Osaka

Osaka was our last stop on the cruise, after a day cruising through Japan's Inland Sea.

Osaka is a very large city, and the ship moors a few miles outside the downtown area near Universal Studios and a giant Ferris wheel.  However, access to the city centre itself is quick, easy and cheap by using the subway system.

In Osaka, we spent a morning seeing the castle.  To be fair, it didn't look at it best in the pouring rain, but it is worth seeing.  Inside there is a museum which tells the story of the castle, and the various battles that were fought over it.

We then spent some time exploring Osaka's downtown shopping area.  This is large and crowded, and it is confusing finding your way around the numerous interlinked underground malls.  It also includes many gaming arcades with dramatic exteriors ...

By the way, the following day we had to make our way out to the airport and home.  The cheapest method of getting from the pier to the airport is by using the hourly airport bus, which stops 1 minute from the ship, underneath the Ferris wheel.  A taxi (which we caught, since we were in a tearing hurry to catch our flight) cost us 11,000 Yen (around £53 or US$93) - around half of what we had been led to expect.  Compare that to the US$160 a head that HAL were charging for a coach transfer and draw your own conclusions.