Castles in Japan

Leading up to our trip, we had lots of conversations where we got asked what we planned to do in Japan. Other than eating lots of delicious and strange food, the only other certain item on the to-do list was to visit some castles. We managed to visit five castles on mainland Japan (four of which we were able to enter) and two castle ruin sites in Okinawa. They all had unique features and a different story to tell and we found they were often the highlight of that particular part of the country. We also thought a good future travel goal would be to return to Japan so we could visit all the ones we missed :)

The first castle we visited was Osaka-jo (Jo means castle in Japanese), one that had been on my "to-visit" list for quite awhile. We spent most of the day exploring the castle grounds and the building itself. The inside has been refurbished and modernized so it could be converted to a museum explaining the history of the the castle, the region and the samurai lords who were significant players in the castle's history. The grounds are beautiful, featuring a grove of fruit and native trees, a large shrine, a shopping mall (not entirely historically accurate....but convenient!) and intact walls/barricades for two of the three original moats (the third is no longer existing, the city seemingly built over top of it). This is one of the fanciest and most significant castles in Japan, featuring in the most important of the civil wars. Construction of the original structure began in 1583.

5 stories of castle delight :)

The biggest rock in the castle wall...how did they move this in the 1500s??

Samurai guiding the shrine

Next on our castle visits was Nijo-jo in Kyoto. This was an Imperial villa back in the day. Part of it was under renovation, but we were able to tour the Ninomaru Palace, which historically functioned as living quarters for the castle lord and his family, and featured rooms for receiving other lords, visitors, etc. The building was amazing, with the ceilings and walls all painted with a range of murals. Each room had a different theme, ranging from seasonal floral themes to animals and general nature scenes. The ceilings were carved, painted wood and walls were of wood or rice paper. Photos were not allowed inside due to the age of the murals, but we got some good snapshots of the outside. Fun fact: the tower in the southeast corner of the compound is an original structure, and is the only tower to have been visited by an emperor (seems as if they did not mingle with the troops much so going to a watch tower would not have been a priority). Construction of this castle begin in 1603.

The imperial entrance gate

The back gate

Okayama castle, completed in 1597, was one of our favorites because it was a bit off the beaten track so it was less busy and had less "modernization." Due to its dark exterior, it was nicknamed "Crow Castle." It was much smaller and less decorated than some of the others as it was more of a regional Lord's castle, rather than something that would be utilized by the imperial family. We were lucky in our timing of this visit, we were in the castle while they were offering free photo shoots in traditional garb in the castle lord's chamber! The castle overlooked Korakuen, a traditional Japanese garden that was built in 1700 by the castle lord. It was used for entertaining visitors to the castle and for relaxation of the castle inhabitants.

Korakuen walkway

Shrine in the garden

Castle view from the garden

The lord and lady of the castle!

Hiroshima castle is unique in that it was built on flat land in the midst of the city, rather than the  hilltop setting of most other castles. This castle is known as Carp Castle, was built in 1589, in a remarkably short time, especially since the location was not ideal for construction of such a large building and required a significant amount of wood to be transported to the area. The moats were constructed so that if the castle came under attack the outer areas could be flooded to provide additional challenges in gaining access to the castle. Although destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945 a full reconstruction was completed using traditional building methods.

We got really good at castle selfies ha!

View from the top floor

Main gate and storage rooms

We visited the Kumamoto castle grounds, but due to major earthquake damage a few years ago the castle is under reconstruction and could not be entered. We did get to see one of the towers from a distance, and enjoyed visiting Kumamoto's biggest shrine.

Shrine entrance

The only tower still standing after the earthquake

In Okinawa, we visited the Urasoe and Iso castle ruins. Iso castle dates back to the 12 century. There was very little still there to view, but the thought of standing in such a historic place was pretty breathtaking.
Urasoe castle was the largest castle in Okinawa in the 14th century and served as the Imperial palace until Shuri castle was built. It was mostly destroyed during WWII, but there are reconstructed tombs for castle lords that can still be found on the castle grounds. The grounds are also part of the historical battle of Okinawa during WWII, which the movie 'Hacksaw Ridge' is based on. At the end of the castle park is a cemetery with a memorial to Okinawan and Japanese forces that perish in the Battle of Okinawa, a somber reminder of the sacrifice made on both sides.

Remnants of Iso castle wall

Lords tombs at Urasoe castle

Top of Hacksaw Ridge

Memorial for Japanese forces lost during the Battle of Okinawa

Food in Japan

We are a bit of a foodie couple. Ok, probably quite a foodie couple haha. We enjoy cooking together, trying new restaurants, and having people over so we have an excuse to cook a bunch of food.
It is probably no surprise, then, that one of the best parts of our trip to Japan was the opportunity to get the real deal on known favorites and try lots of new food and drink items.

