southers' Trip Diary: Osaka Castle, Japan

Osaka is one of the three famous historical cities in Japan, and its famous Osaka Castle is a must-see for travelers. As an iconic building in Osaka, the castle tower was built in 1585 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, infiltrated with a heavy historical mark. The walls of countless boulders make it even more majestic and solid, and a magnificent ancient city stands between the heavens and the earth. The main building has white walls and green tiles. It shows the style of the Tokugawa shogunate period, while the black lacquered gold on the top layer retains the imprint of the Toyotomi era. In the long history, it has undergone the baptism of war, and the majesty remains the same. The building has eight floors.

The adult ticket for Osaka Castle is 600 yen per person. Use machine to purchase tickets. A good advice is that you have to come here early because the waiting line is very long. It take me more than half an hour to purchase the ticket. After entering the castle tower, you can choose to climb stairs or take the elevator. The elevators are long queues because so many elders and disables are waiting for the elevator. For me, I chose to climb stairs. There are two passages for climbing stairs to choose. Although tired, it is good to climb one floor and carefully look every details of the castle. Because this Osaka Castle is too popular, there are groups of individual customers, resulting in a lot of people on every floor of the Castle. It makes me not very comfortable. Thus, I did not take much photo inside the castle.

The first floor of the lobby can rent a free electronic interpreter. Just fill out a form and pay a deposit and just tell the staff there which language you want to choose. The staff will also give an introduction brochure with your language. In this introduction brochure detailed show the history and every floor. You have to get this brochure because it will be very helpful for your visit.

Lastly, English is not my mother tongue. Possibly, I might make a lot of errors here. If you find out, please feel free to let me know. It will be very helpful for me to improve my English.