Wandering around the grounds surrounding Osaka Castle in the rain today was a fascinating departure from the highly groomed gardens I'd visited earlier in the week. Here the emphasis is on the grandeur of the overall estate, and on the ancient stone walls and moats and turrets. It's all a little overgrown, with a slightly forgotten air, and some wonderful scraggly bits. The wild(ish) hydrangea above gives you an idea of it. I found it in the Nishinomaru Garden, which is where the estate custodian used to live, centuries ago. Outside the toilets, though, I found the usual attempts to tell the trees what to do.
There was another example of this arboreal hyper-manipulation just outside the garden gate.
But look who's there! This guy was sending some very malevolent glares my way. I'd already annoyed him by trying to get a photo of him in his first hiding spot.
After a few more irritated glances, he disappeared into the shrubbery. I also found a Zen garden, tucked way in behind a shrine and some (modern) maintenance sheds. You can even see the rake lines in the sand. Kind of spooky, since the place was completely deserted.
On my way out of the park, heading towards the subway station, I passed on office building surrounded by more beds of the amazing pink azaleas, only to find this sign telling me they're in fact rhododendrons. So now I know.
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