A Lazy Day and a visit to Osaka Castle

April 20, 2023

We both feel like jet lag continues to haunt us and after our epic day yesterday, we decided to explore closer to “home”. You may wonder why we are doing a cycling blog when we do not seem to be riding. The truth is that our trikes are still in a disassembled state in their boxes. Since we arrived in Osaka a day later than planned, we missed our appointment with Yoshi, the owner/mechanic of HC Works and the sole Japanese dealer of Azub trikes. His next day available is tomorrow to assemble our trikes and instal the new battery holders we ordered from him. So, if all goes well, we will be moving around on wheels again sometime on Friday.

So the plan for today is to open the boxes and see what we are dealing with, buy some inexpensive bags to contain the smaller bits and have them ready for Yoshi to pick up tomorrow morning. A wander around Osaka Castle will round out the day.

A nice moment…a family from Boston offered to take our picture.

100 yen equals $1. Unlike our Dollar Stores at home, this shop was quite lovely. I kept checking for a price as I couldn’t believe that everything was 100 yen. We were able to pick up oversized bags for packing our trike parts for Yoshi. And the best part was that the store did not have the noxious smell we associate with Dollar stores at home.

This striking feature on a building by our hotel caught our eye.

I couldn’t resist adding a few more photos of items we have enjoyed at breakfast.

The three pictured here….duck, lotus root and beef….were some of Mary Ellen’s favourites.

The salmon and veggie dishes were also tasty.

Osaka Castle dates back to the late 16th century and is set on over 15 acres of beautiful grounds with over 3000 cherry blossom trees.

This map of the castle and its grounds highlights its strategic defensive design with 2 moats, inner and outer as well as a dry moat. Our hotel is just outside the gates at the bottom left.

Beautiful trees, monuments and commemorative stone plaques are seen throughout the grounds.

Interestingly the castle is 5 stories on the outside, yet it is 8 stories inside. The clever design of huge stones creating a high embankment provided protection from invaders.

We missed the peak cherry blossom season by about 2 weeks, but the plentiful rhododendrons and azaleas are beautiful,

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The castle today is enjoyed by all and provides a wonderful oasis for families, groups of people and for this fellow riding his bike..and many cats.

Impressive stonework with mammoth sized rocks and expansive moats provide a sense of calm…an oasis with the fast paced city just beyond its gates.

Beautiful design of turrets and intricate roof lines.

The well preserved details and embellishments make this fortified castle a gem.

Strolling through the grounds reveals monuments like this.

The castle and its grounds exude a timeless artistry and mystique with the castle keeping the modern reality of the 22nd century of Osaka safely outside the walls.

A few doors down from our hotel and next to the castle grounds are these impressive modern structures, the Osaka History Museum on the left and the NHK Broadcasting Centre, Japan’s only TV and radio broadcaster. We may drop by for a tour.

This family loved their long haired dashchunds

This cutie was determined to give me kisses…I even had a deep cleaning of my ears thanks to his enthusiasm.

And then we came across 2 young women with their cats out for a walk. This cat’s coat was super soft and those eyes captured us in its gaze.

This guy was happiest being carried -they come here most days.

Japan takes animal safety and their rights very seriously. If you abandon a cat..you can get imprisonment of up to 1 year and a fine of less than a million yen and if you kill a cat you face imprisonment up to 5 years and a fine of 5 million yen or less. Can’t argue with that. After seeing this sign, we saw a man whose regular pilgrimage was to come here with food and a litre of cream to care for these unhoused creatures. A touching scene.

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