The main tower
Golden ornaments.
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One of Japan's best-known landmarks, a castle that played a major part in the 16th-century unification of Japan. The warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi began building it in 1583 on the site of an old temple, modelled on Azuchi Castle. The main tower stands on a tall stone base, five storeys outside and eight inside, and walls of cut stone and two moats, inner and outer, surround the castle. The original tower was destroyed in the wars of the 17th century; the present one was built in 1931, 266 years later, and extensively restored from 1995 to 1997, its roof decorated with golden ornaments including mythical shachihoko fish and crouching tigers. The tower now holds a museum on the castle's history and Hideyoshi's age, with armour, swords, paintings and models, and an observation deck on the 8th floor looks out over Osaka. A large park with thousands of cherry and plum trees surrounds the castle and blooms in spring. Tower tickets are 1,200 yen; it opens 9:00-18:00 (last entry half an hour before closing) and closes from 28 December to 1 January, according to Osaka's official tourism office. The park is free, and the tower has a lift.
Golden ornaments.
All of Osaka.
Cherry and plum.
Osaka Castle Park, Chūō ward
The tower is 1,200 yen and opens 9:00-18:00 (last entry half an hour before closing), according to Osaka's official tourism office; the park around it is free.