Willows and Castles

For our last full day in Japan (😢) we got the train over to Osaka Castle. We visited in last time although I remember it was an overcast day so it was beautiful to see it on a perfectly clear day. 

It is basically located in the middle of the city, but surrounded by some parkland and water. In spring the cherry blossom trees grow, but we got to see many trees turning orange and red which was beautiful. We even saw some willow trees - quite fitting next to the castle!!

Willows and Castles

It was first built in 1583 but was then destroyed in 1615 so they rebuilt it in the 1620s but then it was struck by lightning and burnt down in 1665. The poor old Osaka Castle couldn't catch a break. So they finally rebuilt it again in 1931. 

So we wandered around the grounds for a while, which were lovely. And then we went on a big long walk back towards the area where our apartment is. It was such a long walk that Willow fell asleep on the walk, so we looked for a place to pull in for lunch. I think we were stuck in a bit of a business area so we didn't just stumble across many places to eat like we normally do, but we found a station which are always filled with places to eat as they are like underground cities themselves. So we found one, but there was zero English written and virtually zero English spoken, but we just pointed to the fake plastic meals out the front like at every other restaurant. It was fine, but not our finest meal in Japan, although it was definitely our cheapest haha!!!

After lunch we wandered all the way back to the apartment, along through Shinsaibashi-Suji shopping street, passed Dotonburi, and back for some brief chill time before heading back to Dotonburi for the last time 😭. Of course we went back to the riverside bar with the coloured tables, and Willow's friend was working again so she got some more presents - another little ring that flashed coloured lights and a glowing necklace! What a lucky girl!

We wanted our last dinner to be a winner, so we looked up Tripadvisor for good restaurants nearby, and we were only a stone's throw from the top-rated restaurant, Hokuto Gems Namba, which was on the 7th floor of a non-descript building so we never would have just stumbled across it. This place specialised in sukiyaki, which we actually hadn't had on the trip yet. So we had a selection of different thinly sliced meats and vegetables which we cooked ourselves (with a bit of help) on the shallow pan on the table, then you dip them into a frothy broth of beaten raw egg (which was actually delicious), as well as a pot of melted cheese, like a fondue. Yum!!

Cheese fondue?!

Frothy raw egg

Willow had chicken and chips

So after our last night in Osaka, and Japan, Willow had a sleep-in while Ryan went out to get some chicken and rice, and we packed up and checked out right on 10am on the dot. Over to the subway, we got on a pretty crowded train with all our luggage, but it was fine, and soon enough we were at Shin-Osaka station. We had a coffee and snack at Dean and Deluca, then onto the shinkansen for a quick trip back to Tokyo for our flight home that evening.

We got off at Shinigawa station, which is another city within Tokyo, and pretty close to Haneda Airport. So we found a locker for our luggage so that we could find somewhere for a late lunch without too much hassle. Ryan got to have one last eggs with rice dishes, and I had some gyoza and dumplings. We then found an outdoor bar and had a drink to kill time until it was time to head to the airport on the subway. 

Check-in was quick and easy. Haneda airport is huge, and it's not even Tokyo's main international airport! So big in fact that we got a bit lost trying to work out where immigration and security was, but we finally did, and after a hug between Willow and the security lady, we found an izakaya/restaurant just next to our gate. One last meal (a simple raw tuna and rice dish for me which was actually delicious) and Willow finally conked out.

Unfortunately she woke up before we boarded with all the movement, but we had good and comfortable seats ad Willow was happy watching her own little TV. She watched Toy Story 4, so there she was at about 1am, with most of the rest of the cabin asleep, exclaiming "You can do it Woody! Yee-haaaar!". And that about sums up the trip :) It was awesome.