Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle is the city's best-known landmark and the obvious place to start a first visit. Toyotomi Hideyoshi began building it in 1583 on the site of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji temple, and the main work was finished in 1597. The Toyotomi stronghold fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu in the sieges of 1614 and 1615, when the buildings burned, and the Tokugawa shogunate then rebuilt the castle in the 1620s. That keep was itself lost to lightning in 1665, and the city went without one until 1931, when the present tower was rebuilt in reinforced concrete, paid for by donations from local people.

The keep you see today is the third on the site. It was restored again in 1997, the year it was registered as a national tangible cultural property, and Osaka City designated it a municipal cultural property in 2025. From outside it stands about 55 metres high and appears to have five storeys, but inside there are eight floors. The interior has been a museum since 1931, telling the story of the castle and its builders, and the eighth floor is an observation deck with views across the park and the city. Look up at the gilded details on the exterior, including the golden shachihoko, the mythical fish on the roof ridge, and the crouching tigers below the balconies.

The castle sits inside Osaka Castle Park, which covers more than 100 hectares and is free to enter. The massive stone walls rebuilt in the 1620s are worth time in themselves: the granite blocks were fitted without mortar, and many carry the crests of the feudal families who supplied them. The park's plum grove has more than a thousand trees, and Nishinomaru Garden, with around 300 cherry trees, is one of the city's main spots for spring blossom.

The keep is closed over the New Year holiday, from 28 December to 1 January. Admission is charged for adults and older students, while junior high school pupils and younger children go free, and tickets can be bought in advance online, which helps at busy times such as cherry blossom season and holiday weekends. Allow an hour for the museum and observation deck, and another hour or two to walk the walls, moats and gardens. The park is large and the walk from the stations is long, so wear comfortable shoes.

The nearest stations are Osakajokoen and Morinomiya on the JR Osaka Loop Line, each about 15 to 20 minutes' walk from the keep, while Tanimachi 4-chome and Tenmabashi on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line serve the other side of the park. The Osaka Museum of History is near Tanimachi 4-chome, so the two pair well for a half-day on the city's past.