The ruins of Ikeda Castle are located at the top of a steep slope and stairs...it requires a lot of physical strength, but is worth the climb.

#OsakaSightseeing #CastleRuins #Slope #HalfwayUpTheStairs #HankyuTrain Exit the ticket gates at Hankyu Ikeda Station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line, exit from the left exit, pass through Sakaemachi Shopping Street 1 and 2, and walk straight ahead. You'll see the castle, albeit small. It seems to be a restored castle in the Japanese garden of Ikeda Castle. I walked towards the castle, and the road gradually became hilly, but I kept walking. As I climbed the steep slope, I came across steep and uneven stone steps. I kept climbing, and just when I thought I'd run out of energy, I came across a nicely maintained staircase. The original stone steps had worn down... I wondered if they'd been repaired because they were too damaged to climb from here? I was relieved to see that the beautiful stairs were easy to climb. I finally reached the castle gate and entered, and the beautifully maintained trees were beautiful. Looking back at the castle gate, I could see the steep slope as I had expected. I feel sad that I have to go back down these stairs and slopes as well. But first, let's enjoy the castle. The stone walls at the base are beautiful, but the walls of the first floor of the restored castle have been exposed to the wind and rain and have turned black. Even so, you can see that there is not a speck of trash on the ground, and it has been cleaned up nicely and is well looked after. Without climbing up to the castle, I first looked around to see if there were any other entrances and exits...and found two gates...The gate marked Tiger's Gate was not an exit, but a space for viewing the trees and scenery. The other gate was impressive and seemed to be the main gate. Relieved that I would now have an easy way back, I felt energized to enter the restored castle.