Osaka Castle

There's no doubt that Osaka Castle is beautiful to look at with its jade-green tiles as it looms majestically over the city. It's also one of the most convenient Japanese castles to visit, being located right in the center of Osaka. That being said, we feel like Osaka Castle lacks the authenticity of a real Japanese castle (城, Shiro). For starters, it was only built in 1997 and is a concrete reconstruction (rather than the traditional wood-based method), with a museum housed inside. To us, it feels more like a modern museum with a castle-inspired exterior, than a real Japanese castle.

While it is certainly awe-inspiring if its the first Japanese castle you see, the illusion sort of breaks when you enter it. Rather than seeing a traditional Japanese castle with its intricate wooden architecture, you're simply presented with a modern concrete museum. There's just no authenticity as to what the castle truly is, and is simply a shell of what it's supposed to represent.

If you only plan to see the exterior of a castle, then yes, Osaka Castle is worth a visit just to take some photos from the outside. While the museum is certainly great if you want to find out more about Osaka's history, we are choosing to judge it as a Japanese castle. If you're already in Osaka, we recommend taking a day trip out to Himeji (姫路) to see Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himeji-jō), one of the Twelve Original Castles (日本現存十二天守, Nihon Genzon Ju-ni Tenshu) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (世界遺産, Sekai Isan), to see what a real traditional Japanese castle looks like.

Osaka Castle was first constructed in 1597, and the first tenshu (天守, Main Keep) burnt down in 1615 after the loss of the Siege of Osaka (大坂の陣, Ōsaka no Jin). It was then rebuilt in 1628, before being burnt down by a lightning strike in 1665. Thus the tenshu has only existed for 55 years in history.

The current tenshu was a replica rebuilt in 1931, and restored in 1997 to resemble its original design. It serves as a symbol of Osaka, and was thus rebuilt with its interior serving as a museum.