Osaka June 2016 5 days 4 nights Itinerary - Day 3 Pt 1 (Osaka Castle, Oe Shrine)

Day 3:

Osaka Castle

I woke up super early on Day 2 to go to the Osaka Castle before it gets crowded. There wasn't a queue to go in when i was there.

Osaka castle is a very prominent landmark and tourist attraction in Osaka. This magnificent structure is surrounded by secondary citadels, gates, turrets, impressive stone walls and moats.

The Nishinomaru Garden, encompassing the former "western citadel", is a lawn garden with 600 cherry trees, a tea house, the former Osaka Guest House and nice views of the castle tower from below. Unlike most of the rest of the castle grounds, the garden requires an admission fee. I didn't manage to go to this garden as there's no cherry blossoms when i went. Weather was amazing when i went but it started drizzling when i left the castle.

There are levels in the castle where photography and video is not allowed. You can go to the top and view Osaka from there but it is not necessary as there's nothing much to see. There's this metal netting which makes taking nice photos difficult. The museum is kind of boring unless you're interested in the history of the castle. You also need to pay an admission fee to enter the castle. The castle is seriously beautiful from every angle and i'm awestruck from looking at it in such close proximity. :) Definitely a MUST GO if you're in Osaka. The nearest subway station would be Osaka Business Park Station.

Address: 1-1 Ōsakajō, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 540-0002, Japan

Opening Hours: 9am - 5pm

Floresta Nature Doughnuts

Address: 1 Chome-12-28 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 543-0051, Japan

After visiting Osaka Castle, I decided to make my way to Shitennoji Temple and some of the other temples close by. But first, I must fill up my tummy first! This outlet at Shitennoji doesn't have the cute animal doughnuts i ate in Tokyo but nonetheless just a simple set like this is yummy too. :)

OE SHRINE

First up is Oe Shrine (大江神社). It is said to be one of the seven shrines established by Prince Shotoku to guard Shitenno temple. I also had a hard time finding the entrance to this shrine.

The shrine is dedicated to the Buddhist god Bishamonten (毘沙門天), one of the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune. The shrine contains an image of Bishamonten which is said to have been made by Prince Shotoku himself.

Instead of guardian dog statues, the shrine has guardian tiger statues. Because of this fans of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team often come to worship at Oe Shrine.