Osaka, Japan

Our arrival in Osaka marked the Queen Elizabeth’s first or maiden visit to Osaka. Looking out from the ship, we saw a tug next to the ship spouting arches of water from its fire hoses and hundreds of people on the pier waving as we docked. This was only the beginning of the remarkable welcome we received from the people of Osaka.

Osaka is situated on the south coast of Honshu, the largest of the four main Japanese Islands. The Osaka metropolitan area has over 20 million people, making it the third largest city in Japan, following Tokyo and Yokohama. At one time it was the capital of Japan. It is a modern, prosperous city, and even with all those people, it is remarkably clean. You see no graffiti or even a chewing gum wrapper on the street.

We docked next to a major shopping center, the Tempozan Harbor Village, and in the shadow of one of the largest Ferris wheels in Japan. It had at least sixty carriages on it, and during the day, they all seemed to be filled. So far we’ve seen a giant Ferris wheel in each of the major cities we’ve visited. The people in Japan love their Ferris wheels.

Welcoming posters lined the streets, and a steady stream of people flowed into the dock/shopping area to see the ship. It was almost like when the circus used to come into town, except the ship and the passengers were the entertainment. There was almost a holiday atmosphere throughout the city.

At one point during the day a ceremony was held in an open square where a city official welcomed the captain and officers and presented them with gifts. The captain in return, presented gifts and everyone gave speeches. Later on the ship, a group from Osaka entertained passengers, and they distributed samples of sake. The sake was served in square vessels made out of Japanese cedar and were polished and dovetailed. They were also embossed with the date and occasion in both English and Japanese.

The previous time we had been in Osaka, we took a ship’s tour to Kyoto, a city about two hours away, famous for its Golden Pavilion and temples. Since we didn’t see anything of Osaka at that time, we decided to spend our day there and visit Osaka Castle.

First thing though, we had to locate the post office and get stamps. I feel as though we’ve taken a tour of post offices around the world. Fortunately, we found one nearby. Outside the post office two people sold stamps at a brightly decorated booth, and a dancing figure of a bear standing next to them waved at everyone going by. The Japanese also love their animal and cartoon figures. You see them everywhere.

A trash truck playing music like an ice cream truck pulled up near the post office. As one worker picked up bags of trash, the driver jumped out and snapped a picture of the Queen Elizabeth before they drove away. The ship seemed to be popular with everyone.

We’ve come to feel quite comfortable in Japan and find that it is fairly easy to get around, so we decided to make our way to Osaka Castle on our own. We located the local subway station using maps we had obtained in the information office near the pier. The transportation system is excellent, and the signage is in both Japanese and English, which really helped. On occasion we stopped to ask directions, and if the person didn’t speak English, we showed them a picture of where we were trying to go and that usually got us pointed in the right direction.

We amazed ourselves as to how well we’ve been doing getting around Japan. The joy of going out on our own is that we can stay as long as we like at a site; whereas, in a tour you visit several places for very brief periods of time.

The Osaka Castle, which is the oldest and largest in Japan, was quite impressive. It was built over 400 years ago. The wooden portions have burned down several times and been rebuilt each time. The present main tower, rebuilt in 1931, was financed by donations from the people of Osaka.

Osaka Castle Main Tower

A wide inner moat and an even wider outer moat surround the castle to protect it. The outer moat was more like a river and large enough for people to take motorized boat rides on it. The walls around the castle were created using huge granite boulders brought to Osaka from Inujima Island. It is estimated that the castle consists of over one million granite stones—one weighing over 100 tons.

Castle Wall (That’s one solid piece of granite)

The grounds of the castle were quite extensive, containing a number of other buildings, including the Hokoku-Jinja Shrine. The shrine contains a statue of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who was the first builder of the castle and the lord who unified Japan in the 16^th century. It makes you wonder whether Toyota cars aren’t named for him.

