A Magical Saturday in Osaka 🚴🚴🏼‍♀️

April 22, 2023

We are a lot closer to being able to start touring on our trikes….just one final hurdle to get over. Yoshi ran into a problem that requires a tool that he had to order and it will arrive this coming Tuesday. So, here we are…we have our trikes back 😄and until the tool arrives we will be riding old school, on our trikes without e-assist.

We got busy and made a new plan. We will continue to stay at our hotel until Tuesday, but as they are fully booked tonight, we will venture into a different area of Osaka and stay in a traditional inn, a ryokan for one night.

With the day free to explore, we decided to head to the castle and explore further the magnificent grounds and whatever else strikes our fancy. We can check in at 4 at the Ryokan, so as the cliche goes…the world (Osaka) is our oyster.

In Canada, we poured over the accommodation offerings in Osaka and there was something special about The Hotel Lutheran that stood out. Their positive philosophy of service and problem solving shone through whenever we queried via email about things like our trikes. Plus we liked its quiet location and homey comfortable rooms. All of the above has proven to be true, but the outstanding reason we love it so much is the staff. We have already booked to stay here in July before our flight home. This place feels like our home away from home.

All of the staff have been exceptional. The Manager of Sales is Mikiya Higashi, the man on the left and he recommended the Ramen restaurant that is about a two minute walk from the hotel (this is the same place that Barry had researched and couldn’t find). Kaho is another person we have made a connection with. She studied in Vancouver for 2 years. The fellow beside Mikiya is Ichro and the woman on the right is Park. All of the staff are a team that work well for each other and the guests. Arigato!

The Lutheran Church is attached to the hotel and its handicap accessible entrance provided us with a good place to get set up. So excited to get out and explore on 6 wheels.The trikes feel great…thanks Yoshi.

With all options open to us, we decided we wanted to return to the Castle for a ride. One can ride or walk for miles there.

Once we rode through the gates of the Castle, we realized that our experience here would be totally different today . There is a festive air…families with all of their generations, pop up food stalls, concerts, weddings, walkers, cyclists and so many pets.

Our first stop…skewer of chicken for ME and a skewer of octupus for Barry.

Everybody, who is anybody, was there. We were met with smiles, puzzled looks and genuine friendliness.

This gentleman on his bike and his friend bringing up the rear exchanged greetings, Barry stayed behind to visit and I rode on ahead getting lost in the process. Barry and I communicated through our Sena helmets but I couldn’t figure out where I was so this fellow told Barry to stay there that he would find me and bring me back to him.

And he did. All my life I tend to wander and sadly get lost very easily. My poor mom…as a young child, I would wander off in departments stores when we visited Toronto and I would find myself being escorted to the mgr’s office to see my mom sitting there stressed and tearful by my disappearance. When will I learn? Poor Barry!

These lovely gentlemen took us to the Peace Museum (on the Castle grounds) and asked if we would go in with them. We didn’t even know this place existed so off we went. Entrance is free for those over 65.

It’s only fair, we took their photo, so he took ours,

We understood that this museum deals with difficult subject matter, but we were unprepared for the emotional toll we felt. This is largely due to the anecdotal and personal nature of the exhibits from the perspective of children, women and elderly.

Osaka was devastated and mostly levelled by incendiary bombs and strafing. To hear a child’s account of their personal experience is sobering. The tone and message of the museum is one of remembrance, respect and building peace for the future.

This area focussed on how people tried to survivebombings in air raid shelters or in small cave dugouts in their home. We entered a recreation of a small dugout where the claustrophobic feeling and the sound effects gave us a glimpse of the terror they felt.

The man at the entrance took great care to look after us. First of all he put up barriers to protect our trikes. Then he found us inside the museum and checked that nothing valuable was left on our trikes..no money? no valuables? Then he wanted us to understand….free for you! Over 65! We must look very old as most Japanese, except for the very elderly have dark hair..natural or dyed.

We appreciate the intent and message of the museum.

The posters for the museum emphasize the global need to not only remember but strive for peace…from the memories of the most vulnerable..

This sums up Japan’s approach to taking responsibility for trash. We have learned to always have a bag with us as there are relatively few garbage cans around. The wonderful thing is that we never see any littering.

So many people at the Castle spending the day in 100’s of acres of natural beauty. This fellow brings his owl to the park for outings. Such a rare joy to see this creature up close…and then he turns at looks at you.

This young man, Han,was excited to visit with us about all things bike and travel. What a contrast his carbon road bike from our heavy and bulky trikes.

And then this fellow rode up on his Bacchetta recumbent which he had bought from Yoshi, the mechanic we are dealing with. His name is Masuteru Oka and he is a dentist in Osaka. What a small world. We also have Bacchetta recumbents at home.

This statue is of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the founder of the Osaka Castle.

As we rode down a path in the Castle grounds, we came upon a wedding. It was quite heartwarming to see this young couple begin their life together at such a special spot. We joined the other onlookers in clapping as they walked past us.

Hokoku Shrine was built in the late 1800’s as an honour to the founder of the Osaka Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is a small Shinto Shrine and since it is very serene it has become a popular place for couples to get married.

Among other things, animals were a theme of the day. We aren’t sure of the significance of this sign, but it reminds us of a man we saw earlier, cuddling his pet bunny. We saw more dogs than we can recount and the well fed resident cats all came out for cuddles from the visitors…plus the owl. Who could forget that.

On the grounds of Hokoku Shrine are a number of smaller shrines, including this one, called Shiratama Shrine. People would ring the bell and say a prayer.

We hadn’t planned to spend the day here, but there was just so much to take in. How wonderful, that Osaka -a busy and densely populated city has left this magnificent space free for all to enjoy.

Today sums up our joy in travelling. You can plan, and plan, yet often the best days are the ones that evolve naturally. When travelling like this with relatively few deadlines or demands, we enjoy the opportunity to stretch out and allow these special moments to happen.

Now, we ride to find our ryokan!

Our ryokan is in located in an established neighbourhood with mostly narrow streets and small traditional homes. We initially had trouble finding it as all of the signage was in Japanese.

We went for a walk through the neighbourhood where we are staying and found the grocery/department store called Life. A good store with high quality food prepared to take home. As it was close to 7pm, most of our items were 20-40% off. The food was very tasty, especially the beef.

Today's ride: 12 km (7 miles)
Total: 18 km (11 miles)

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oka masuteruthank you!!
Enjoy your trip to Japan
be careful
The recumbent rider I met at Osaka Castle yesterday
Take care of your teeth and enjoy delicious Japanese food
dentist masuteru oka
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11 months ago

Barry BartlettTo oka masuteruHi
Thank you for your message. We both really enjoyed meeting you yesterday at the Castle. We see Yoshi again on Tuesday at his shop. We will tell him that we met you. Take care…and yes, Barry will look after his teeth.
Mary Ellen and Barry Bartlett
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11 months ago