I had a relaxing morning before making my way to the Osaka Castle. It opened at 9am. I wanted to get there early to beat the crowds but no such luck. There was a huge line waiting to get into the place. The castle was extremely disappointing, especially after my visit to the Himeji Castle the day before. Not good planning on my part.
There wasn’t a great view of the castle. They don’t let you get up close and personal like you can at the Himeji castle. The route basically puts you inside the castle, herds you up a bunch of stairs with a gazillion others to the top floor where you get a view of the city below. Each floor has some history about the castle but overall, it wasn't that interesting.
I stayed at the castle for 45 minutes before heading on my way. There were gardens next to the castle that I was excited about. I was hoping they would be half as good as the gardens I was at the day before. I took a quick glance before going to the ticket gate and could see it was a big open field with a guest house. I took a miss. I wanted to head to a waterfall outside of the city, so I made my way there instead.
It took 45 minutes by train to get to Minoh Park where there is a 33-meter high waterfall. The area was gorgeous. It was quiet and cooler up in the mountains. There were a bunch of trails but nothing was mapped out. It was hard to know where to go and if the trails would loop around so I stuck to the main trail.
The waterfall was beautiful and the area was not terribly busy. The walk worked out to be almost ten kilometers. It felt so good to get in some exercise! There was a small bakery beside the train station where I grabbed some fried chicken and a slice of pizza. I brought them home for lunch and enjoyed them with a beer.
I got home around 2:30 and took a nap after my lunch. I was exhausted! I had one more thing on my list that I wanted to see. At 5pm, I got up and wandered over to Dotonbori. It was within walking distance from the apartment I was staying at. I thought the place I went to yesterday, Shinsekai, was busy but this place was ten times busier. The number of people was overwhelming. I got to the canal about one hour before sunset and as it came closer to the sun setting, the streets became more crowded.
I wandered around snapping a ton of pictures. There were so many illuminated signs. My tummy was grumbling and I knew it was time to find something to eat. Most places had long lineups. I walked around for what felt like ages and was getting hangry when I noticed an Indian guy holding up a sign for his restaurant. Perfect! The food was quite good and the restaurant was quiet which was a nice break from what was going on outside!
It was my last night in Osaka so I stayed out a bit later and enjoyed the busy lanes of Dotonbori. It was quite an exciting place after sunset. I giggled my way through the tiny alleys and took a bunch more photos. It was time to head back though. There were too many people and I had a half a bottle of wine in my fridge that needed drinking!
I stayed up a bit later than normal enjoying my last evening in my own space as it would be back to life in a hostel for the remainder of my stay in Japan!
There wasn’t a great view of the castle. They don’t let you get up close and personal like you can at the Himeji castle. The route basically puts you inside the castle, herds you up a bunch of stairs with a gazillion others to the top floor where you get a view of the city below. Each floor has some history about the castle but overall, it wasn't that interesting.
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| The waterfall pathway at Minoh Park |
It took 45 minutes by train to get to Minoh Park where there is a 33-meter high waterfall. The area was gorgeous. It was quiet and cooler up in the mountains. There were a bunch of trails but nothing was mapped out. It was hard to know where to go and if the trails would loop around so I stuck to the main trail.
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| The waterfall at Minoh Park |
I got home around 2:30 and took a nap after my lunch. I was exhausted! I had one more thing on my list that I wanted to see. At 5pm, I got up and wandered over to Dotonbori. It was within walking distance from the apartment I was staying at. I thought the place I went to yesterday, Shinsekai, was busy but this place was ten times busier. The number of people was overwhelming. I got to the canal about one hour before sunset and as it came closer to the sun setting, the streets became more crowded.
I wandered around snapping a ton of pictures. There were so many illuminated signs. My tummy was grumbling and I knew it was time to find something to eat. Most places had long lineups. I walked around for what felt like ages and was getting hangry when I noticed an Indian guy holding up a sign for his restaurant. Perfect! The food was quite good and the restaurant was quiet which was a nice break from what was going on outside!
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| The Dotonbori Canal at sunset |
I stayed up a bit later than normal enjoying my last evening in my own space as it would be back to life in a hostel for the remainder of my stay in Japan!
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