Having just seen the green roof top of “Osaka Castle”:http://www.osakacastle.net/english/ from the “Umeda Sky Building”:http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/attraction/163766-review-floating-garden-observatory-umeda-sky-building, we wanted to see it close up. The castle museum opened at 9.00am yet at 9.40am we met lots of people, including large groups, leaving as we walked up a long path and 60 steps from the subway station.
We therefore decided to head straight for the museum before it got too crowded. Surprisingly there were no queues at the ticket office (¥600 or £4), left luggage or lift which took us straight to the 5th floor. The museum is housed in the castle which has been completely gutted inside.
At the fifth floor, a sign suggested walking up three more floors to the observation deck where the safety netting had been carefully arranged to allow for good views and photographs. Having seen the views from all four sides, we walked back down (there is a staircase up and another down) to the fifth and continued following the marked route down each floor.
To be honest, none of the exhibits were particularly interesting. There were numerous Japanese scrolls which had been letters from various important peopled in the 1500 and 1600s, depictions of battles (both on paper and using model soldiers) and family histories.
Finally, before the exit, there was a shop and the opportunity to dress up in authentic soldiers clothing and have your picture taken in front of a picture of the castle. Lots of youngsters were lined up to do this, we resisted.
Outside, we met a queue for the lift and so were pleased with our decision. Whilst the museum was not exactly enthralling, we’d enjoyed the views from the top. Our trip was finished off by walking the 1.5km path around the stunning castle building where we saw the moat (75m at its widest point) and gardens. The sun was now starting to shine and although we either missed the Nishinomaru Garden or walked through without realising it, the trees in the plum grove were just coming into blossom.
