Osaka - Osaka Castle + Nara

I made it to Japan! I landed at 9am local time and after having some trouble finding the office needed for my train pass, I eventually caught a 1hr train and met up with the rest of my family!

First off today we visited Osaka Castle. It was gorgeous and massive, 58m tall with 8 floors of a museum inside. We also had a view of Osaka from the top!

Next we headed over to Nara and to Nara Park, there were deer everywhere!! They were quite friendly and just wanted some food. In Nara we visited the Yoshikien Garden, it was very green, mossy and calm. Then we saw the massive Todaiji Temple which housed a 15m tall Big Buddha. On the way out of Nara we hung out with some of the deer and passed by the Kofukuji Temple.

The last stop of the day was Minami, part of downtown Osaka. We walked through super crowded shopping streets and districts here (Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, American Mura and Dotonburi) before finding a place to eat dinner.Read more