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Japan Today
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Hotel in Osaka offering shaved ice based on historical Japanese warlords
By SoraNews24 Although it's been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries, Osaka Castle remains a specular landmark in the middle of Osaka City. It was also a critical location during the Sengoku Period of Japanese history as warlords vied, supported, and betrayed each other in an attempt to unite the country under their own leadership. When staying in Osaka, the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle hotel offers some of the best views of the castle, and starting 1 July will also be serving some edible history to go with its view. What better way to battle the brutal heat of a Japanese summer than with some shaved ice warlords on your side? ▼ Osaka Castle (left) and the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle (right) Shaved ice might sound like a chintzy menu item, but in Japan, it's sometimes done in the form of haute cuisine as is the case with these three offerings. First, Oda Nobunaga was the first of the great generals to attempt to unify Japan and came within reach of succeeding had he not been ambushed in Kyoto and driven to commit seppuku there. ▼ Uji Matcha Azuki Nobunaga (3,500 yen) So perhaps it's fitting for Nobunaga's shaved ice to be based on the region of his last stand with a matcha flavoring from Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. Matcha, along with its common companion of sweet azuki beans, as well as some raspberry cream, condensed milk, shiratama rice dumplings, and a chocolate ornament all come together to represent the legendary leader's armor with a distinctively Japanese taste. While Nobunaga laid much of the groundwork for the unification of Japan, it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who picked up where he left off and continued the mission further west. He successfully unified Japan for a time and settled in Osaka, building Osaka Castle to be the strongest fortress in the country. However, he died of natural causes shortly after and passed his position on to his son Toyotomi Hideyori. ▼ Mango & Cider Hideyoshi (2,500 yen) Hideyoshi's shaved ice has been given a rich flavor of mango and Osaka-style blue soda. In honor of his work to create Osaka Castle, the treat has a towering white-and-gold look topped with a candy sword resting on a cloud of foam and a candy paulownia leaf resembling a halo. The power vacuum left by Hideyoshi was then seized by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who eventually saw Hideyori as a threat and stormed Osaka Castle in 1615 to remove him from the equation, thus securing his control over all of Japan for centuries. ▼ Whole Melon Ieyasu (5,000 yen) Ieyasu's armor was decorated with a fern leaf motif as a symbol of longevity and prosperity, as is his shaved ice, featuring ferns crafted from cream puffs and chocolate sitting atop flakes of ice and melon scoops all inside an entire half melon with black tea jelly inside. It also comes with melon ice cream, melon syrup, and foam on the side. It isn't necessary to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle hotel to enjoy these high-class desserts. One only needs to head up to the Lounge & Bar Sen on the sixth floor where a nice view of the castle can also be enjoyed. They'll only be available for the summer until 30 September though, so be sure to try some before they're history. Restaurant information Lounge & Bar Sen / ラウンジ＆バー SEN（舟） DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle ダブルツリーbyヒルトン大阪城 Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Chuo-ku, Otemae 1-1-1 大阪府大阪市中央区大手前1丁目1番1号 Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Website Source, images: PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- New hotel with Osaka Castle view is one of the best places to stay in Japan -- Beautiful afternoon tea lounge lets you look at and eat Osaka Castle【Taste test】 -- It's officially Ponyo time as Ghibli character appears as new anime accessory line and clock【Pics】 External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
30-06-2025
- SoraNews24
Hotel in Osaka offering shaved ice based on historical Japanese warlords
Nobunaga's edible ambition. Although it's been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries, Osaka Castle remains a specular landmark in the middle of Osaka City. It was also a critical location during the Sengoku Period of Japanese history as warlords vied, supported, and betrayed each other in an attempt to unite the country under their own leadership. When staying in Osaka, the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle hotel offers some of the best views of the castle, and starting 1 July will also be serving some edible history to go with its view. What better way to battle the brutal heat of a Japanese summer than with some shaved ice warlords on your side? ▼ Osaka Castle (left) and the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle (right) Shaved ice might sound like a chintzy menu item, but in Japan, it's sometimes done in the form of haute cuisine as is the case with these three offerings. First, Oda Nobunaga was the first of the great generals to attempt to unify Japan and came within reach of succeeding had he not been ambushed in Kyoto and driven to commit seppuku there. ▼ Uji Matcha Azuki Nobunaga (3,500 yen [US$24]) So perhaps it's fitting for Nobunaga's shaved ice to be based on the region of his last stand with a matcha flavoring from Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. Matcha, along with its common companion of sweet azuki beans, as well as some raspberry cream, condensed milk, shiratama rice dumplings, and a