Tokyo Osaka Travel Notes 01-Osaka Castle Park

Japan is a country that I both hate and admire. My hatred is for its national sentiment, and my admiration is for its noble national qualities, beautiful environment, tenacious character, and meticulous style. My family and I On February 7, 2017, I flew from Xi'an to Osaka, and on the 14th, I flew back to Xi'an from Osaka. I hurriedly visited the Hankyo area of Japan, which is also the most important area in Japan's economy, culture, and history. I mainly visited Osaka, Kyoto, Shirakawa-go, Mount Fuji, Tokyo, Yokohama, Okazaki and other places, now share what you see, hear and feel with your friends.
I have also read books about Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Takeda Shingen, The Tale of Genji, etc., so I have some understanding of Japan. In order to achieve the purpose of traveling, before going to Japan, I specially read some travel information, and asked my son to prepare a free trip to Osaka and my daughter to prepare a free trip to Tokyo. The purpose was also to let them take the initiative to learn.
Osaka Located in Kinki, western Japan, 223 square kilometers, with a total population of about 267 With a population of 10,000, it is the third most populous city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama. Since the Nara period, Osaka has been a trading port due to its location by the sea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle and made Osaka the core city of the Toyotomi regime. In the Edo period, Osaka and Kyoto were called the "Three Capitals" and were the most prosperous commercial cities in Japan at that time. After World War II, it was still a metropolis in western Japan.
My understanding of Osaka mainly comes from the books I have read: Osaka has had human activities since ancient times. In ancient times, Osaka was called Naniwa, Naniwa or Naniwa. Because it is close to the Seto Inland Sea, it has been an important gateway to the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto since ancient times. In the 5th century, Emperor Nintoku built Naniwa Takatsu Palace in Osaka. In 593, Prince Shotoku built Shitennoji Temple in Osaka, which is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in Japan. In the mid-7th century, the government at that time built Naniwa Nagara Toyozaki Palace (Naniwa Palace) in Osaka and designated Osaka as Naniwa-kyo. In 794, Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, and Naniwa-kyo completely lost its status as a political center. However, Osaka still has religious buildings and ports such as Shitennoji Temple and Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, and was a relatively important city in the region at that time.
In the Heian period described in The Tale of Genji, At that time, the emperor needed the protection of a powerful foreign minister, so he had no choice but to demote the son born to his favorite concubine to a foreign minister. The surname "Genji" was given During this period, the Genji was exiled to Naniwa for several years, and they were extremely miserable. Later, the Genji regained power and were as majestic as the emperor. All the empresses and shoguns of the subsequent dynasties were of the Genji bloodline. Namba, also It is a wild place where criminals are exiled. A.D. 19 In the 18th century, it was renamed Osaka. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, 1583 Osaka Castle was built in 1629, and the title was first used as "Kanpaku" and then as " Taiko ", with Osaka as the central city of its rule De facto ruler of Japan , laying the foundation for modern Osaka Castle. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who claimed to be a descendant of the Minamoto clan, built Edo (now Tokyo City) and defeated the Japanese in the name of the Shogun. Toyotomi Hideyori later demolished Osaka Castle, and his descendant shogun rebuilt it in 1620.

In order to build Osaka Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered all princes across the country to participate in the construction project. Many moats and castle stones were donated by princes from various places, and hundreds of thousands of laborers were used within three years. Built with his hard work and sweat. The entire 12-kilometer-long stone wall outside Osaka Castle is estimated to have used approximately 500,000 stones. The architectural structure of Osaka Castle is divided into an inner city, a middle city, an outer city, and two inner and outer moats. The castle tower refers to the main building in Osaka Castle. On the 13-meter-high castle tower stands the 39.8-meter-high castle tower, and you can overlook the Osaka cityscape from the eighth floor, the highest.
I really want to know Osaka Castle. Of all the places in Japan, I want to know Osaka the most. Its castle tower has a status in my heart that can even be compared to the Forbidden City because its founder Toyotomi Hideyoshi was an extremely complex figure. He was short in stature, ugly in appearance, and was born as a slave. In troubled times, he started as a horse trainer for Oda Nobunaga, and gradually climbed into the ranks of "Daimyo" (local princes). When Oda Nobunaga was about to succeed in unifying Japan, he died with hatred due to the Honnoji incident. Toyotomi Hideyoshi held high the slogan of "loyalty" when all the armies were still hesitating. The banner, quickly returned to the army from hundreds of miles away, suppressed the rebellion, and thus re-entered the road of unifying Japan, and completed it. Even the proud Tokugawa Ieyasu became his domestic slave. Afterwards, he sent troops to attack North Korea, and planned to take advantage of the corruption and incompetence in the late Ming Dynasty. After occupying North Korea, he would use it to conquer Northeast China and covet North China and the eastern coast, including Beijing. Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi's war of aggression against Korea was ultimately defeated by the allied forces of the Ming Dynasty and North Korea, and he himself died on the eve of the end of the war, it also marked the beginning of Japan's invasion of China and the beginning of endless disasters for China.
I always thought we were flying direct. It wasn’t until the pre-trip meeting on the 6th that I found out that we were flying from Xi’an to Osaka via Nantong. We went through customs clearance in Nantong and the same thing when we came back. I thought about it in my mind. The real travel time is invisible. One day is missing. Because of the two stops and the return to Osaka, the time spent on the road may be one day longer. At least the plan of arranging a free trip in Osaka on the first day may be completely ruined.
At 5 o'clock in the morning on the 7th, we set off from home. It was still snowing. At 5:40, except for those who went to the airport on their own, all the people gathered and took the bus to the airport. A team of 44 people has to assemble, issue passports, give some final instructions, check in, etc. Compared to the 9 o'clock flight, it is not too early.
For the convenience of travel, we have arranged mobile wifi in advance for going abroad. While waiting for the formalities, I walked around the terminal building and accidentally discovered that not far away, there were many people traveling to Japan, Europe, and the United States. We are waiting for various international version mobile package cards with different lengths of time in various places, including calls and data, and the rates are also very cheap.

