New museum about uncovered stone walls opens at Osaka Castle
After decades of minimal price increases in Japan's tourism industry, entrance fees, hotel rates, and transportation fares have risen significantly since the end of the pandemic. Among the many price increases this April - marking the start of Japan's fiscal year - is Osaka Castle whose admission fee doubled from 600 to 1,200 yen (about USD 8).
The price increase coincided with the opening of a new museum adjacent to the castle's main keep. The Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum focuses on the history of the castle's walls, which are the tallest and widely considered the most magnificent in Japan. However, they have also been associated with a mystery, which this museum is devoted to.
A long-unraveled mystery
Osaka Castle was originally built in the late 1500s as the power base of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the famous warlord who unified Japan after centuries of warfare. It was assumed that today's castle walls date back to Hideyoshi's age; however, in the 1950s underground stone structures were discovered during a drilling survey. Some speculated they belonged to Hideyoshi's original castle, while others suspected they were remnants of Ishiyama Honganji Temple, which stood on the site before the castle's construction. For years, there was no definitive answer.
However, in 1960, an old map from Hideyoshi's era was discovered, revealing that the castle's layout was different from the one seen today. These findings fueled the theory that the stone structures belonged to Hideyoshi's original castle. Further excavations in the 1980s confirmed this hypothesis: the remains were indeed from Hideyoshi's castle, which was destroyed in 1615 when the Tokugawa forces seized Osaka and replaced it with an even grander version, covering up some of the original walls.
What to expect at the museum
The new museum displays one excavated section of these historic walls, which had been buried beneath the later Tokugawa-era construction. Visitors can watch an engaging video presentation detailing how the walls were discovered and authenticated, followed by the actual underground exhibition of the stone wall along with explanations of their significance. Another video offers deeper insights into the historical importance of the site.
The new ticket price of 1200 yen includes admission into both the main castle keep and the new museum. Note that lines for buying same-day tickets can sometimes exceed 30 minutes, and it is strongly recommended to purchase the tickets online in advance through Klook or similar services. With such web tickets, visitors will be able to skip the line and enter the castle keep and new stone wall museum with a QR code.
