With Sumiyoshi Taisha and Shitennoji ticked off from our list, we headed down towards Osakajo or the Osaka Castle, in the heart of the city.
A Nepali restaurant at Tennoji...
From Tennoji ward, we took a subway ride to Tanimachiyonchome station, which is walking distance from Osakajo...
Passing by the Osaka Museum of History - I would have loved to visit the museum but we were severely running short on time...
Osakajo is typical Japanese fortress and covers nearly two square kilometers. It is surrounded by citadels, gates, turrets, thick stone walls and moats. The outer periphery of the castle is lined with lush gardens - Nishinomaru Garden, the most popular garden lines the western periphery of the castle complex.
The Nishinomaru Garden has over 600 cherry trees and lush green lawns that make it a haven for travel-weary and heat-stricken tourists like us. We unfortunately missed the cherry blossom season by a few days...
We rested for a while in garden watching Japanese families enjoy their holiday weekend...
The castle lies directly under the flight approach to Osaka's old airport - Itami International Airport and this made me all excited and trigger happy...
An ANA Boeing 737 on its finals with its landing gear down...
A Japan Airlines Embraer E170...
The moat surrounding the castle. I would assumed that I was taken back a few hundred years if it weren't for the view of the modern buildings in the background...
A plan of the castle premises...
Young judokas...
A small citadel on the periphery...
Entering the castle's inner periphery...
Another ANA Boeing 737 - this one is in the Star Alliance livery...
A Japan Airlines Bombardier CRJ200...
This building located within the castle premises is the former Osaka City Museum. Built in 1931, the building served as a divisional headquarters for the Japanese Army and was modelled on European lines. After the end of the Second World War, the building served as the headquarters for the Osaka police and then as a museum till 2001...
And a classic beauty - a Japan Airlines Boeing 767...
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