Easter Sunday - Osaka Castle

He is risen!  Happy Easter from Osaka.  There is definitely no commercialization whatsoever of Easter in Japan....no Easter bunnies, egg hunts, baskets.  Fortunately it hasn't hit the "market" here.  We enjoyed a nice lunch after Easter service with our church family next door.  We even had "Easter eggs"....hard boiled eggs wrapped in cellophane.  Cute!

This afternoon we decided it was prime time to view the cherry blossoms.  They are at their peak here in Osaka so we took the train down the line to Osaka Castle.  Of course with it being a Sunday, there were plenty of other people with the same idea.  It was an overcast day, but still beautiful to see all the pink blossoms.  The castle grounds have over 600 cherry trees.

We saw a couple dressed in traditional wedding clothing, having their pictures taken on the castle grounds.  Unusual to see!

Remember the pets craziness I mentioned in an earlier post?  Yes, these dogs even have sun glasses!

A huge moat goes around the castle, but this part was dry.

Osaka castle has the largest rock walls in Japan.  The kids are standing in front of the fourth largest rock on the grounds and I couldn't even get the whole rock in the picture.  It has been there more than 400 years....amazing!

Another Japanese treat....mitarashi dango, pounded rice balls covered in a sweet sauce.

A beautiful place, and well worth the miles we seemed to cover on foot today.  Tomorrow we are flying up to Ishinomaki to visit my sister and her family.  There are five cousins awaiting our arrival and it's sure to get a little on the crazy side. :)  Jennifer's family ministered in Osaka, but moved to the Tohoku area after the earthquake/tsunami.  We are looking forward to meeting the people they have come to love over the last two years.