Not Enough Time at Osaka Castle to Tour and Paint

Day 23, 2024 Majestic Japan

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024; Osaka, Japan

An hour isn’t long enough to sketch and paint a castle – at least not for me. But an hour of free time was all my shore excursion to the Osaka Castle gave me. By skipping the tour of castle’s interior – and the stairs leading up to each of the seven floors – I had just enough time to set up my three-legged stool and sketch the scene. I thought I would complete the pencil drawing in 15 minutes, but I had to erase many times to get the perspective right. I kept getting lost in the various tiered platforms.

By the time my tour group returned, I had added ink. Painting would need to wait until I was back on board the Westerdam. The tour was a compromise – I didn’t have the confidence to navigate the train system on my own, and a taxi to the castle would cost nearly $100.

Osaka is Japan’s third largest city (after Tokyo and Yokohama) with almost 3 million people. The cruise terminal is next to the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, which at 369 feet was the world’s tallest from 1997-1999. Now there are 23 taller observation wheels, as many are known, with the Ain Dubai holding the current record at an amazing 820 feet tall.

The Osaka observation wheel seemed plenty tall when I first saw it yesterday evening through the opened roof over the ship’s Lido Pool. It seemed we parked right under it! A number of passengers took the 15-minute ride for less than $7 each.

We arrived at the Osaka cruise pier yesterday in the late afternoon. Our original itinerary called for just today in Osaka, with yesterday a sea day, but a few days ago we learned that we would arrive early. Based on the small crowds in the dining room and Lido last night, I’m guessing many people ate ashore. A shopping mall and large aquarium were within easy walking distance, as was a train station. Universal Studios Osaka is just across a modern bridge, complete with roller coasters and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Castle.

This is my fourth cruise into this area of western Japan, where Holland America ships seem to alternate between docking in Osaka and Kobe. The ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto isn’t far from either port, so I visited there in 2017 and again earlier this year. In 2018 I explored Kobe.

My excursion today also included Shitennoji Temple, a Buddhist temple along a busy street that seemed to have temple complexes in nearly every block. Small vendor stalls circled the pagoda here, selling everything from trinkets and umbrellas to shoes.

An advantage of our overnight stay in Osaka was a Taiko drum experience on the world stage. We could feel the powerful drum beats not only through our ears, but through our bodies. As we left the port today, another group of drummers entertained ship passengers from the pier. The enthusiastic crowd watching from the Promenade deck was three and four people deep.

On Sunday we docked in Shimizu, a smallish port best known (at least on Holland America cruises) for its proximity to Mount Fuji. I got my first glimpse of Japan’s tallest volcano last spring, as on earlier cruises it lived up to its reputation of notoriously hiding in the clouds.

Sunday looked like another lost opportunity, as it rained so much that I didn’t go ashore. (I had great visits in 2017 and 2018.) But as we left, the clouds parted and the mountain popped out – although still hiding its peak. It made for a spectacular departure, as school children entertained and we had our most stunning sunset to date.