Located at a distance of about 50 km, Osaka is a nice day trip from Kyoto. It is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan and among the largest in the world with nearly 19 million inhabitants. Situated at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is Japan’s second largest city after the Tokyo 23 wards. It has been the economic powerhouse of the Kansai region for many centuries.
In the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose Osaka as the location for his castle, and the city may have become Japan’s capital if Tokugawa Ieyasu had not terminated the Toyotomi lineage after Hideyoshi’s death and moved his government to distant Edo (Tokyo).
The castle is beautiful and is surrounded by gardens and heavy walls. It often features special exhibitions. The last one we saw was about old samurai armors.
During the Hanami season, the view of the castle behind numerous cherry trees is one of the postcard of Japan.
