from up here:
Back down the tower we go – there’s time for a few more photos:
And a brief stop at the food trucks.
I get some gyozas:
And the kids get some strawberry mochi:
Which they pick up from a lovely little shop:
But I’m so enthralled by my gyoza skewer that you can see it in the corner of this photo
Then it’s time to head back through the park to the bus.
We’ve got a good group today – everyone is back on time, and we head off promptly at 10:30 am. We’re on the road for perhaps 30 minutes before we reach Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine.
From the Sumiyoshi Taisha website:
“Sumiyoshi Taisha has stood watch over Osaka Bay for almost 2,000 years. Founded by the legendary empress-regent Jingū in the third century, it honors four deities: a trio of sea gods called the Sumiyoshi Sanjin, and Empress Jingū herself, whose spirit was enshrined alongside them after her death.
“Since its founding, Sumiyoshi Taisha has been linked with the sea. People involved in fishing, shipping, and other maritime industries still come to pray at Sumiyoshi for safe voyages. The shrine offers spiritual protection for the port of Osaka, which was the main gateway to Japan’s historical capitals and the rest of the country until the late nineteenth century.
“Sumiyoshi Taisha has close ties with poetry, the performing arts, sumo wrestling, success in love and business, and the safe delivery of babies—a range that reflects the shrine’s long history and its place in the hearts of the people of Osaka, who affectionately call it ‘Sumiyossan.’
“The shrine is famous throughout Japan for its rites and festivals. Two million people come to Sumiyoshi Taisha each January for hatsumōde, the traditional first shrine visit of the year. The midsummer Sumiyoshi Matsuri is one of Osaka’s biggest festivals, climaxing in a parade of portable shrines. Other events, such as ritual rice planting in June and a moon-viewing celebration in early autumn, attract visitors with music, dancing, and readings of traditional poetry.”
We start by taking in the view of the Sorihashi Bridge:
The current form of the bridge was first built in the 17th century by Yododono, a consort of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
You can sense the history here.
Worshippers will make a wish by presenting a coin, clapping their hands twice and bowing.
Others hang signs with their wishes, similar to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple – the Buddhist temple we saw in Busan:
One area lets visitors searching for three stones that spell out “five power words” in Japanese.
The five great powers are strength, wisdom, wealth, happiness and longevity – which we saw mirrored in the seven gods of the Nakatsu gorge
Spotting the characters can be tougher than you might expect:
It’s said that if you take the rocks home with you in an amulet, they will grant you a wish. When the wish has been granted, you are to return the rocks to the shrine along with the bag they were stored in.
Amulet bags are available for 500 yen apiece – more for fancier bags.
Continuing on through the complex, we see some sake barrels donated by nearby distilleries:
We then pass by a centuries-old tree that itself is viewed as kind of living god.
We try some sweet ginger tea. It’s thick but tasty.
Many families are walking through the grounds, taking photos to mark the end of their newborn’s first month. Girls are accompanied with bright colours and are celebrated on the 30th day after their birth, while boy children are marked with dark colours and celebrated on the 31st day.
There are a range of colourful sets to help with these celebrations:
It’s a peaceful area to wander and explore.
We have around an hour here, then it is once more time to return to the bus.
And the verdict? Another solid included tour from Silversea. Our guide was very efficient, and she would research questions posed by guests then answer them later. We also kept in our quiet vox earpieces through most of the tour, which is rare. And she was patient with our kids as they worked to collect the correct three stones. Also – highly recommend showing up early to Osaka castle, as it gets busy quickly.
Back to the Silver Moon – thus ending the final excursion of our 47 day cruise.
We consider visiting the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan – the largest aquarium in the Asia – but it’s simply too much after all we’ve done these past few weeks (and months). We’re also going to be back in Osaka next year, so we’ll leave it for our return trip.
Back aboard the ship in time for a delicious lunch at La Terrazza, heavy on the crab legs:
The kids start packing, and my wife and I take a few minutes to enjoy a glass of wine out on the balcony -watching as the harbour cruises zip past:
The kids do bingo, then it’s time for trivia! We join forces with another group as most of our team members are still off on tours. Our son correctly recalls the Mediterranean nation with an orchestra larger than its army (Monaco) and what is contained within a binnacle (ship’s compass), while we learn that the most popular green vegetable in the world is broccoli and that Victorians were referring to sausages when they spoke of “little bags of mystery.” No podium for us today, sadly.
Back to the verandah for one last Singapore sling sunset whilst in port:
Then off for dinner at Atlantide. Tonight’s menu:
My wife and I both start with the foie gras:
And then move on to the ‘beef and reef’ (crab and steak):
Which I follow with the all chocolate for dessert:
Our server Mastra kindly rushes our order, as we have a date with the BTS live-streamed concert at 8 pm sharp:
While the kids would have loved to be in Seoul for this, they really enjoy having been to Gwanghwamun Square and the Gyeongbokgung Palace just days earlier.
The Moon’s premium wifi performs admirably, particularly since others on board will likely be watching the same show.
Then it is most definitely time for bed – perchance for one last sleep-in tomorrow before we pack up 47 days of stateroom sprawl.