Only four ancient castles remain standing from the imperial eras of Japanese history.

On our first day in Osaka, we visited one of these castles. The first thing to know about any good castle is that it’s built on the highest available elevation. The purpose was to see enemies coming from afar, and the castle itself can be seen during almost the entire climb toward its base.

Osaka Castle is now a glorified museum, which closes in the evening. We were literally running late as we sprinted two miles uphill to make the admission time. Winded, we got to the castle only to climb up eight stories of stairs to the very top.

Despite the climb, the view from the top is magnificent. Golden statues adorn the top corners and the entirety of the city can be seen below.

Unfortunately, the interior has been redone and made in to a museum, complete with holographs and HD video screens. Although this was interesting, I would have preferred a more authentic castle.

The surrounding area and shrines are beautiful and peaceful. As always, huge stone statues guard the entrances and monumentalize the area. Seeing a real castle is a cool experience. As an American, I feel like we don’t really have any truly historic buildings like these. After all, our country is only a few hundred years old, while Japanese society has essentially been in place for thousands of years.