Osaka, Japan 2014: Osaka Castle Park

I’ve always thought that taking walks in a park is possibly one of the more boring ways to spend time. In short, it’s a waste of time. Until recently, when I realized that it could be one of the most relaxing things one can do. A sign of old age? Or just enlightenment coming in a bit late? But then again, perhaps it has a lot to do with the kind of park you’re going to walk around in. Osaka Castle Park, or what little we’ve seen of it in the hour that we were able to walk around it, for example, would be one place where the word “boring” would never have a place in.

Straight from Minoh Park we proceeded to check out Osaka Castle.

To get there from Minoo Station, we got on the Hankyu Minoo Line to Ishibashi Station, where we transferred to the Hankyu Takarazuka Line Express to get to Umeda. We then walked to Osaka Station, boarded the Osaka (Inner) Loop Line and got off the Osakajokoen Station. It took around 50 minutes, so by the time we got there, it was almost 12 noon.

Osakajokoen Station is a jump-off point to some of the more recognizable landmarks in Osaka, such as the Osaka Castle Park (or Osaka-jo-kouen) and the Osaka-jo Hall (Osaka Castle Hall, a popular venue for concerts and live performances).

When we got out of the station, I immediately realized that the whole place is huuuuuge.

Later readings will then inform me that Osaka Castle Park pretty much occupies a very large area in the heart of the city of Osaka, making it the city’s second largest park. It has a pretty rich history, starting out as a militant temple, then the site of Osaka Castle when Toyotomi Hideyoshi built it, then a stronghold by the Japanese Imperial Army until World War II, then turned to the historical and urban park that it is today.

So what does the Osaka Castle Park have?

For starters, there is the famous Osaka Castle (Osaka-jo) Hall and the Osaka Castle Keep Tower. Then there are athletic fields for baseball and football. There is also a music theatre and a concert hall, both of them with open-air concepts. And lots and lots of different Japanese gardens with their respective themes.

I was awestruck by the combination of colors I saw at the park. Autumn colors everywhere, and if you strain your eyes to look further, you’d see skyscrapers from the distance, with the clear blue sky dotted with thin strips of cottony clouds.

And there were kids playing around, too!

And, yes, your eyes don’t fool you. There are lots of people in Santa costumes walking towards one direction.

That is because November 3o, 2014 was the day of the annual event, Osaka Great Santa Run. This charity event, which started back in 2009, has people dress up in their best and most creative Santa costumes and actually pay to walk or run for 5 kilometers. Proceeds will go to the toys and food for sick kids who spend their Christmas in hospitals.

People of all ages, skin color and nationality were there to attend the event. Even their pets came in costume!

And from afar, you could catch a glimpse of Osaka Castle itself.

Everywhere you look, you’d see Santas. If this does not prove that the Japanese love the holidays, then I don’t know what does. Even as we walked towards the main Castle Keep, we’re literally walking alongside them.

By this time, my friend and I were feeling hungry. It’s lunch hour, after all. So we followed some of the Santas to an area close to the main keep where food stalls were set up.

We bought some food to curb our hunger, albeit temporarily, then took a spot under the trees by the wall. It was like a picnic, with Santas all around us. And no, we did not feel at all out of place, in our non-Santa garb. Haha!

I think the participants numbered to more than 10,000 because we spotted some participants with numbers above that.

Oh, here’s our food. Yakisoba and sweet potato sticks. Basically, they are mashed sweet potato which passed through these tiny holes as they were deep-fried, so they took on that elongated shape. YUMMY.

And this is our view while we were eating.

Santas and mascots are not an uncommon sight here.

After eating, we proceeded to the Castle itself. (But that’s for another post.)

After going around inside, we walked back to the Station, but we passed through another side of the Castle Park. This time, we spotted a large crowd gathered around the Osaka-jo Hall.

It turns out they are headed to the concert of an “old” rock star. I forgot the name. haha! But the fangirls and fanboys were wearing costumes and holding huge towels with the name of the artist. From the looks of it, he seems to be their Elvis.