Kobe port

[papaflamingo]

11 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Good advice and we will just be flexible. It isn't an issue as we have plans to go back to Japan in 2026. Your description of Namba made me intrigued to check it out before returning to the ship.

Here's a few shots of Namba.  Quite "colorful." 😎

[frantic36]

2 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Here's a few shots of Namba.  Quite "colorful." 😎

 

Wow, very interesting and I love all the colourful signage. I have visited a fair number of Asian cities and not seen that before.

[fudgbug]

On 3/21/2024 at 10:37 AM, GMIAC said:

How are the shore excursions? We just booked, for our March, 2025 sailing, the Highlights of Osaka tour for one day, and the Highlights of Kyoto for the next. Are these good tours which cover most of the must-sees?

Highlights of Osaka was a long bus ride out to Osaka Castle then a long walk from the parking lot to the castle. If you don't like long walks, perhaps you should choose something else. The garden around the castle was very nice.

[DeepFreeze63]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:53 AM, GMIAC said:

 

 

I'm not afraid to do touring and trains on my own, but I do want to see Osaka Castle, so I might just have to suck it up and stick to the tour that's offered. 

We visited Osaka Castle on a sunny day - great photo ops, magnificent signage in English, very interesting history displayed. Plan on about 2 hours inside and maybe a 1/2 hour wait to ticket machine. Top floor view not as good as I expected due to netting and safety bars. 
Came from Kansai airport by train& subway - right to entrance to castle park (vast). Information booths have detailed instructions on specific trains& transfers.