This week, Typhoon Lan hit Japan, causing the suspension of bullet train services on the Tokaido Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. It happened in the middle of the Obon holiday, stranding many people who had gone back to their hometowns to visit their family graves. Our trip to Fujinomiya to observe that tradition (and climb Mount Fuji from the Shizuoka side) got cut short by a day, as we were following the news and decided to leave early.
It was almost a repeat of what happened last year, when we were coming back from Tottori around the same time and Typhoon Meari was bearing down on Shizuoka. In that case, however, the typhoon was ahead of us, so we ended up staying an extra day in Osaka on the way back. This let us visit Osaka Castle (for me, it was a revenge trip) and the site of the 1970 World Expo, where Taro Okamoto’s Tower of the Sun monument still stands, rain or shine.
Typhoon season notwithstanding, you can currently travel from Tottori to Osaka and all around the Kansai region at a discount with JR West’s Kansai Wide Area Excursion Pass, which provides unlimited travel for three days to any foreign passport holder, regardless of visa status.
The New Otani: A Luxury Hotel Near Osaka Castle
The Hotel New Otani Osaka.
Sunset over the river, with the Hotel New Otani Osaka on the right.
Booking a room at the Hotel New Otani Osaka put us within walking distance of Osaka Castle, so we were able to visit it by day and by night (and see it both ways from our window while enjoying room service). Zooming in on the castle and the adjacent modern buildings from high up offers a classic juxtaposition of old and new Japan.
Room service at the Hotel New Otani Osaka.
New and old Osaka, seen from a room in the Hotel New Otani.
Sources differ on whether the New Otani Osaka is a 4.5- or 5-star hotel, but we were able to snag our room with a view at the last minute for ¥30,000. That’s on par with what you’d pay for the Hotel New Otani Tokyo, one of the locations featured in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. We ate at the revolving restaurant there once and have been to the Thanksgiving buffet at Trader’s Vics Tokyo in its Garden Tower twice.
Osaka-Jo Hall (Jo means “Castle”), seen from a room in the New Otani.
The Disney on Ice truck behind Osaka-Jo Hall.
In Osaka, the Hotel New Otani is located near the Osaka-Jo Hall arena, which had a Disney on Ice event going while we were there. We skipped that and stuck to the castle museum. Though the New Otani is one of the closest hotels to Osaka Castle, it’s still a bit of a hike from there — or anywhere — to the main tower. The castle is surrounded by an inner and outer moat, high defensive walls, gates, and turrets. The entire castle park covers about 260 acres.
The Full Osaka Castle Experience
Osaka Castle, with trees obscuring the sight of the elevator on the left.
Osaka Castle at night.
The back side of the castle at night.
Osaka Castle was first built in 1583, and since then, it’s been reconstructed more than once as the Siege of Osaka (or “Summer War” of 1615, as the museum calls it), along with a lightning strike, fires, and World War II bombing raids, took their toll on the castle and the nearby area. The current main tower was reconstructed in 1931, and it has an elevator next to it, a slightly incongruous sight that hints at the nature of the contemporary museum facilities inside.
Topiary trees in Osaka Castle Park.
Osaka Castle’s dry moat.
Inside the Osaka Castle Museum.
The first time I visited Osaka Castle, back in 2010, it was winter break, and my friend and I came in the opposite way, passing the dry moat and some interesting topiary trees shaped like bottles. The main tower was closed, so it wasn’t until this trip that I got to see inside of it, visit the museum, and have the full Osaka Castle experience.
The Osaka Castle observation deck.
Osaka-Jo Hall, the New Otani, and Osaka Business Park from the observation deck.
Looking out over the inner moat and Osaka.
For me, the highlight was the 8th-floor observation deck, where Azusa and I could see out over the grounds and have a view of our hotel and the arena, with the golden Shachihoko (dragon fish or carp) on the roof of the castle in the foreground. The weather was good in the morning while we were there, but by afternoon, the skies had become more overcast.
The Tower of the Sun, Redhorse Osaka Wheel, and Aiduya
The Tower of the Sun has three faces, with the gold one on top representing the future.
The central face on the tower, representing the present.
The back face, with a sun design representing the past.
After checking out of the New Otani, we stowed our bags in a locker in Osaka Station and took the Midosuji Line and Osaka Monorail to the site of the World Expo in Expo ’70 Commemorative Park. Azusa’s parents, my in-laws, had been there when they were young, and it’s where you can see the Tower of the Sun monument, created by artist Taro Okamoto. He also did the Myth of Tomorrow mural in Shibuya Station.
Crossing the bridge over the expressway to the Redhorse Osaka Wheel.
The Redhorse Osaka Wheel in Expo City.
View of the Tower of the Sun from the Ferris wheel.
Just over the bridge, across the Kinki Expressway, the Redhorse Osaka Wheel offers an elevated Ferris wheel view of the Tower of the Sun. Next to it is a shopping mall, LaLaport Expo City, where Aiduya (sometimes rendered Aizuya), the shop that invented Osaka’s beloved comfort food of takoyaki (octopus balls), has a branch operating in the food court. It also serves radioyaki, the beef-based predecessor to takoyaki. You can order both in a combo, but unlike fancy modern variations on takoyaki, these come plain, without any toppings.
The sign for Expo City outside the LaLaport shopping mall in Osaka.
The LaLaport Expo City branch of Aiduya, the shop credited with inventing takoyaki.
Radioyaki and takoyaki from Aiduya.
This all went down on my 12th Japanniversary last year, and now another year has come and gone, and my 13th Japanniversary has passed. For its part, Osaka kicks off a new World Expo less than two years from now in April 2025. It begins the same week that Tokyo is hosting the next Star Wars Celebration, so international visitors will have good reason to ride the bullet train back and forth between Tokyo and Osaka in what is sure to be a busy travel season.