Osaka Castle...大阪城

Location: Chūō-ku, Osaka
How to get there: It is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line.

This is our first destination of the day. We decided not to enter the museum, as we were actually behind our schedule. We were only taking photos from outside the building. From the outside, one could imagine how popular the area is during its heyday.

From the website we found, the park is very popular landmark especially during the cherry blossom season, which usually takes place in early April.

Originally called as Ozakajō, it is one of the famous castles located in Osaka. The Castle grounds cover 60,000 square meters or 15 acres and contains 13 structures.

The castle began its foundation in 1583 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted his fort to be an epitome of the Toyotomi regime itself. The castle was however, demolished by the Tokugawa clan and even after it was rebuilt in 1620, the building could not evade the lightening which scorched the castle completely in 1665. The castle, as it stands today, is a 1931 reconstruction and more improvisations in 1997 have given it a different finery. The interiors of the castle have been transformed into a museum preserving the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

From outside the park, we could see this moat, but there is no water in it. Imagine if it was filled with water. However, not all are empties. One could still see water in the surrounding area.

There was a thing that captivated my attention, when I came across the word "UFO". Actually this is Solar UFO also known as Photovoltaic Water Purification System and only operated by sunlight. The purposes of it is to cleanse the water using sunlight.

One can see the shape of the UFO which operating in the moat. Indeed it was really like UFO, and immediately one can know it by the striking color. Kudos to the government, for the environment friendly method of cleaning the water. The environmental impact of the process can be reduced substantially as no fuel supply is required.

There was also tram services available in the park, known as "Road Train". The tram services run between Otemon Gate and the Sakuramon Gate.

One may get more information from http://www.osakacastle.net/english/park/index.html.