Osaka

Ultimate Guide to Osaka Castle: 08

Main tower, Kimmeisui well roof, and Noon marker

Takako Sakamoto Jul 07, 2014 - 2 min read

When you finish strolling around the open space, you are finally ready to go inside the main tower of Osaka Castle!

Purchase tickets to enter the main tower. Tickets for adult is 600 yen (free for junior-high school students and younger)

They'll keep your luggage for 100 yen per piece. As you can see, the main tower is eight stories

Looking up at the main tower from just under it

When you climb up the stairs, the first thing you see is this, 'Kimmeisui Well Roof'. This structure was built in 1626 and is an important cultural property. Legend says that Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who built the original Osaka Castle, dropped gold into this well to purify the water, but in fact the Kimmeisui Well was dug by the Tokugawa Shogunate and didn't exist in the days of the Toyotomi period (late 16th century)

Kimmeisui Well Roof seen from a different angle

There's an elevator from the ground level to the entrance of the main tower for those who don't want to climb up the long stairs

Side view of the main tower. The entrance is on this side

There is a long line at the entrance on the left side, but the right side is almost empty. The left line leads you to the elevator which goes straight up to the top level, the 8th floor, but the right line leads you straight to the 'stairs'!

Just beside the entrance to the main castle, there's a cannon displayed. It looks formidable! But why is it here?

This ancient, muzzle-loading cannon was manufactured in 1863 at the Tokugawa Shogunate's order for national defense. Since 1870, it had been used as a time-signaling gun and starting in 1874, it had been employed as the noon marker till 1923. Citizens of Osaka called it the Castle's don (Bang!) or Noontime don and loved the sound

Now you are inside the main tower, which consists of eight stories

The main tower information sign on the wall, which is written in many languages; Japanese, Chinese and Korean

The brochure is written in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English. There are also brochures for children

This photo story is to guide you step-by-step as you explore the Osaka Castle and the Osaka Castle Park. The eighth leg of the journey begins finally at the main tower of Osaka Castle! Buy tickets at the ticket booth (600 yen for adults) and let's go inside the castle. But before that, don't forget to look at the important cultural property, the 'Kimmeisui Well Roof' and the ancient cannon at the entrance. The well was constructed about 400 years ago in 1626 by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the cannon was manufactured in 1863 and had been used as a 'Noon Marker' till 1923. My grandmother was born in the Meiji Period and used to live in Osaka; she must have listened to this marker's sound every day! What a shame I can't ask questions to her about it, now that she's been dead for many years! When you enter the main tower of the castle there will be a long line ahead of you, but the line is for the elevators. If you choose to climb the stairs, you can enter the castle right away, IF you are ready to climb up eight stories! For further guidance, please refer to the links below.

More info

Find out more about Osaka Castle.

Ultimate Guide: Osaka Castle

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...