Southern Kyushu: Kumamoto Castle
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August 27, 2015 - Southern Kyushu: Kumamoto Castle
I visited the prefectures of Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki in a week-long vacation to Southern Kyushu. From Kagoshima Prefecture's Kirishima Onsen area, we took a day to drive to Takachiho in Miyazaki, detouring slightly into Kumamoto Prefecture to visit the famous Kumamoto Castle (....and to buy my postcards.)
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We parked at a paid parking lot then walked to a post office to buy my postcards, then headed back to the castle, passing by this cute Inari Shrine on the way. Inari Shrines are my absolute favorite in Japan; I was definitely cursing myself for forgetting my calligraphy book this trip, especially with how many shrines and temples we ended up visiting! Grrrrr.
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From here we entered one of the numerous gates around the castle complex and made our way up to the castle proper.
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It was a hot day, so it was a bit of a sweaty climb, but we made it to the top! Entering the castle from here, it was slightly air-conditioned, which was very nice.
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Inside the castle is a museum of various objects. I took a peak around, but didn't stay long in each area, instead heading right up to the top where I knew there'd be a nice breeze and view!
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After basking in the breeze a bit and taking photos, we headed back down and out to visit the Honmaru Goten reconstruction.
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There wasn't a whole lot of English, but most things were pretty self-explanitory.
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I liked this view the best!
After finishing up around the castle, we headed to Sakuranobaba Josaien, a complex of restaurants and souvenir shops right next to the castle near the Hazekata gate.
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We found a horse meat restaurant and had some great traditional style food, including karashi renkon, a lotus root filled with a paste of spicy mustard and miso. It was good, but it will clear your sinuses if you're not careful! Then again, if you've got a cold this is the food I most recommend for you!
After this, we continued the drive past Mt. Aso (which we unfortunately couldn't visit) to Takachiho in Miyazaki Prefecture.
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