Vending machines was one of the culinary adventures we thoroughly enjoyed. They are everywhere, usually two or three at a time so if you cannot find what you like in one, move along to the next one (or cross the street, or walk around the corner). We found vending machines with cigarettes, beer, hot and cold tea and coffee, hot soup, soft drinks such as coke and various flavors of fanta, sports drinks including Pocari Sweat and CC Lemon, and fruit flavored waters like peach (delightful), pomegranate and guava. Sometimes vending machines are used for food orders at restaurants, we got to experience this at a tonkatsu restaurant (fried pork cutlets) on our final night in Okinawa. Luckily they had an English menu...otherwise we might have just hit some buttons and hoped for the best :D

Convenience stores were another readily available and convenient option for food and drink. We found they were far easier to find than supermarkets, and just as affordable for the amount of food we needed. You could get eggs, meat like sausages and bacon or sandwich fixings, occasionally fruits and vegetables, bento meals they could heat for you or send home cold for you to heat, and all manner of instant snacks, cup noodles and delightful treats. They also sold ready made sandwiches, hot steamed buns, rice balls stuffed with fish or seaweed or.... was not sure on some of them :) Good ones sold fried chicken or vegetable patties and other miscellaneous things that we sampled but did not always figure out what we were eating.
Drink options included hot tea and coffee, lots of cold beverages, alcohol, as well as boxes of instant or brew tea and coffee and hot chocolate. They were great if we needed a snack on the go, and provided enough options we could pick up breakfast items to save on having to find something before we set out adventuring for the day.

Approx. $2 for a cup of sake :)

All the hot drink options at a convenience
store, the cold options took up a couple of walls!

Dinner was usually the meal we would eat out, and we enjoyed a delightful range of things. Our go-to choice when we were indecisive or too tired to try deciphering menus was to find a noodle shop. But often we would pick a direction and wander until we found something that looked yummy. Japanese restaurants often have pictures in the menu, or plastic molds of the food or both, so if all else failed we could point at what looked delicious!
We only had one funny night where we felt as if our food-ordering skills got a bit subpar. We had spent all day out on an island exploring and were feeling pretty tired so we opted for a Chinese restaurant that was only a block from our apartment. This was of course the one place with minimal photos and no models, but we felt brave anyway. We thought we were ordering a set meal that came with chicken and some miso soup and a salad, so Troway wanted a bit of extra chicken. We thought the "extra" we ordered was an appetizer size of kara-age (Japanese-style fried chicken, which is divine). In reality, we ordered a meal-size one, oops. Never mind we thought, as I was sure that for myself I had order a medium size mabodofu (a Chinese spicy beef and tofu dish), which meant I could help out with the fried chicken. In reality I had order two meals for myself as well, a large order of the mabodofu and a delicious chicken fried rice. We are sure the chef must have thought we were seriously gluttonous foreigners! We gave it a good effort but we definitely could not get through it all.

Matcha (green tea) latte. Not my new favorite...

Ramen and karaage lunch in Kyoto

We were impressed to find burgers like this in Japan!

Karaage

Hiroshima okonomiyaki

Pokemon donuts!

Yakiniku restaurant, where you get to cook your own!

And of course, the must-have sushi

Tempura

Tonkatsu curry and udon, Okinawa

Japan Trip - Some Highlights

We decided before we even had a wedding date that we wanted to honeymoon in Japan. For me, it was both a long overdue return to see friends and eat the food and soak up the culture but also a chance to introduce Troway to one of my other homes. For Troway, it was an opportunity to tick off one of the biggest and first desires on his travel list, so win win :)

On 1 Jan, we flew from Washington DC (will give an update on our DC trip later) to Osaka via Toronto and Tokyo. We enjoyed a blissful 16 days exploring the cuisine, culture, shops, temples and castles throughout several cities. We only got lost a few times and with the exception of a bit of a mishap with our accommodation the very first night, had smooth sailing the whole way (if you are interested I will share the story with you, it involves miscommunication with a taxi driver, last minute change of our booking by the accommodation, a very kind diner manager and a grandferly hotel manager who managed to book us an alternate room at 2am when we were tired and I was perhaps a bit stressed). For the moment, I will share two things from our trip: purikura and the outdoor shopping malls.

