Osaka Castle is surrounded by downtown buildings
Moat surrounding the castle
The dry moat and old wall
Good way to keep intruders out
Wide paths lined with manicured trees
Getting closer to the top
Entrance to the Sakura Gate
Massive gates to the castle
Water station used for drinking
Story of the well water
Wall art depicts the old days
Stronghold in the middle of a city
Looks different today
The castle is the highlight
Gold-leaf ornaments
Cooking takoyaki – octopus dumplings
Beautiful castle
Costume posing
Historic site
Uppermost level for viewing
Surrounding grounds
Many tourists – local and foreign
The stairs take you to the castle entrance
This elevator takes you ½ way up
Inner moat
Steep walls all around
Views from the back
Impressive wall
Taking a photo carefully
Steep wall
Good place to take a break
Part of downtown
Well maintained, the castle houses the museum
Each level has displays
Less traveled…..around the backside
Good idea of how large the stones are
The biggest dog we saw…..with a dress?
The knife juggler
He was so cute, but could not get him to smile
Food carts
Typical Japanese traditional clothing
Could be wedding wear?
Japanese warrior posing with someone's dog
Feeding the pigeons
Eating out of her hand
Skewered meats
Fast food Japanese -style
Grilled hamburgers also
All types of popcorn sold here
Treasury Building (closed for restoration)
Samples of octopus dumplings
Crossing over the inner moat
Going back out the gates
Soft ice cream is big here
Love the figures on the roof
The Treasury looked quite old
Japanese bird
Bonsai trees
Large evergreen trees
A grove of trees
The road back down
A railing with birds on top
Hate those stairs
Trees will flower in the spring
Old-style kimonos
Modern mall
But how do you get across the street?
Some smaller streets have cross walks
Others have none
Many small shops were closed today
But there are always the vending machines
Took a wrong turn, and found a cemetery
A funeral was in progress
Typical street in downtown
The walk to the Shitennoji Temple
The main entrance to the temple
Washing hands
Old fashioned habit
Grounds of the temple complex
Central temple
Probably the newest structure
The cooking pot of bronze holds incense sticks
An inner temple
Sacred grounds for the local Buddhists
Several buildings on the property