Hokoku-Jinja Shrine and Statue of Hideyoshi Toyotomi

The castle grounds also contain a Japanese garden, a lake, and a courtyard large enough to hold several food vans selling a variety of food. A large building that looked more like a British fortification previously served as a Japanese Army headquarters. The grounds covered such a broad area that when we came out of the wrong gate, it took us 30 minutes to walk around half of it to the gate that would lead us to the subway.

Outside Castle Walls

During our visit, we passed several Buddhist monks in their red robes touring the castle. One wore a wooly knit cap since it was cold, which looked rather incongruous with his traditional robes. Several of the monks carried cameras or smartphones. John asked them if he could take a picture of them. They offered to pose for him, but he said he would get them candidly.

Buddhist Monks Taking Pictures of Castle

We walked through the Japanese gardens on the castle grounds. Unfortunately, only two cherry trees on the castle grounds were in bloom. The trees in the extensive Plum Garden were still bare. In another week or so, all of the flowering trees there would have been glorious. Disappointing that we missed the cherry blossoms both in Japan and in Washington.

In front of the lake and the main tower of the castle, we saw a young couple in traditional Japanese garments being posed for a photo shoot in front of the lake and the main tower of the castle.

Couple in Traditional Garments

Children Dressed as Japanese Warriors

Several elderly docents working at the castle approached us wanting to give us information about the castle. They carried binders filled with pictures and facts and would point out things in halting English and then show us specifics in their binders. It was easy to tell that they were quite proud of their castle.

The main tower, which had seven floors, housed precious documents and painted panels from various periods of Osaka history. Since the tower had been rebuilt in 1931 and again following WWII, it was modern inside, and thankfully had an elevator. An open-air platform on the top floor provided wonderful views of Osaka. We’ve found that many of the temples and shrines have been rebuilt, which accounts for why many of them are in such excellent condition.

We successfully made our way through the subway system back to the ship. On the way up the ship’s gangway, we passed dozens of Japanese travel agents who had been touring the ship. We’ve noticed this in each Japanese port, so Cunard is obviously promoting the ship for future voyages to this area. With the number of Asian passengers that have joined the ship in recent days, they’ve already been successful promoting the ship.

When we returned to Tempozan Harbor Village and the ship, we planned to have a late lunch and go out again. A huge aquarium held center stage in the village square. But by the time we got back, our feet protested against any more walking. I don’t think they would have carried us over there. I was disappointed since I love aquariums, and based on the size of the building, this one was bound to have large fish tanks. A Universal Studios was also located in the area. We also missed shops that sold octopus dumplings and squid pancakes. Next time we are in Osaka….

From the top deck, we could see three Japanese naval ships docked nearby. Also, a replica of the Santa Maria sailed by with a boatload of tourists wanting to see the Queen Elizabeth. This is the third replica we’ve seen of Columbus’s ships used for tours in different countries. What is it about those ships that make ports want to use them for tourists?

On the top deck, we saw a Japanese passenger flying a large kite from the open deck. You never know what you are going to see out on deck.

Osaka Ferris Wheel and a Passenger Kite

As part of the festivities, the city of Osaka provided a large all-girls high school brass band to play on the pier. They were so talented, dancing and playing for nearly an hour—without any sheet music. American-style brass bands are quite popular throughout Asia. They all play with such gusto and appear to be really enjoying themselves. I could just imagine members of the band years from now telling the story of how their school was chosen to play for the Queen Elizabeth when it came to town for the first time.

School Band

Throughout the cold March evening, thousands of people came and stood on the pier, waiting for the ship to sail. Lights from cell phones and cameras continually flashed lighting up the area. Finally, at 11:00 p.m. we pulled away from the dock. People both on the dock and on the ship waved and shouted See you again, which is a saying frequently used in Japan. In one port, the words appeared on a large sign. It was very moving that people would care enough to stand in the cold that long to see the ship sail and to say farewell. It was the end of a very enjoyable day.