April 26

On Monday morning, we visited Osaka Castle. In contrast with Matsumoto Castle, which had been well preserved, the main tower of Osaka Castle has been reconstructed multiple times, and now has a modern museum inside, with elevators and all. The museum taught me about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was born as a peasant and ended up conquering all of Japan. One of his conquests was accomplished by diverting a river to flood a castle that was in a plain below sea level.












After having lunch at the castle, we got our bags and took the bullet train back to Tokyo. Going back to Tokyo felt a little like coming home, especially since we spent our last two nights at the same hotel we started at.