The Far East: Day 18

NOTE: Post updated to include the bit about the England-Germany game - sorry it got left off before!

I awoke on Sunday morning at 9:30, after a nine-hour sleep. I hadn't meant to sleep so long, but I felt better for it; I had been quite tired from the previous few days. After a lazy morning catching up on what was going on in the world, I headed to Osaka for the afternoon. Such is the speed of the Shinkansen that you can make it to Osaka from Kyoto in just fifteen minutes:

Tokaido Shinkansen, Hikari 511: 1416 Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, arr 1430

However, that only gets you to Shin-Osaka, which is across the river from the city centre. Shin-Osaka has three levels: the Shinkansen is elevated two levels above the other tracks, and between them sits the concourse. To get to Osaka, I hopped on a local train on what used to be the mainline before the Shinkansen was built:

Kobe line local service: 1437 Shin-Osaka to Osaka, arr c1441

Osaka station is the nerve centre of a huge commuter network stretching out as far as Kyoto and Kobe and many other places on the plains of Kansai.  Osaka's rail network is very similar to Tokyo's, even having a loop line just like the Yamanote line. I used the loop line to head to Osaka-jo, otherwise called Osaka Castle.

Osaka loop line, 1448 Osaka to Morinomiya arr c1458

Osaka Castle was built by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the 1580s in a bid to reunify Japan after years of civil war. He succeeded in bringing his arch-rival, Tokugawa Ieyasu, into the cabinet, but with Hideyoshi's death the country fractured once more; most of the power fell upon the Tokugawa shogunate, until eventually they relinquished power to the Emperor in 1868.

The castle is a great example of reconstruction: in Japan, and also in China, great structures such as Osaka Castle have been rebuilt many times, as faithfully to the original as possible. This rebuilding is brushed under the carpet: Osaka Castle has only really looked like it does now since 1997, but it is claimed as a masterpiece from 400 years ago. In a sense that's true, and I can understand their point of view; nonetheless, the idea that the castle is an abstract object and not a concrete building is alien to the west.

This is not to detract from the castle: it stands proud in a large park, surrounded by two huge moats, and stretches eight storeys high. From the top there are very nice views over Osaka city, though not anything as spectacular as Tokyo Tower by night. Inside is a nice exhibition about the wars and battles in which the castle played a vital role, including some very detailed tapestries from 1615 depicting the Summer War in Osaka.

Osaka Castle somehow manages to be Japan's most-visited tourist destination - beating the more impressive castle in Himeji (which I only saw from the train), and Mount Fuji. Critics say this is because it's the only thing to do in Osaka; this is unfair since there are many other sights, but the castle was all I had time to do on this particular day. I headed back to Osaka station, going the long way round the loop line for fun: 

Osaka loop line, 1734 Morinomiya to Tennoji, arr c1746

Tennoji is the main station for suburban trains into Osaka from the south. It's pretty baffling, with more platforms than Osaka station (18 vs. 11). Some suburban trains arrive at Tennoji, and then head clockwise round the loop back to Tennoji before terminating; this makes up just over half the services on the loop line, the rest being services which go round and round all day. 

Osaka loop line, 1753 Tennoji to Osaka (clockwise), arr c1818

At Osaka station, I decided to get some food - after wandering around the station area I settled on pizza and chips, which was cheap(ish) but not brilliant - before heading home. 

Kyoto line, 1923 Osaka to Shin-Osaka, arr c1927

Tokaido Shinkansen, Hikari 486: 1940 Shin-Osaka to Kyoto, arr 1954

I had intended to get caught up with the blog, but between following the F1 on live timing screens - not a patch on watching it but the best I could do - and listening to the England-Germany game on Five Live I didn't get to bed till gone 1am. The game was no fun for an England fan, and 4-1 sounded like a reasonably fair scoreline given how bad the defence seemed to be. I have never heard Alan Green so fed up, though: mainly with Sepp Blatter and video refereeing, but also with how badly England were playing.

Lineker was right in 1990, and he still is: twenty-two players run round a field chasing a ball, and in the end the Germans win. English football needs a root-and-branch review: no more can we sustain a top division with English players in the minority if we are to have success as a national side.

I apologise to those of you who didn't come here for a football rant; normal service will be resumed shortly.