There are plenty things to see and do around Osaka, no matter what your interest is. If you love history or going to museums, then you’d love these two places that I visited with my friends using the Osaka Amazing Pass (two-day transport pass plus free entrance to many attractions/museums around Osaka).
The first place we visited was the Osaka International Peace Centre, a museum located just south of the Osaka Castle Park.
Peace Osaka explores Japan’s experiences during World War II with an emphasis on Osaka.
Source: Japan Guide
As we walked in, we were given a pamphlet (plenty of language options), you can also download the pamphlet if you wish. Apart from the English pamphlet, there were minimal English guide and information around the museum itself. So I guess this is when what you see visually really is worth a thousand words!
And what we saw was rather confronting and gloomy…
The museum portrayed the negative effects that war had in our society. From the atomic bombs to leftover artefacts to newspaper articles… They also showed us what Japan looked like back then, a slice of life, or at least what life would’ve been, during those times…
I had to say, it really made me feel wonder why people would opt for war, when we can have peace by loving one another…
We then moved to a different section where there were old photographs and actual books and letters from the war and post-war period.
Instead of focusing on “what other bad things happened to Japan”, this area portrayed the Japanese that many of us who lived in Asia would’ve heard before… It showed photographs of the Japanese army invading countries like South Korea and Indonesia; and the cruelty that happened then.
There was one section at the end of that room that did not talk about Japan at all. Instead, it was about the Holocaust during the Nazi Germany regime. They even had a replica of the door to an underground prison in Auschwitz… This, too, reminded me of the depravity of humankind.
We then walked to the last section of the museum, which was a more modern exhibition with the war timeline in images.
And there we were, at the end of the exhibition.
One thing that I appreciate from Peace Osaka is that it depicts war not as a glorious affair, but as something that has caused not only physical damages but also the suffering of so many people, both the Japanese and other countries who were involved.
After taking all that in, we walked towards Osaka Castle through the park, and we literally stopped every 5 minutes to take photos of the same castle in different proximities.
We reached the castle area and started exploring!
The castle does look majestic from every angle, so yep, more photos.
We then walked into the castle and went straight up (our idea was: let’s go all the way up and then make our way down!) to the outdoor observatory area.
I wouldn’t say they had the best view of Osaka, but it was pretty good! ;)
The inside of the Osaka Castle has been transformed into a museum, so don’t expect anything castle-ish…
There were enough English information for you to follow through and understand the history of Japan (well a part of it)…
By the end of it, we exited the castle and bought ourselves some kasutera (mini sponge cakes). Nom nom, sadly they were a bit cold already.
Both Osaka Castle and the Peace Museum can be covered on the same day. If you are a museum lover, the Peace Osaka is worth going. It’s not a big museum, so it will probably just take an hour to go through everything. Spend as much or as little time as you want in Osaka Castle.