Osaka Castle is a major Japanese landmark situated in Osaka city, surrounded by a series of defensive fortifications and moats in the center of a huge park. It's a notable fixture of one of the more modern cities in Japan, and helps bring Osaka to life with its rich history and culture.

Seeing the castle at the top of the hill in the distance was pretty surreal after making my way through the shopping streets filled with Japanese bars, called izakaya, as well as convenience stores, arcades, and vending machines. There are still several stores around the perimeter of the park, as well as a concert hall, but the inner park is dedicated to the castle. There are both an outer and inner moat, which you can explore in boat tours, and to reach the castle you have to climb up stairs behind the huge stone walls built to protect the castle during the Warring States period of Japanese history. The beauty of the castle and the park led me to choose it as one of the subjects for my Senior Art Show.

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Published: __/__/22