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Osaka-jo Review
Read our Osaka sights reviews. Or post your own.
Osaka-jo 
- Address: 1–1 Osaka-jo, Chuo-ku, Osaka
- Phone: 06/6941–3044
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Osaka Castle
- Category: Castles/Palaces
- Location: Chuo-ku
Fodor's Review:
It may seem ironic for a business center that Osaka's best-known attraction is its castle, a symbol of feudalism that held merchants at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Originally built in the 1580s, today the five-story ferro-concrete reconstruction (completed in 1931) presides over the wide Osaka Koen, which encloses the castle moat. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the first warlord to unite Japan, was showing off with this castle. It was intended to intimidate his rivals and show his commitment to Osaka and attract merchants from all over Japan.
Inside the castle there is a museum with artifacts of the Toyotomi family and historical objects relating to Osaka prior to the Tokugawa shogunate. Unless you are a Hideyoshi aficionado, these exhibits are of limited interest; the castle's magnificent exterior and the impressive view from the eighth floor of the donjon are the reasons to see Osaka-jo. If your timing is right, you might catch the cherry blossoms (late March-early April) and Nishi-no-maru Teien (Nishi-no-maru Garden) at their best.
From Osaka-jo Koen-mae Station it's about a 10-minute walk up the hill to the castle. You can also take the Tani-machi subway line from Higashi-Umeda Station (just southeast of Osaka Station) to Tani-machi 4-chome Station. From here it's a 15-minute walk.
- Cost: Castle ¥600, garden additional ¥210
- Open: Sept.–mid-July, daily 9–5, last entry at 4:30; mid-July–Aug., daily 9–8; last entry at 7:30
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