aliceinwonderdanmark

The trip starts very hardly: I turn around about 1 hour to find the tourism information and I'm already very pissed off when I find it. Hopefully, the staff there is very kind and competent and efficient. It takes not more than 10 minutes to get a map, the explanations about the subway and all I have to see in the city. Well that's not so complicated. The girl suggests to visit the castle and go shopping "very lovely shops" she tells me. Well, let's go!

To use the subway in Japan is very easy. There are so many differents lines but it so well done that it's impossible to get lost. And at the tourism information I got a list with all the stops.

The castle is in a park and in the park there's a concert hall.
Usually I'm not a "castle" people. I don't like that but here it's different. I've never seen any samouraï castle in my life so it catches my interest. It was rebuilt in 1620 by Tokugawa Hidetada. A previous castle was built in 1583 on the former site of the Ishijama-Honganji but has been destroyed few years later.
The great highlight of the castle is the tower. I like the shape, so different from our Western castle's towers. The tower is now a museum. Each floor got a theme: clothes from the Middle-Age, wars, Osaka city. There's a lot of kids, pupils with their teachers. So many that it's difficult to get in the last floor of the tower: the observatory which from we get a good view over Osaka.

 I still have plenty of time for shopping. Youhuuuu!!! Unfortunatelly, my purse is not very full
Many streets are very pleasant. I'm walking on one covered street. That's great because it's raining. And the girl at the tourism office was right: there're lovely shops and the must of the must!!! Hello Kitty shop and even better!!!! Chacott.

  I bought some souvenirs of course