Osaka Castle and Shitennoji

Our guide for the day was Taku, a young Japanese man with excellent English, good organizational skills and a sense of humor. In other words, he was a great guide. We rode from Kobe to the impressive Osaka Castle. The original castle was built in 1583 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi but the current castle (version 3) is a reconstruction finished in 1931. The site was crowded because it was the weekend during cherry-flowering season. Taku herded us up a lengthy winding walkway and through the gateway to the castle. From that point, we were on our own to meet back at a designated area and time. Jane and I waited in line to take the elevator to floor 5 and then climbed stairs to the top, eighth floor. We walked around the balcony viewing the castle grounds and Osaka below. There was interesting documentation on each floor as we descended but it was too crowded to view it especially during our restricted time allotment. So, we emerged from the castle and enjoyed walking around the beautiful gardens before connecting with our group for the walk back to the bus. 

Gateway to Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle from the Gardens

We then bused to Shitennoji Temple. Jane had been practicing creative pronunciations of this moniker, none correct. Prince Shotoku built the original temple in the late sixth century. Its grounds contain a five-story pagoda as well as a treasure house containing mandalas and Buddha statues. We were not allowed to enter either. The current reconstruction is number seven but the temple compound layout has remained the same over the centuries. After a brief stroll around the grounds with commentary from Taku, we boarded the bus and headed back to Kobe.

Five-story Pagoda on the Shitennoji Temple Grounds

Treasure House of the Shitennoji Temple

Planting on the Edge of the Temple Grounds

Upon returning to the Nautica and entering our stateroom, we were almost asphyxiated by a powerful chemical smell. Lo and behold! The brown spot on our carpet was gone. We learned that a crew had actually replaced about a third of the room’s carpet so the strong smell was likely adhesive. Anyway, we left the deck door open to air out the room while we went to eat in the Grand Dining Hall. Again, we opted for only appetizers and salad but added dessert this time. The odor had subsided considerable once we returned to the room so we closed the deck doors and hit the sack.