NISHI-NO-MARU PARK AT OSAKA CASTLE

18th March 2017 ~ There was this one huge yellow field near Osaka Castle. At first I thought it was a sandy but it turned out the field was covered with dry yellow grasses. 

There was this building which could be something like a Japanese Tea House. People came here to experience having tea Japanese style obviously and they could even try the kimono and the male traditional costume and get themselves photographed.

I really love this part of the Castle as the view was magnificent. And there were not many people here. I just got to know the name of the park is Nisi-No-Maru Garden and this is one of the places where people of Osaka would have their picnics under the sky when the sakuras (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom.

The grasses were surprisingly clean and I did not hesitate to lie down. We even performed our prayers here before moving on to the next spot.

I am now considering to come back here again somewhere in April, year unknown, specifically to see the sakuras.

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SENGAN-YAGURA TURRET AND ENSHO-GURA STOREHOUSE

18th MARCH 2017 ~ The second turret is called Sengan-Yagura Turret, which has the same function like the first one. This building, however, was smaller than the first one.

Visitors had to take off their shoes before entering the turrets. Then the staff gave a pair of bedroom slippers and a piece of plastic bag to put the shoes into and carry them around.

There was another historic building nearby which was used to store gunpowder a very long time ago - Ensho-gura Storehouse. It was just a building with a small space, and there was no room at all. There was not much to see but the elderly lady staff inside was so determined to tell me about this place, in Japanese. *sigh*

The original plan was to see Osaka Castle only but we diverted and managed to see more. When I read other travelers' blogs, I had not come across anyone writing about the extra attractions near the Castle.

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TAMON-YAGURA TURRET AT OTE-GUCHI ENTRANCE

18th March 2017 ~ Once we got out of the castle's gate, we went exploring to see whether there was more. 

Tucked away from the main attraction, there were actually more ancient buildings that could be visited. They were definitely not as popular as Osaka Castle judging by the number of visitors when we were there. With our Osaka Amazing Pass, we did not have to pay any entrance fees.

The first building's name is Tamon-yagura Turret. From the outside, it did not look like a turret at all as no tower could be seen. It looked more like a huge warehouse to me.

Unfortunately, most of the information boards were written in Japanese so there was not much information. Actually visitors were equipped with  a big-sized pamphlet in English but then who would have the time to read the lengthy text with small fonts on a piece of paper while walking around the place?

[After reading the pamphlet] "Tamon" actually means terraced housing built stone walls which functions as a castle wall and also a warehouse for weapons and turret where soldiers stood at guard.

There was another turret to visit right after this one.

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