It’s a good thing Japanese train stations and trains are so beautiful, because we basically lived in them today.
We started the day at a lovely and delicious bakery.
We had a few minutes before Osaka Castle opened, so we figured we’d be productive and buy our bullet-train tickets for tomorrow. Easy enough… or so we thought. Japanese subway stations in big cities can be a mile wide with what feels like hundreds of exits, and we managed to visit most of them. First, we couldn’t find the ticket office. Then we couldn’t find the right train line to Osaka Castle. By the time we’d finished wandering in circles, we’d already logged 10,000 steps—and it wasn’t even 10 AM.
That’s when I remembered my Italian teacher telling me she once got so frustrated in a Japanese station that she just took a taxi from one side to the other because she couldn’t figure out how to walk there. So we did the modern version: we called an Uber… and saved our marriage.
The uniquely Japanese architecture of Osaka Castle was beautiful. Its massive wall of interlocking granite stones—built without mortar—dates back to 1620 and is truly impressive. The interior, though less remarkable, is more than made up for by the gorgeous surrounding gardens.
The morning train chaos wasn’t a one-time thing. On the way to our next destination, we somehow managed to get on the wrong train… twice. The first one was going the right direction—but surprise! It was an express to a completely different city and didn’t stop at our station. After an hour of travel, we triumphantly returned to exactly where we started, feeling like we’d just won a gold medal in “how not to ride a train in Japan.”
We finally arrived at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, tucked away in a quiet suburb outside the city. I wondered if we’d made a mistake—until we turned a corner and saw about ten people, phones in hand, following Google Maps straight to the shrine. For a moment, I felt like I was playing Pokémon Go. Once inside, it was incredibly peaceful and beautiful—definitely worth the journey. The Shinto shrine dates back to the year 211.
Marsh Travels 