by Jean Knill

Created on: November 29, 2009   Last Updated: November 30, 2009

The modern city of Osaka is a popular tourist destination for visitors to Japan. There you'll find attractions both ancient and modern, alongside activities both energetic and relaxing. Osaka has far more to see than you could fit into a week or two, so you'd be wise to have some idea of what you don't want to miss before you travel.

For Culture Vultures

If the cultural aspect is unmissable for you, you'll probably want to start with Osaka Castle. The first castle was built here in 1583 but as a fortified area it goes back nearly a century before that when a temple and monk's quarters were constructed, with fortifications to defend it against warring factions in the locality. Eventually it came into the hands of one of the warlords, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who built a castle here and used it as his base to unify Japan.

Its various incarnations did not survive later battles and lightening strikes. The current tower was reconstructed in 1931, survived the air raids of the second world war, and now houses a museum about its history. Around the tower are various other structures enclosed by high stone walls that rise from a wide moat.

In the Nishinomaru Gardens that are part of the Osaka Castle Park, Japanese families come to practice the custom of hanami - viewing the cherry blossom during it's season, the height of which is usually early in April. This is only one of the spectacular hanami locations in Osaka. The Okawa River is lined with around 5000 cherry trees. The Kema Sakuranomiya Park and Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park are other such venues.

If your visit doesn't coincide with the spectacular panorama of the cherry blossom, these parks are still worth a visit. The latter is on the site of the International Garden and Greenery Exposition of 1990, which was then turned into a park where flowers would bloom all year round. It has a rose garden that boasts around 450 varieties.

The park's 106 hectares are also home to wildlife on farmland, rice paddies, lakes and woodlands. Children are happy with its play area, sports center, swimming pool, and horse riding facilities.

For a small fee, you can see a more traditional Japanese garden in the Tennoji Park. Keitaku Garden has a large pond; an island; three landscaped hills; walkways, stepping stones and bridges; plus a teahouse, gazebo and summerhouse. This was the garden of the Sumitomo family home. It was donated to the city in 1926 along with the family residence, which is now part of the Municipal Museum of Art.

Culture

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