Japan: The Osaka Castle // 日本的大阪城

For my second day in Osaka we set out to visit the super touristy and beautiful Osaka Castle. The castle is one of Japan’s most famous and it has a lot of historical relevance because it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. Plus, when I was researching Osaka, it was one of the must-see’s so I was eager to check it out!

One of the best parts about exploring Japan was all the delicious small snacks and street food I got to try! Once we arrived at the castle, we were totally side tracked by this small vendor area that was selling a variety of Japanese goodies. Takoyaki, which is pretty much Yuna’s all time favorite, was our main subject of interest. I actually wasn’t even too hungry but Yuna insisted I try it, so of course I did! The best way I can describe it is a warm, round fried dough ball, that’s a little bit mushy and with diced squid or octopus on the inside, and then covered in mayo and worcester sauce. Although it was good, I could only handle eating like two pieces of it. Mayo pretty much grosses me out and the texture was too mushy for me…(sorry Yuna! haha). Anyways, takoyaki is a very famous Japanese street food so I had to at least give it a try 🙂 After we finished our snacking, we moved onto the castle!

Yuna kept telling me that the best and most beautiful time to visit the castle was during the Spring because everything is green and there are cherry blossom trees everywhere. I could imagine it was probably much more scenic than the winter conditions we had, but actually I thought visiting the castle in the winter gave me a unique perspective of Japan’s winter. Best of all, we caught a beautiful view at the top of the castle.

We explored the ins and outs of the castle as it was organized with a museum inside. Just like China, Japan has a very long and diverse history, I caught little pieces here and there and Yuna told me that everyone in Japan is taught the historical significant of this castle when they are little kids in school. Never would’ve guessed!

When we got back to the train station, I was so curious about these “women only” signs because I automatically assumed it had something to do with gender-bias and segregation. Actually, to my surprise, Yuna explained to me that during peak commuting hours, certain train cars are designated not to segregate women because of their gender, but to protect them. I was still confused, “…protect them from what?” Yuna elaborated that, unfortunately, its quite common for males to touch, grab, harass, and take photos of unsuspecting young Japanese girls and women. Then I asked “so what if one male disobeys the rule and steps inside the cabin?” and Yuna said that no women will step inside. Well, luckily at this time, it wasn’t rush hour so we had no problem enjoying the women-only car to ourselves.

Something else interesting about Japan: their train systems are very well developed. Since living in Shanghai, I’m so used to traveling underground through the metro, but everyday in Japan we traveled on trains. This was great because I got to see the city while we were traveling! In addition, the train tickets are very cheap and so much more comfortable than a metro. Also, it’s considered a bit rude to talk loudly in the train cars because its a small, public space, so the train rides were always so silent (except for Yuna and I jabbering quietly), but that was a big change for me as well, compared to the metros in Shanghai.

We soon met up with Yuna’s mom in downtown Osaka for a special dinner treat. Yuna asked me if I wanted tempura for dinner, and I was like “what?! just tempura?” I immediately thought of just greasy, fried food and was not too elated. However, Yuna told me it was a Japanese delicacy and insisted I should try it while in Japan, so of course I agreed. We ended up at this small hole in the wall restaurant were the only tables were like bar seats, situated along the chef’s preparation area. Yuna ordered a vegetable and seafood array for me, and then one by one we were given miso soup, sticky rice, and dipping sauces. Just right in front of me I could see the chef lightly flouring the fresh vegetables and seafood and dipping it into a large boiling pot of oil. Within minutes our food was ready and WOW! I was so pleasantly surprised! It was mouthwatering! I had fried eggplant, okra, diced potato, and shrimp. It was the best tempura I had ever tasted. When we left, there was a line out the door for people waiting to enjoy some tempura of their own. I guessed this was a popular restaurant and felt lucky to have gotten to try something that maybe many other foreigners wouldn’t of known to try.