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| Osaka Castle in HDR |
A Japanese colleague visited this blog and was looking for more Osaka pictures when he clicked "Osaka" on the Label section of the blog. Well, here you go. More Osaka pictures.
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| Taiko Bashi Bridge in Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Osaka |
Sometime in March 2010, I had a short assignment in Osaka, Japan. Upon completing the works at site, I returned to the hotel, did a quick search for must see places in Osaka on the internet, grabbed my camera and headed out. It was a very rare occasion to be on the western side of Japan as I am always assigned to sites around Tokyo only.
With a population of 2.5 million people, Osaka is Japan's third largest city. It was formerly known as Naniwa and was once the first known capital city of Japan. Despite visiting the city of Osaka, I had opted for the traditional side of Osaka in this short half day trip.
The pictures of Osaka were all taken in one single afternoon. I have converted most of them into HDR pictures and from the results I get, I have to say Osaka is a heaven for HDR photography.
I first visited Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, which is one of the oldest Shrine in Japan, located at southern Osaka. The shrine was founded in the 3rd century, before the influence of Buddhist architecture into Japan and therefore display a purely Japanese shrine architecture prototype.
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| Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Osaka |
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| Rock built lantern beams at the entrance of the shrine |
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| More lantern beams |
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| Entering the shrine |
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| Taiko Bashi Bridge of Sumiyoshi Taisha |
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| Beautiful reflection of the Taiko Bashi Bridge |
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| A Japanese traditional wedding ceremony at the shrine |
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| Entering the shrine |
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| Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine |
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| Say your prayers |
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| Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine |
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| Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine |
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| More rock made lantern beams |
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| A pedestrian bridge |
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| A public garden near Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine |
Next, I visited the famous Osaka Castle, which was rebuilt in 1931 after it was burnt down on several occasions in the past. It was first constructed in 1583 and was the largest Japanese castle at the time. However, the castle was attacked and destroyed by Tokugawa troops in 1615. The castle was then rebuilt in the 1620s but the main structure of the castle was struck by lightening in 1665 and was burnt down again.
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| Osaka Castle |
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| Osaka Castle in Black & White HDR |
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| Osaka Castle |
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| Osaka Castle in reflection after a rainy day |
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| Osaka Castle |
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| Back entrance of the Osaka Castle |
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| One of the few non-HDR picture captured in Osaka |
I hope you enjoyed the Osaka series. Do share this article with your friends and family. Have a good day.
