Our last full day in Osaka we took easy and struck out for Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle). From the nearby Sakuranomiya station on the Osaka Loop Line, we went to Kyobashi station, although it turned out we should have gone one stop further, to Osakajo-koen. From Kyobashi we walked through Osaka Business Park and finally found the castle grounds.
Osaka Castle was built at the beginning of the Edo era, when shoguns unified and ruled Japan and closed it to outsiders. (It was during this era that the book and TV series Shogun was set.) It was alternately destroyed and rebuilt, most recently in the 1930's, with a tall central tower that is a famous sight on the Osaka skyline. Inside the tower is the history of the castle and of the beginnings of the Edo era.
From the tower we could easily see our massive hotel.
After Osaka Castle we strolled the grounds, then took a forty-minute Aquabus tour along the rivers that thread central Osaka.
.... (later)....
Now at Kansai airport, on our way home. Everything smooth so far. No volcanic ash, at least.
