Osaka and the nearby city of Kobe make for a fascinating visit
It's an emblem of the glory days, built in 1583 by shogun Hideyoshi Toyotomi to replace the sacred Osaka Honganji Temple. The property suffered fire damage in the 1600s both during the Summer War of Osaka and during subsequent lightening strikes. Reconstruction works have been carried out on several occasions, including after World War II when a main tower was hit in a bombing raid.
Today, the old castle is surrounded by a forest of Japanese plum and cherry trees and attracts local and foreign visitors to the annual spring flower viewing festivities. The interior has been turned into an eight-storey museum and is home to thousands of artefacts and paintings.
A movie theatre is set up on the ground floor and screens a documentary series on Hideyoshi Toyotomi and his castle with subtitles in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. On the upper floors, visitors can learn about the Summer War and how the castle has changed in each era, through a collection of folding screens, artefacts, Samurai's outfits, old weapons and figure models.
Another main attraction is the panoramic view of Osaka city from the roof-deck, where you can admire the tall buildings and, if you are there in late spring, the pink cherry blossoms.
My next stop is Tempozan Harbour Village, home to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the world's largest marine museums.
Opened in 1990 by Osaka Water Front Development Company, the aquarium's theme is the relationship between nature and people, part of the Gaia Hypothesis theory advocated by Dr James Lovelock.
There are eight floors, based on two concepts; the Ring of Fire also known as the Pan Pacific volcanic zone and the Ring of Life (life zone), both miniatures of the bountiful nature and animate things living in 15 selected regions along the Pacific Ocean.
The ring-like aquarium stocks 15 huge tanks that are home to numerous rare marine creatures and plants. I see cownose ray, foxface and damsel fish as I walk past an 11-long metre tunnel-shaped tank. In the Japan Forest, I spy Asian small clawed otters, giant salamanders and red spotted masou trout while in Great Barrier Reef tank, I'm amazed by butterfly fish and blue striped angel fish.
Other popular stars are harbour seal and California sea lions in the Monterey Bay tank, a big crowd of King, Adelie and Gentoo penguins in the Antarctica corner and whale sharks, Japanese jack mackerels, zebra sharks and double headed maori wrasse in the Pacific Ocean zone.
Watching those creatures has made me hungry, so I move to Dotombori district, where I've been told I'll find the noted crab restaurant Kani Doraku. I opt for the best selling set menu that includes a plate of fresh crab's legs, soft crab chawamushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), crab sashimi and a hot plate of crab blended with potato and cheese.
Alongside is Shinsaibashi, the most popular destination of young fashionistas. This covered shopping street is home to the flagship stores of world-class brands, boutiques by local designers and leading department stores. Among the big names are Zara, Chanel, Dior, Escada, Hermes, Le Sportsac, Uniqlo, Louis Vuitton, Gap, Adidas and Diesel.
The next morning, I travel to Kobe, just 30 kilometres away. This small town was rebuilt after the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995 and my first stop is the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institute.
Established in 2002 with the support of the Japanese government, the DRI offers many exhibitions to help visitors understand the magnitude of such a disaster. These include a documentary series starring the victims, figure models of ruined houses and the city and a demonstration on how to solve and protect loss from tremblors.
Just 30 minutes from downtown, I get back to basics at Ginsuiso Bekkan Chyoraku guesthouse in Arima district. Here, I get to enjoy the private hot springs bath before tucking into a meal of sashimi, tempura, Kobe beef on a hotplate and green tea jelly topped with whipped cream.
After lunch, I stroll through the village and admire the traditional architecture. Arima is lined with hot springs, shrines and old wooden shophouses, most of them housing souvenir shops, boutiques, bakeries, restaurants, attractively decorated coffee houses and bookstores.
Back in town, I visit Kobe's main attraction, the line house. These late nineteenth and early twenthieth-century residences of Kobe's foreign traders and diplomats are clustered in the Kitano area, Kobe's nothern suburb. My favourite is the light green Moegi House, built in 1903 by former US consul general Hunter Sharp. The two-storey wooden sided house was designated as a nationally important cultural property and opened as a museum in 1983.
Equally attractive is Weathercock Mansion built in 1909 by German trader Godfried Thomas. Constructed of red brick with stone masonry around the front porch, the interior design boasts an attractive fusion of traditional German-style and Art Nouveau.
For a great view of downtown Kobe, head up the mountain by cable car to the Maya View Line Yume Sanpo. It's a popular spot and considered one of Japan's three most spectacular night scenes.
My journey ends with dinner at the famous Kobe Plaisir restaurant, a paradise for beef lovers. Quality Kobe is served shabu-shabu and teppan-yaki style, starting at 3,150 yen (Bt1,180) for lunch and 8,400 yen for dinner.