Nantong Airport is very small, and it should be said that the transportation management is not in place. All domestic passengers will leave the port together, and then regroup and go through security check again. The border inspection personnel waited until we started queuing up. When we arrived at the post, we could see that the workload of the border inspection was not heavy, and the attitude of the border inspection staff was still very good. Together with some other scattered passengers, there were only about fifty people. Two gates were opened at the same time, and the attitude of the border inspection staff was also very good.
The plane took off more than half an hour late, and naturally landed too late. Osaka Kansai Airport is located on a small island, which was probably reclaimed from the sea. It was almost 5 o'clock when we landed (anything not specified in the article is local time, which is 1 hour earlier than Beijing time). We had just boarded the covered bridge and the interior The traffic train was already twilight. The Japanese customs staff seem to be older. The younger ones are in their 40s and the older ones are over 70. They are all very kind. There are more than ten reception desks in the hall where fingerprints are taken when entering customs. So, although at the same time, A lot of people arrived, but it was very fast. The person who received me was an old man in his 70s. After finishing the process, he bowed slightly to me and said words like thank you, which was the same for everyone.

The tour guide Yang Zi was already waiting for us at the exit with a sign bearing the tour guide’s name. Because the tour guide did not tell everyone about this situation, everyone ignored Yang Zi completely until Yang Zi asked us if we were tourists from Xi’an. react to. The airport was very tidy. While waiting for the bus, Yang Zi asked everyone to go to the convenience store at the airport to buy some food for the evening because there was no dinner arranged that night.
I have long heard of Japan’s national treasure cleaning lady. The first time I saw her was in the bathroom of the terminal building after departure. My experience has always been that men clean the men’s bathroom, but when I walked to the door of the bathroom When I was there, I found an aunt cleaning inside, and I left out with some embarrassment. I walked around the hall and found a lot of travel product recommendation materials and promotion tables. I picked up a few Chinese ones, but we didn’t know those places. There are no arrangements. In the hall, I didn’t find any other toilets, probably because I didn’t dare to walk too far and didn’t find them. The men’s room was still being cleaned, and there were many men coming in and out, so I found a cubicle to avoid it. Embarrassed.

When the bus left the airport, it was already in the thick dusk. After walking for a long time, it went further and further away. The mobile phone showed that the place was a shell mound. The tour guide has said that the rooms in Japanese hotels are very small, and the bed is right at the door. However, once entering the room, I still felt a little surprised. There is only a 40 cm wide aisle beside the wall on one side of the entrance, and tatami mats are spread on the floor. Almost filling the room.
The place I live in is a very small town, with no lights on. There are only two lanes on a road, and there is a narrow sidewalk. In China, many village roads are wider than this. The roads are very clean, really spotless.
The town is very quiet. The houses are only three or four stories high, but they look very messy. There are many wires on the telephone poles, but they are divided into several bundles and extended to where they should go. It seems that the city appearance is not particular. I saw no other pedestrians on the road. After a lot of effort, I finally found a convenience store. The store covers an area of about 200 square meters. It has daily necessities and books, and there are also tables and chairs for customers to eat in the store . Let the children buy some food according to their own ideas. Naturally, they mainly choose those that they have not eaten before. After letting the convenience store heat what needs to be heated, they fill their stomachs in the dining area of the convenience store.
There are trash cans in the convenience store, which are divided into 4 categories. The trash cans are also neatly surrounded. Customers will take the initiative to put their food away according to the categories after eating. Compared with domestic garbage littering, the quality is quite different.

