Wednesday 15th May 2024
Well, here we go again!

We were up early this morning and on our way for a big day of walking. A quick trip to the “konbini” convenience store/7eleven for a few grocery supplies. Some bananas, nuts and chocolate. The start of our healthy diet. Haha!! Then off we go, we then stopped at another couple of konbini where we bought some more nuts and looked at other options. It is always interesting the first few times you go into a store, learning the way to shop, pay and communicate. All part of the adventure. I try really hard to talk in their language and it always gives them a few laughs and definitely breaks the ice. The Japanese are so polite and respectful. It is very pleasant.

We went for a walk through Ogimachi – the local park near our hotel. It had a lovely playground for the children, a nice albeit unmowed tree filled path and an area of sand which we really don’t know what it is used for, maybe a sporting arena.

We then headed to the Osaka Castle where we spent a few hours exploring its internal museum as well as the surrounding park, with moats and beautiful gardens. The crowds at the castle increased quickly and we experienced some delays as we climbed the 8 storeys inside. By the time we left it was very crowded. The views of the city at the 8th floor was amazing and stretched away in to the distance. It was interesting to see some Japanese in traditional dress – kimonos in the grounds of the castle. After circumnavigating the inner moat of the castle we headed back towards our hotel.

We went via the Osaka Tenmangu Shrine which was a lot less visited and much more our style of attraction. We spent about an hour walking around looking at all the amazing buildings, shrines and the grounds. It was very interesting.

We went through an arcade (Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street) near the shrine that would have been at least a kilometre long, so I thought – read below for more information. The arcade had a variety of stall like shops from pharmacy, food and even a market stall that sold train lost property. There were hundreds. We found some of the most amazing strawberries that were so “oiishi” tasty.

We then continued on our way back to the hotel via the large supermarket where we managed to find cereal, soy milk, sultanas, chocolate and some fruit. Once again, a little time consuming but at least we can have a little bit of normal food along with the experimental and interesting Japanese cuisine.

We arrived back at our hotel at 4pm, having walked 17km over 7 hours. We are a little tired and are having a bit of a rest now, watching some sumo wrestling on the television before heading out for dinner and some sightseeing under lights.

After a long rest we headed out for dinner, back to the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street where we had Okonomiyaki – a Traditional Japanese pancake. Then a Green Tea and Vanilla ice cream cone/biscuit. Then a long walk back to the Osaka Castle which was beautifully lit. Then home again.

We decided to try the train home as it was another 65 mins walk home and only 27min on the train. Oops, 80mins later with a few wrong turns, a wrong platform/line and the wrong train. Followed by 2 more trains and we were home again having walked another 9kms.

Time for a snooze before another big day tomorrow.

“Osaka Castle, or “Osaka-jo” in Japanese, is certainly one of the most famous landmarks in Japan, and for good reason. This five-story castle is one of the most visually spectacular creations in the country, with a history that dates back almost 450 years! It is arguably Osaka’s most prominent landmark and belies bloody power struggles leading up to the 1603 foundation of the Edo era. While its history dates back to 1583, the landmark main tower that is the castle’s icon was only re-constructed in 1931.”

“Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, founded in the 10th century, is one of the most important of hundreds of shrines across Japan that are devoted to Tenjin, the Shinto deity of scholarship, who in turn has been associated with the Heian Period scholar Sugawara Michizane. Osaka Tenmangu Shrine has been destroyed by fire a number of times during its history, and its current main hall (honden) and main gate date back to 1845. Osaka Tenmangu is famous for its festival, the Tenjin Matsuri, which is held annually on July 24 and 25 and is ranked as one of Japan’s top three festivals besides Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri and Tokyo’s Kanda Matsuri. During the festival, the shrine’s deity is paraded in a divine palanquin (mikoshi) through the city in a joyful land and river procession, accompanied by fireworks.”