Day 9 – Tour Osaka Castle, Travel to Miyajima Island

The word `castle` makes me light up inside.  I am filled with thoughts of kings and queens, romance and war, fantasy and imagination, so I was really looking forward to seeing Osaka Castle today (you are hearing this from a 27 year old female who was raised on Disney).  Let me tell you, though it wasn’t Disney, I was not disappointed!  When we first arrived there, you can see the HUGE walls surrounding and protecting the castle area, being a fortress.  The view was breathtaking, and the cherry blossom trees all around just added to the magic.  Some of the stones that they used to build up the walls were HUGE (around 113 tons!).  We were able to go inside the castle, which is a museum now, with an observation deck at the top.  It all was a great sight to see.  

After this, we went back to the hotel for lunch, and headed onto our travels to Miyajima Island.  We took a few trains and subways, and ended with a short ferry to the island, and a quick taxi to the ryokan.  I am SUCH an island type of girl, and was thrilled to go here.  It is a very small island, and you can see the   beautiful floating O-torii gate off the shore.  We had a chance to walk around and have a few treats before dinner at our ryokan.  We don’t always stay at the same places for every tour, but let me tell you, the food was amazing at the Kawaguchi.  They brought course after course, and I was starting to wonder if it would ever end.  Every bite was so wonderful.  After dinner, we did a short walk over to the O-torii gate to see it light up in the night sky under the stars.  Then Marshall and I enjoyed a hot bath in the Japanese style baths before retiring to our room.  I am eager to learn more about the island tomorrow!