Purikura is a delightfully intense experience that I think everyone should embrace while in Japan. Found in arcades, shopping malls and bowling alleys, photo booths offer various themes and styles of photos for you and your friends/partner/anyone you can drag in with you. The horrid elevator music they play at deafening levels is slightly more intimidating than it was last time I was there, but I suppose it adds to the fun in some fashion. The best purikura sites provide mirrors and space where you can fix your hair and make up before the photo shoot begins; some we saw on this trip even had hair straighteners and curlers! Once you're in the booth (which have hooks for your bags and coats and umbrellas, I love Japan's ability to be prepared for everything) you pick a theme and the countdown is on. Most booths take up to about 12 photos so that's a lot of poses to come up with in about 2 minutes total!
Once the photos have been taken, you rush around to the other side of the booth to pick your favorites, then you get to decorate! You can set backgrounds, add text, give everyone hats or funny hairstyles, sky's the limit really. Hit save and the machine spits them out :) Kudos to Troway for agreeing to give it a go, given most of the other patrons in the arcade we found were about 17 haha. Of course the bonus to this is a group of high school girls took us under their wing to show us how to play some of the games, so even though we did not win anything we had a blast and had our own personal cheer squad who seemed pleased they would have bragging rights for helping the foreigners.

Neither of us are huge shoppers, but we enjoyed exploring the outdoor shopping malls that seem to be in just about every city in Japan. They are a seemingly endless maze of shops and food and people watching. One morning in Hiroshima we walked for two hours and I am sure we only saw half of the streets that were part of the mall. Shops range from tourist traps full of knick knacks to clothing stores, tea shops, swords chopsticks, kimono stores, sock shops (where they sell NOTHING but socks) and $2 shops full of everything imaginable. There is usually a couple of museums and arcades, and maybe a movie theater, and at least a couple temples in case you need a quick prayer break. We actually stumbled on a beautiful Buddhist temple just as they were beginning afternoon prayer. It was an incredible experience, listening to the chants and drumming, totally away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping street that was just outside the door. Food can range from McDonald's and Mos Burger to squid on a stick and seaweed salad. We sampled quite a few tasty treats during our explorations, and found that playing "Spot the Foreigner" was an excellent game to play because they stick out like a sore thumb, even the other Asian tourists.

The Buddhist Temple we found, Kyoto

An ad for a Karaoke parlor...

If all else fails....go to the hedgehog cafe!

Life Update

Good morning,

You've probably decided I gave up on posting. I suppose I did have to give up regular posting, more because of a lack of capacity for additional writing that was not focused on Masters study, but I have had getting update out on my to-do list for awhile.
It feels a bit silly to just say I have been busy, because it seems a single constant in everybody's life is they are "busy." I suppose I may as well tell you what I have been busy with though!

School is ticking along, but continues to take up quite a lot of time, which is really my biggest excuse for neglecting other things. However, the end is finally in sight with things, I have completed all of the required research and over the last few weeks have been writing and revising and formatting and otherwise trying to polish up the long essay. A current challenge is how to structure everything and say what I want to say without exceeding my word-count limit. At the moment I am in danger of that, but there is still work to be done that will hopefully allow me to cut out bits and pieces here and there so I am sure it will all come together. Anyway, two months from now I will submit things for review, so not far to go :)

Amidst all this, there has not been space for too much excitement but a couple of things are worth sharing.
Dad came to visit in September, so we enjoyed getting to show him around Taranaki. Since we decided to stay local I got to be a tourist in Taranaki, which I had not done for about 5 years! It means I got to tick a few things off the Taranaki sight-seeing list that I had not done yet.
Highlights were the Tawhiti Museum in Hawera, which I highly recommend. No photos allowed so I cannot post any, but I can say it is an impressive artistic display of local and Maori history.
We also did a tour around the sugar loaf islands on Chaddy's Charters, where we got to see a baby shark! They reckon the young fella was about 21 years old and just oh so cuddly.
We also explored the Blacksmith Museum in Pio Pio (which is technically not Taranaki but it is a good day trip so close enough, ha!). We had to get a key from the local convenience and let ourselves in with an honesty box donation and had the luxury of being the only visitors that day, so we were able to take our time exploring the old tools and houses, etc.

Labour Day here is end of October, the first holiday since early June when the Queen's birthday is celebrated. Since I hit the big 3-0 the week before Labour Day (we had a pie potluck to celebrate which I highly recommend as an at-home social event!), we decided to enjoy a weekend away for the holiday weekend. We headed over to the sunny Hawke's Bay town of Napier. They have beautiful palm trees, we went to a wine tasting at New Zealand's oldest winery, enjoyed exploring the art deco downtown and had lots of sunshine and relaxation. If only it could have lasted a bit longer, ha!

Hope all is well in your world. We are looking forward to our Christmas trip home (Troway's first winter Christmas!) and then exploring Japan for two weeks so I will keep track of good things to share :)

Happy Thanksgiving a bit early!

Seal Colony around here

Baby...Shark..do do, do do do do :)

Blacksmith Museum

Pie potluck!

East Coast at Napier downtown

Napier rose garden

Mission Estate Winery