Osaka Castle
First, my dear friend Raina is coming out to Kyoto today! I'm so excited to see her tomorrow and put some of my limited Kyoto knowledge to good use. It is strange to think that such a beautiful and mysterious city is only an hour and a half away by train. I forget this, probably because I get dazed by the flashing lights and shrieking pachinko parlors of Osaka. Sometimes I think the two cities could not BE more different.
But I love Osaka.
The Castle is situated on top of a huge hill in a park in the middle of Osaka. Analogously to Meiji-jingumae in the middle of Tokyo, there is a long and beautiful walk involved just to reach it.
Here is a cylindrical shrine we saw on the walk- I haven't seen one like it. I've seen shrines shaped like cows, foxes, turtles, rectangular pillars, little houses. Even rocks with the red Shinto aprons tied around them are not uncommon. But the cylinder shape was a new one.
Mike and I in front of Osaka Castle. The fans we're holding are mercifully given out on the streets of Osaka as advertisements.
Osaka Castle, inside is a historical museum. Much of its attention is paid to a huge battle that took place there in the 17th century. I was horrified and fascinated to read about of the drama that took place- famous warriors! Sons shamed into fighting on the front lines! Suicides! I wondered: how could people have lived that way? I get nervous if I see people yelling at each other on the street.
Osaka Castle and clouds:
Mike and Osaka Castle shrine:
A wood painting of god knows what. A boar wearing a robe? What could it mean? What is he holding? Welcome to my life in Japan. Half of my time is spent staring confusedly at bizarre pictures. The other half is spent sounding out katakana words softly to myself and trying to figure out what English word(s) they're making.
And now, an embarrassing story from last Thursday. It's monsoon season here, which means it's raining all the time, but I'm not letting anything stop me from going places. I tried to steer my bike with one hand, while the other hand held up my umbrella. A large gust of wind into the umbrella promptly directed me into a pile of cinderblocks and a fence before I had ridden two blocks. Just because I'm not taking physics classes right now doesn't mean I can't learn important lessons about cause and effect!!
But I love Osaka.
The Castle is situated on top of a huge hill in a park in the middle of Osaka. Analogously to Meiji-jingumae in the middle of Tokyo, there is a long and beautiful walk involved just to reach it.
Here is a cylindrical shrine we saw on the walk- I haven't seen one like it. I've seen shrines shaped like cows, foxes, turtles, rectangular pillars, little houses. Even rocks with the red Shinto aprons tied around them are not uncommon. But the cylinder shape was a new one.
Mike and I in front of Osaka Castle. The fans we're holding are mercifully given out on the streets of Osaka as advertisements.
Osaka Castle, inside is a historical museum. Much of its attention is paid to a huge battle that took place there in the 17th century. I was horrified and fascinated to read about of the drama that took place- famous warriors! Sons shamed into fighting on the front lines! Suicides! I wondered: how could people have lived that way? I get nervous if I see people yelling at each other on the street.
Osaka Castle and clouds:
Mike and Osaka Castle shrine:
A wood painting of god knows what. A boar wearing a robe? What could it mean? What is he holding? Welcome to my life in Japan. Half of my time is spent staring confusedly at bizarre pictures. The other half is spent sounding out katakana words softly to myself and trying to figure out what English word(s) they're making.
And now, an embarrassing story from last Thursday. It's monsoon season here, which means it's raining all the time, but I'm not letting anything stop me from going places. I tried to steer my bike with one hand, while the other hand held up my umbrella. A large gust of wind into the umbrella promptly directed me into a pile of cinderblocks and a fence before I had ridden two blocks. Just because I'm not taking physics classes right now doesn't mean I can't learn important lessons about cause and effect!!