We tried to avoid crowds as far as possible, but there are certain places where my teenage kids wanted to visit as part of Instagram “punch card”, which is a representation of the entire visit. So for Osaka, it’s the Osaka Castle. But that’s not the only reason we wanted to go there. There is a museum with good reviews about the History of the Osaka and the Castle and how dynasties rise and fall.
The best way to the castle is of course by public transport. Since we were driving and the cost of car rental was “sunken” in a sense, it made no difference from the costs of parking and public transports for 7 of us. In fact, parking the whole day near the Castle costs only about 1200 Yen, cheaper than taking a train, minus the 1km walk from our house to the train station.
Osaka-jo Park
Osaka-jo Park was built around the castle. We chose to park near the Morinomiya train station where we had a good lunch before taking a stroll through the park. Instead of parking at the castles’ tourist carpark, we simply wanted to take a slow walk through the park. Fantastic late autumn horticulture views.
Osaka Castle grounds
We entered the grounds through the Tamatsukuri gate, at the south-western end of the castle moat. That’s the first moat we have to cross. Then another short walk to the Sakura gate to cross the second moat. From the gate entrance, you can get a glimpse of the Osaka castle, can’t hide our sense of excitement having seen so much of it on photos and now it was “live” in front of our own senses.
Sakura Gate 
We took lots of photos with the majestic architecture. Nevermind the tourist crowd, we were still enjoying the moments there. From several angles shown below.
The entire building was made into a museum. There were entrance fees, but not much. Entrance for Children was free. I took my kids up and spend quite a bit of time in there looking at the exhibits and understanding its history. Great views from the top as well.
Osaka-jo park 
Castle grounds 
We were directed to the top floor by lift. Then walked down the museum floors. Photo taking was not allowed for certain floors but it was ok for some floors.
Not surprising that we ended up spending the entire afternoon there, picnic, eat ice-creams and shop at the nearby mall within the castle grounds.
gobassky