Nagoya

And now for some of the local sights...

I'm trying to keep all these roughly chronological, so the Kyoto pics were from back in March, and these are a bit later. Between job hunting and interviews, which usually took about an hour or two a day, I managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. Kyoto this is not, so that list got polished off pretty quickly. Most of the remainder of that time was spent in various local establishments, which while fun, weren't particularly photogenic...

The first two are of the local big attraction, Nagoya-jou. It's famous for the giant golden shachi (orcas) on the roof, an enduring beacon of the ridiculous wealth of this city, and a poke in the eye to the rest of Japan. After the bubble economy burst, Nagoya was the only place in the country that wasn't left suffering (Nagoya 2: Tokyo 0).

The first one is my mobile's wallpaper. The castle was originally built in the early 1600's, but bombed flat during the war (sorry, I tried not to mention it...). It was painstakingly restored in 1958, with a few modern touches, like lifts, gift shops, coin-operated binoculars, a small 3-D theatre and, of course, vending machines. The second pic is strategically arranged so that tree on the right obscures the lift tower for wheelchair access...

Next is one of the famous shrines in the area, Ousu Kannon Jingu. The shrines are interesting, but a bit disappointing. They are mostly facade, so they look amazing on the outside, but there's not usually much to see on the inside. Like so many other places in Japan, it's designed to draw legions of people in with a display of opulence and grandeur, so you can quickly do your business, drop your money in a special box, and then piss off...

The next one is one of my personal favourites, Inuyama-jou. Yes, I like castles, so sue me. This one was built in the late 1500's and is the oldest castle in Japan that is still original. That means no lifts, ridiculously steep stairs that you're expected to climb in slippers, and no safety rails. But it was cool. They even had a few sets of armour displayed inside - real ones with slash marks and arrow holes. Unfortunately, the time I decided to visit was a week before their annual matsuri (festival) - I wanted to go see it the next weekend, but it was pissing down rain all weekend. They have these huge floats with mechanical dolls that jump and dance and do somersaults that they parade round the streets, but because of the rain, I heard that the floats were covered in plastic sheeting and you couldn't see anything. Maybe next year...

The last two are from Tokugawa-en, a local museum and garden dedicated to surprise, surprise, the Tokugawa clan and its history, as well as some other local knick-knacks. On proud display was the golden suit of armour worn by the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of Japan. What I wouldn't give to be able to wear that to a fancy dress party...

Of course, I wasn't allowed to take a picture of anything that cool, so I got some pics of the gardens, including a pretty waterfall and the main entranceway, with the sakura trees in full bloom. Kirei desho?