Today's adventure was a trip to Inuyama, about an hour away by train.
I have been to Inuyama before, to visit Meiji Mura. The lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel is there, even though it's not a Meiji era building. Meiji Mura ("Meiji Village") is a collection of buildings from the Meiji era, when Japan began to westernize and modernize. But that was not on the agenda today.
Today's mission: Inuyama Castle. Inuyama is one of 12 original -- not reconstructed -- castles in Japan. The very obvious first choice among them for tourists is Himeji. It's bigger, and easier to get to, being close to Kobe. But Inuyama, while smaller than Nagoya, is a beauty in it's own right. It's also the oldest of the 12, built in 1537. The second oldest, Maruoka, was built in 1576 and Himeji was built in 1601.
The city of Inuyama is best reached by Meitetsu train from Kanayama Station. Meitetsu is a private rail company, not affiliated with JR, so rail passes will not work. However, IC cards from other rail companies will. I'm using the Suica card that I got in Tokyo 9 years ago. The closest station to the castle is Inuyamayuen.
Tokyo is to the far right. The purple bus is the bus stop near my dormitory. Kanayama Station is a blue train, and Inuyama is a red tower. Matsuyama, another original castle is at the top as an orange tower. Himeji is to the bottom left, as a green tower.
It was a moderate walk along the Kiso river from the station to the castle, which became steep at the end, since the castle is on a hill.
I love pretty detail in public works.
I saw a crane in the moat.
...And more uphill walking...
There are two shrines before reaching the castle.
One is an Inari shrine -- it has foxes and torii gate tunnels, like Fushimi Inari Shrine, but smaller.
More uphill walking -- remember a castle is designed to keep people out!
I finally reached the gate.
And, here's the castle!
I imagine that the area is beautiful in spring, summer and fall. But it's really still winter, and this is what was blooming.
Finally, I reached the castle. As is the case at many historic buildings, you'll have to take off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers. You'll be given a bag to carry your shoes in.
Reconstructed castles have more modern stairs and some, like Nagoya, even have elevators. But Inuyama is original, and so are the stairs. They are very steep!
On a personal note, I have one eye that doesn't work much so I basically have no depth perception. I can go up stairs forever, but coming down can be nerve-wracking if they are especially steep because I have no idea how far down I have to step. These made me nervous, because I knew I'd have to come down the same way and I was already off balance with my backpack and camera.
There are four floors, which are mostly empty. The views from them are pretty amazing though! I'll let the castle talk for itself:
The Kiso River from the castle.
It's only a model!
More steep steps.
I love these roof tiles, and their details.
The gate from in the castle.
I believe the red boats next to the river are cormorant fishing boats. Fishermen used to use cormorants to catch fish, and this is still done for tourists.
We could go out on the balcony at the top!
Who goes up, must come down!
The walls that attackers faced.
More lovely details.
Near the castle, there are streets with shops and restaurants that have preserved their Edo-era appearance.
Farther afield, Inuyama is like any other city. Wikipedia tells me the population is about 74,200, or about the size of Appleton, Wisconsin.
I will definitely want to bring travel companions here!
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