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Two of Osaka\u2019s most popular attractions happen to also be conveniently the two most central. The first being Osaka castle, only a few stops from Osaka station and a little bit of a walk.<\/p>\n
Osaka Castle<\/strong><\/p>\n Its much of a muchness by train, regardless of what station you get off, however since we came from Osaka station<\/em> we just had to stay on it till Osakajokoen station<\/em> (check out the scale model of the grounds and castle in the foyer). From there its roughly a 1km walk past a lot of open concrete and numerous sporting facilities before you get to the park which has a lot of open spaces and waterways. The trees in the park are sakura (cherry bloosoms) which makes this a very common spot during the few weeks a year (usually late march\/early april) when they bloom.<\/p>\n The foliage thickens and becomes almost a little rainforesty once you cross the bridge over the moat. This is where you catch the first glimpse of signs of a \u201cfully functional\u201d castle with battlements and large stone walls surrounding the water. There are also plenty of shaded spots where you can stop for a breather if you\u2019re travelling during the unforgiving warmer seasons.<\/p>\n The castle sits majestically high above everything in the surrounding area upon its base of rock and stone and is trimmed with typical Asian rooftop styling and gold finishings. A large courtyard area sits at its base with a selection of vendors in cute little vans selling food and souvenirs. For the history buffs, entry into the castle is about 600Y and about 200Y for the greenthumbs that want to check out the castles extended gardens. Costumed guards frequently roam the grounds for your hashtagging pleasure.<\/p>\n One thing you may not expect to see is a time capsule. Placed there in 1970 for the World Expo, it is built with two levels, the first to be opened every century and the second in the year 6970, probably by Cher.<\/p>\n — Love going to \u201cThe Eye\u201d\u2019s around the world but hate the whole moving thing and still want a good view of the city, then this is the place for you!<\/p>\n Only about a 10min stroll from Osaka station<\/em> (longer if you’re anywhere south of the station since you have to walk either around or through it and if you\u2019ve been in Japan more than a minute you\u2019ll know that\u2019s not always as simple as it sounds!) but about 15-20min coming from our hotel via a few back streets for some random street photos.<\/p>\n Even from several blocks away (or from our hotel\u2019s external elevator) the Sky building looks menacing in a 90s scifi where the bad guy is the only rich person in the world kinda way.<\/p>\n Photo tip: Like any building with an observation deck, there\u2019s a bit of cueing and staring at elevator floor numbers clock over like it\u2019s the pledged amount on a telethon but you\u2019ll get to the deck in no time. The last section is up a see-through enclosed escalator before arriving at the closed-in viewing deck. This section would definitely be handy during the colder months or if you\u2019re unlucky with the weather, it still offers decent views but if you don’t want the headache of taking photos from behind glass at night, head on outside.<\/p>\n First impression, you will be forgiven if you think you\u2019ve accidentally stepped into a 90s UV rave. UV paint splatters cover the ground while your white clothes and teeth glow in typical freaky fashion but thankfully this doesn\u2019t detract too much from the view and more so the ability to take some nice photos!<\/p>\n The deck offers almost 360 degree views of downtown Osaka and Osaka bay and even when busy, the crowd ebbs and flows enough that if you stand still you\u2019ll eventually get any spot you choose.<\/p>\n Photo tip: If you get bored or are waiting for a spot to free up, head to the \u201clumi deck\u201d for a wall with lit up squares making different shapes, of course the very Sleepless in Seattle-esque heart shape is a clear winner for those thinking it could easily be the Empire State building. The fun continues inside with an interactive light room which\u2026 you guessed it, changes shapes and colours as you move like Elaine dancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, after (or perhaps before) you\u2019ve returned to ground level, there are several restaurants on the basement level that is themed in an “olden days” fashion not too unlike the Ramen Museum<\/a> but most close well before the observation deck so get in earlier if you\u2019re after some grub.<\/p>\n Next stop, the Osaka Aquarium!<\/p>\n If you have any questions on our travels, where to buy, what to do, hit us up on the Soulbridge media facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Japan 2013 part #1 \u2013 Arrival<\/a> Two of Osaka\u2019s most popular attractions happen to also be conveniently the two most central. The first being Osaka castle, only a few stops from Osaka station and a little bit of a walk. Osaka Castle Its much of a muchness by train, regardless of what station you get off, however since we came from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2241,2725,2518,388],"tags":[1830,1460,411,2231,2617,2620,2621,2075,50,903,1638,488,2622,577,391,2618,2619],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6564"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6564"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7603,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6564\/revisions\/7603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DSC_1181-1\"](\"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_1181-1.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nUmeda Sky building<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nTravel tip:
\nThe English version of the website<\/a> has nice simple to follow maps and venue information.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nIf you\u2019re going later in the evening, get your \u201cfrom the ground\u201d photos first as they turn off the upper lights before closing time, and check out the art installs while you’re at it<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s not a cluttered skyline and the building sits high above anything near by so you may even consider a mid range zoom instead of a wide angle. Like most night shots, a tripod helps alot, even better if you can be bothered carrying something with some height to clear the barriers\/railings. There will be plenty of others with the same idea as you so you may need to be patient with nabbing a good spot.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nJapan 2013 part #2 – Tokyo International Toy Expo<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #3 \u2013 Gotemba \u2013 Premium Outlets mall<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #4 \u2013 Tokyo \u2013 Studio Ghibli Museum<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #5 \u2013 Tokyo \u2013 Kichijoji and Nakano<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #6 \u2013 Tokyo \u2013 Akihabara<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #7 \u2013 Tokyo \u2013 Tamiya HQ, Diver City<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #8 \u2013 Yokohama \u2013 Zoorasia<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #9 \u2013 Yokohama \u2013 Ramen Museum<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #10 \u2013 Nissan HQ and Yokohama<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #11 \u2013 Osaka \u2013 Nanba Shopping<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #12 \u2013 Kyoto<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #13 \u2013 Tokyo \u2013 Harajuku, Shibuya<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #14 \u2013 Osaka castle, Umeda Sky building<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #15 \u2013 Osaka Aquarium and Tempozan wheel<\/a>
\nJapan 2013 part #16 \u2013 Osaka Universal Studios<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"