chocolate ornament all come together to represent the legendary leader's armor with a distinctively Japanese taste. While Nobunaga laid much of the groundwork for the unification of Japan, it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who picked up where he left off and continued the mission further west. He successfully unified Japan for a time and settled in Osaka, building Osaka Castle to be the strongest fortress in the country. However, he died of natural causes shortly after and passed his position on to his son Toyotomi Hideyori. ▼ Mango & Cider Hideyoshi (2,500 yen) Hideyoshi's shaved ice has been given a rich flavor of mango and Osaka-style blue soda. In honor of his work to create Osaka Castle, the treat has a towering white-and-gold look topped with a candy sword resting on a cloud of foam and a candy paulownia leaf resembling a halo. The power vacuum left by Hideyoshi was then seized by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who eventually saw Hideyori as a threat and stormed Osaka Castle in 1615 to remove him from the equation, thus securing his control over all of Japan for centuries. ▼ Whole Melon Ieyasu (5,000 yen) Ieyasu's armor was decorated with a fern leaf motif as a symbol of longevity and prosperity, as is his shaved ice, featuring ferns crafted from cream puffs and chocolate sitting atop flakes of ice and melon scoops all inside an entire half melon with black tea jelly inside. It also comes with melon ice cream, melon syrup, and foam on the side. It isn't necessary to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle hotel to enjoy these high-class desserts. One only needs to head up to the Lounge & Bar Sen on the sixth floor where a nice view of the castle can also be enjoyed. They'll only be available for the summer until 30 September though, so be sure to try some before they're history. Restaurant information Lounge & Bar Sen / ラウンジ＆バー SEN（舟） DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle ダブルツリーbyヒルトン大阪城 Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Chuo-ku, Otemae 1-1-1 大阪府大阪市中央区大手前1丁目1番1号 Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Website Source, images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
SoraNews24
27-06-2025
- SoraNews24
A nearly 400-year-old Kyoto temple ordinarily closed to public is accepting visitors this summer
A rare chance to see this temple-within-a-temple that's off the beaten tourist track. Kyoto is one of Japan's top travel destinations, and with good reason, as the city boasts the densest distribution of historically significant temples in the whole country. As a matter of fact, you can find temples inside temples at Kyoto's Myoshinji. Founded in 1337 and located in northwestern Kyoto, Myoshinjji is a Zen temple that's the head temple of the Rinzai sect, and also a complex that contains more than 40 sub-temples. Most of these sub-temples are closed to the public, but this summer Tenkyuin Temple is making an exception, and we took part in a press tour (which also gave us permission to photograph on the premises) to get a rare look at this ordinarily off-limits part of Kyoto. ▼ Myoshinji Myoshinji is about a five-minute walk from Hanazono Station on JR/Japan Railway Company's Sagano Line. Though many of Kyoto's more famous temples are packed with tourists these days, Myoshinji is slightly removed from the city center, making the crowds smaller and the atmosphere more relaxed than at a lot of other Kyoto sightseeing spots we've been to recently. ▼ It was peaceful enough that we had time to stop and smell the enticing aroma of the gardenias that were blooming on the temple grounds. Tenkyuin Temple was built in 1631, with its construction spearheaded by Lady Tenkyuin, the daughter of samurai lord Ikeda Terumasa, who ruled over the Himeji domain (part of present-day Hyogo Prefecture). Among the design points Lady Tenkyuin decided on was commissioning a set of exquisite wall/sliding doorpaintings for the abbot's chambers. She selected two of the most renowned artists of the day, Kano Sanraku and his son-in-law, Kano Sansetsu. With Sanraku having been born in 1559 and Sansetsu in 1590, the pair's work represents not only a bridge between generations, but also a transitionary period in Japanese art history as the centuries-long civil war of the Sengoku Period gave way to the stability of the Edo Period, which began at the start of the 1600s. Because of their historical value, a number of the Kanos' Tenkyuin paintings are now kept and displayed at the Kyoto National Museum, in an environment where the temperature and humidity can be more tightly controlled, and so some of the panels seen inside Tenkyuin are actually extremely high-quality reproductions by Canon. There are original Kano paintings mixed in among the sections pictured below, however. Not all of Tenkyui's beauty is contained within its walls, though, as it also has a lovely garden. The conventional wisdom says that you should avoid traveling in Japan in June, when the weather is hot and humid in most of the country, and especially so in Kyoto. If you can bear with the steamy conditions, though, this can be an excellent time for visiting gardens, as the misty skies can sometimes give the greenery and floral colors a moist, shimmery look. You don't have to go to Tenkyuin during the June rainy season, though, as this year it'll be open to visitors from June 7 all the way through August 31. Admission is priced at 2,500 yen (US$17.25) and prior reservations are required, and can be made online here through JR Central's EX ticketing service. Reference: Myoshinji official website, JR Sou Da Kyoto Ikou tourism website (1, 2), Kyoto National Museum Photos marked JR東海 provided by JR Central All other photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
