Hikone

In search of another original castle, I went to Hikone yesterday.  Hikone, on Lake Biwa, is not to be confused with Hakone.  Hakone is a very popular tourist site, being between Mt. Fuji and Tokyo. There is an reconstructed castle there, called Odawara Castle.

Here is my trip on the map.  The blue train is Okazaki, the orange one is Maibara.  Hikone Castle is near Maibara, in purple.

Lake Biwa is the biggest lake in Japan.

  

Here's a comparison between Lake Biwa and Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin:

Area:  Biwa, 258.8 mi ²; Winnebago 215.2 mi ².

Length:  Biwa, 39.45 mi; Winnebago, 28.58 mi.

Maximum width:  Biwa, 14.2 mi.; Winnebago,10 mi.

Construction of Hikone Castle was started in 1603 by Ii Naokatsu, although some of it's parts were brought here from other existing castles. Ii Naokatsu was awarded the fief that generally includes Shiga Prefecture (the area around Lake Biwa) after helping Tokugawa Ieyasu win the battle of Sekigahara.  (Note:  following Japanese naming convention, family names come first.)

After the Meiji restoration, many castles in Japan were slated to be dismantled.  Hikone Castle was saved at the personal request of Emperor Meiji.

Hikone city itself looks like any other Japanese city.

Here's the bridge to the castle.

Walls by the moat.

Another moat, and some outer structures.

The roads to in in the castle grounds are purposely not straight. This is to make it hard for an invading army to move with any speed.  The walls were built to be strong, and even now, they dictate where the road goes.

 Hikone's mascot in Hikonyan.

He's a cat because one of the legends of the Maneki Neko (beckoning cat) involved the third lord of Hikone.  According to legend, he was out in a thunderstorm, and had taken shelter under a tree.  A white cat beckoned him to a small temple.  No sooner had he done so then lightning struck the tree where he'd been.

Have you ever seen a Maneki Neko figurine?

And there were lots of steps.

This bridge was designed to be easily destroyed in case of invasion.

Here are some buildings near the castle that you can enter.

Take your shoes off, that's original flooring.

First glimpse of the castle!

 Here's a bell that's rung at certain hours and can be heard for a long way.

I believe this is a plum blossom.

We could go into the castle.  As usual, it's dark inside, so not good for pictures.  

The steps are also steep, as usual, but they've overlayed more modern material over them and they have a raised edge that gives much better traction.  There are also steel hand rails.

Here are some views from the castle.  There is glass over the windows, so it's not as clear as it could be.

Lake Biwa is visible here, along with mountains in the background.

Here's  a shot of the inside.

And some more views of the castle:

 After looking at the castle, I went to see the area around it.

These are really big walls.  I've read that some castles were saved simply because it would take too much effort to remove these walls and develop the land.

What goes up, must go down!

Here is a former residence outside inner grounds.

And garden, which I expect will look better as it gets warmer.

Here you can see some of the walls and how the road goes around them.  The building to the left is a high school.

I wandered down some streets outside the grounds.

There are lots of shops and restaurants for tourists to visit.

At one restaurant, a man was beckoning in customers.  He showed me his English menu, so I gave it a try.  I wanted to try Omi beef, and he had some.  It's also wagyu, but not as well known as Kobe beef. Hipster wagyu, I guess. Inside, 80s music was playing.  How cool.  The food was delicious.  I'd eat here again, and got their card so I can.

I love this house.

Saw this bonsai outside a house.

Outside Hikone Station is a statue of II Naokatsu.

Hikone is definitely worth the trip, especially if you're going to be in the Kyoto-Osaka area anyway.  I had thought about going to Kyoto, too, but Hikone was enough for a day, considering I had come from Okazaki which took about 2.5 hours, without taking the shinkansen.