I woke up before 6 o'clock in the morning, put on my clothes and went out for a walk. I especially wanted to see the "林之路" (林の路) that I saw last night. It was a bright day, there were many clouds, and it was a bit cold. I zipped up all my clothes, slung my camera bag over my shoulder, and walked out of the hotel at a fast pace.
Maybe I was hungry last night and was in a hurry to find something to eat. I felt that I had walked a long way. Now that I am calm, I find that the distance seems not to be as far as the night before.
There is a group of tombs at a three-way intersection in the village, lined up along the road, and there are traces of recent sacrifices. Each tomb has a tombstone about 20 to 30 centimeters square and nearly 2 meters long. I went there to check it out. It turns out that these are the tombs of dead soldiers. The tombstones are engraved with their names, time of death, military rank at the time of death, award level, Who erected the tombstone at what time, as well as Buddhist blessings, etc., are all inscribed. The names of the victims are engraved about 1.5 centimeters deep, and other inscriptions are also more than 1 centimeter deep. This kind of tombstone will naturally Very long.
When we reach the fork to the Boulevard, the road is actually quite wide and can be divided into two lanes. I paused for a moment, took a closer look at the surrounding scenery, and then walked in casually. There are trees on both sides of the road, and on the right is a gentle hillside with dense trees. After walking for a long distance, I found a small path entering the woods.
After walking forward for about 7 or 800m, there is another fork. The main road turns right, and there is also an easy road to the left. Standing at the fork in the road and looking around, I didn't know where I went after passing the small mountain ridge. It was possible that I had returned to the village on the simple road, but I couldn't be sure. There is a piece of flat land on the north and south sides of the easy road. On the south side is an abandoned golf course surrounded by barbed wire. At about 7:10, a big hole opened in the dark clouds in the east, revealing a patch of colorful clouds. So I gave up on heading forward without knowing anything, climbed up the slope of the roadside, and took photos over the wall. Got some photos of the sunrise.

The sun shines through the gaps in the clouds, exerting its vitality, and the clouds seem to be defeated. The clouds are torn apart more and more, and the light gradually becomes dazzling. The scope of the glow also expanded rapidly, and the bamboo leaves and leaves on the road were also painted with gold.

When we returned to the hotel, it was not the agreed meal time yet, but many group members had already finished eating. The hotel specially prepared traditional Chinese breakfasts such as porridge, as well as Japanese meals such as dried fish and natto. I don’t even know natto, and I haven’t seen anyone eating it. The restaurant is small and crowded, and the rice bowls are so small that you can seem to eat a bowl in one bite. The hotel owner and his wife are in their fifties. The man is Japanese and the woman may be a Chinese immigrant. They can speak Chinese. They greet everyone at the door with a very respectful attitude.
We all set off by bus at 8 o'clock. It was the same bus that picked us up last night. The driver was also the same person. He must be in his sixties. He put our luggage one by one at the airport last night. When I arrived at the hotel, I took out the luggage compartment one by one, and put it back neatly this morning. I wore white gloves for all operations.
This is the second day of our 8-day trip to Japan. The first stop is Osaka Castle Park. Yang Zi introduced the history of Osaka and Osaka Castle Park in the car. Unfortunately, few people seemed to be listening.
When we arrived at the parking lot of Osaka Castle Park, the dark clouds had disappeared. The sky was blue and white, and the castle tower could be seen from the treetops in the distance.
The castle tower is a common building in ancient Japanese castles. During the feudal civil war, the lords built themselves in the acropolis A small watchtower was built on the roof of the mansion, which was the predecessor of the castle tower. Later, various feudal kingdoms built acropolis based on the small hills in the city. There is a high castle in the center of the acropolis, which was originally a mansion and was called the castle tower. The castle tower is not only a military fortress, but also the political center of the territory and a symbol of the lord's power. The first large-scale multi-story castle tower was built in the new political and economic center - Azuchi Castle. It was built by Oda Nobunaga in 1576 during the "Tenkapo". It is a historical monument that marks Japan's transition from division to reunification.

The style of the walls and moats of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle is similar to that of the walls and moats of Xi'an. They were all built with huge stones. Although they were demolished by Tokugawa Ieyasu, you can still feel their majesty when you approach the city wall. There is a small door at the city gate, about 1.2 meters high. Yang Zi said that this was where people entered and exited in the past. You can imagine how short the Japanese were in the past. Now the Japanese are taller than the Chinese. Many Japanese will thank the government here, saying that the government provides them with safe food, superior life, etc. In fact, this doorway was a passage for scouts and other personnel in the wartime of that era to enter and exit, which could prevent a large number of enemy personnel from pouring into the city during a sneak attack.

The Japanese also like odd numbers, but not 9, so castle towers are usually 3, 5, or up to 7 stories. The unruly Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in order to reflect his uniqueness and show his great achievements, actually built It has 8 floors, which is unique.
The time I spent visiting Osaka Castle Park was too short. I just walked around the castle tower and the time was almost used up. It's a pity that I didn't bother to visit Toyokuni Shrine, Castle Tower, Time Capsule, etc.