Osaka Joe

After three flights in five days, we paused in Osaka for some R&R. We hit up the same Hearton hotel we stayed at during our first trip, in the same semi-double rooms, and it felt a little like coming home.

Our ambitions for sightseeing in Osaka were minimal during our two night stay, and we succeeded admirably. We did take one morning to hit up Osaka castle and the surrounding park. The park was simply amazing.

There were plenty of foot paths through out the park. And, being it was a Sunday, there were lots of people out enjoying the fine weather. Did I mention the fine weather? After Hokkaido, it was positively summer-like. Clear blue skies, and a warm 10 to 15 degrees most of the day. And cute, fluffy little white clouds dancing in the sky.

We sauntered around the park for some time, enjoying the warm sun, before we decided to tour the castle museum. The castle itself is not original. Most of the feudal castles in Japan were torn down during the Meiji restoration, when a "One Castle, One Province" rule was put into effect. But the replica castle had a lot nicer amenities inside, and the space was put to good use as a museum. Not much to see if you aren't into history, but all of the exhibits were in Japanese and English, making it a museum the two of us could appreciate more.

After the castle museum, we toured the plum blossom orchard. A few trees were starting to come into colour, but most were still bare. It is a little early yet. We are visiting another plum grove in Kyoto late next week, and hopefully the extra time will give the trees a chance to fully bloom.