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Hostel guests come and go. The latest ones in my dorm all had their cell phone alarms set for 6 AM and not a single one of them got up after shutting them off. In addition, the guy in the bunk under me is the kind of person that can't open a suitcase quietly. Oh, well.

Tried KohiKan (Coffee Can), a little coffee shop around the corner, and had a very good, very milky cafe au lait and a massive slice* of cinnamon toast served with a scoop of fresh whipped cream and a little pot of syrup on the side - maybe this is their idea of French toast - I don't know. It was just enough and delicious. More importantly, the smoking section was sealed off behind glass and a sliding door, which was nice.

In the 19th century, Japan as a nation pretty much made a decision to modernize and did so with a vengeance. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are all BIG cities, and the train lines tend to run past endless tower blocks, industrial areas and so forth. Caught a bullet train to Shin-Osaka station, then screwed up and got on the wrong thing, which I realized after a bit, then headed back, found the correct train line and finally landed at Osakajoden station.

So yeah, there is this massive Japanese castle whack in the middle of very urban, skyscrapery Osaka - and you have to walk in through the expansive park-like grounds before you even get near the outer moat. I passed a lot of locals earnestly doing their midmorning runs. But even at a distance, you see the upper tower and realize how big it is and how high above you and know you're in for a climb.

The park has a number of lively, talkative and huge crows. Their call sounds like they're laughing at you. "Ha! HA! HA!" (Ha! You stupid woman, you overdid it yesterday and we are judging you in crow.)

I should also mention that it''s been hot and humid. My weather widget swears it was only 80 degrees, but I am not acclimated to the humidity. Also, the Japanese concept of air conditioning is not like ours. Some of the train cars I was on today had discreet placards stating "Mildly air conditioned." Maybe it's because you're going to go outside again and shouldn't get chilled. Anyway, it was already warm and there had been a LOT of walking yesterday.

I should also point out that what exists at Osaka is a reconstruction. The original castle was built in the 1580s, and you can read about how many fires and lightning strikes burned it to the ground. Still, I'd never been to Osaka and had put it on my list of places to go.

I crossed a bridge over the moat, then began the long uphill climb. As I caught my breath just outside the Otemon gate, I saw a couple of men chatting. One of them had a gorgeous hawk on his gloved fist - and he kindly allowed me to pet it and get a few photos (which is why the suffer slightly from lack of fill flash).

Upward and upward and upward again, following other tourists until we came out on the large flat top of the hill in front of the tower, where it was time to queue up for entry tickets. Of course, the more interesting castle-y bits (which one can visit for a slightly more expensive ticket) were closed for the day. This may or may not have to do with yesterday's Enthronement of the new Emperor - I'd been warned it might disrupt schedules of what was open and what wasn't.

The inside of the castle is a modern museum exhibition space taking up multiple floors, plus the tower top which features commanding views of urban Osaka in all directions -and a blessed breeze at that lofty height. I opted to take the elevator to the 5th floor (as far as it goes), and climb the rest of the way up, then worked my way down through the exhibits. The life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in weird little video dioramas was not my thing, but they did have a terrific exhibition on Hideyoshi's diplomatic career featuring a ton of documents about his work with the Chinese, Koreans, European traders and missionaries. There was also armor, several jinbaori (battle surcoats), including one converted from a European velvet cape, paintings, and other artifacts. The exhibition catalogue was only 1200 yen and not unduly huge or heavy, so I bought a copy. That particular exhibition was worth the trip!

I bought a bottle of water from a vending machine and sat in the shade while I finished it, then made my way back down out of the castle. Ended up chatting with a guy toting a massive camera who was shooting the rhododendrons against one of the castle walls. I think this is him because he invited me to his exhibition in Kyoto. (Might try to fit that in on Friday - it's right around the corner from our old digs on Sanjo-dori!) He was very cool (and very kind - I admitted I had a lot to learn).

Finally got out of the castle grounds and headed more or less in the direction of the train station, figuring I would try to find lunch nearby. I was not disappointed when I spotted a takoyaki stall, and purchased a box of eight hot, doughy, octopus-filled carbohydrate bombs (I couldn't finish them). I picked up and downed another bottle of water at the nearby Lawson's, admitted to myself that I was just too tired to try to crisscross a city I'd already gotten lost in once in search of things I was too tired to do and too full to eat, and got back on the train.

I picked up another one of those egg salad sandwiches. It's almost 6:30 and some of the hostel folks are making dinner and it smells delcious but I am just not hungry. I am drinking more water, and I can have the sandwich later if I want.

I think yesterday's itinerary was just a little too ambitious. I'm five years older than I was the last time and I need to make peace with the fact that I may not be able to do absolutely everything at every place I'm going to.

That said, I'm looking forward to Himeji. It's another castle, so more uphill walking, but the town is smaller and should be easier to find my way around. And I think I'm JUST going to do the castle. The only other real attraction in the area is Mount Shosha and Engyoji and I don't give a monkey's butt that they filmed part of "The Last Samurai" there. So out to Himeji, explore the castle, come back to Kyoto and maybe find that photography exhibition or do something else easy and fun. Or not. This is supposed to be relaxing too!

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