We got in line at 7:15 this morning for immigration and customs - it was already very long even though everyone had specific times to report. As I looked around us I saw people holding 8:00 and 7:45 time sheets… you know how that goes they feel they are so special they don’t need to wait for their time. Anyway, we got processed in plenty of time for Jim to grab a bite of breakfast and then we met the bus for our tour.
I hate to admit that I wasn’t listening too carefully to our guide in the bus, but I was fascinated just looking out the windows. But a couple facts I did pick up - the prefecture of Osaka has 8.8 million people; the city was virtually flattened in WWII. There are beautiful sky scrapers and many bridges. The road system is amazing in some areas there are stacks of 5 or maybe more roadways curving in all directions.
Our first stop was the Sumiyoshi Shrine. This Shinto Shrine is a Japanese Treasure. It was a wonderful place for photographs. It wasn’t too crowded and many of the people were not tourists; they were there to pray. I did quite a bit of “shoot from the hip” as I didn’t want to impose on their worship.
I hate to admit that I wasn’t listening too carefully to our guide in the bus, but I was fascinated just looking out the windows. But a couple facts I did pick up - the prefecture of Osaka has 8.8 million people; the city was virtually flattened in WWII. There are beautiful sky scrapers and many bridges. The road system is amazing in some areas there are stacks of 5 or maybe more roadways curving in all directions.
Our first stop was the Sumiyoshi Shrine. This Shinto Shrine is a Japanese Treasure. It was a wonderful place for photographs. It wasn’t too crowded and many of the people were not tourists; they were there to pray. I did quite a bit of “shoot from the hip” as I didn’t want to impose on their worship. 
The other stop was at the Osaka Castle. I wish we were two weeks later… they cherry trees were just about to bloom; the buds were big but not quite ready to open. The castle itself is a museum and was rebuilt in 1931. It is exactly what you picture for a fairy tale Japanese castle; White with the dark green/black roof with the upswept corners and lots of gold trim and it is surrounded by a moat. What’s not to like there?? I’ve always wanted a moat around my house. The whole park area is huge and includes a baseball field, playground, band-shell and beautiful gardens and bridges.We had a fair amount of time at both stops to wander and take the photos I wanted so I was pleased with the tours.
This is the Royal Princess’ maiden (inaugural) call in Osaka so there was a band playing on the pier as we arrived and there will be a ceremony at 5:00 for the presentation of the plaques with city and ship officials followed by a ninja show.
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